Marketing Channels: Concept, Importance, Levels and Types

What are Marketing Channels?

A marketing channel is defined as a path that consists of tools, strategies, medium platforms, and distribution of products or services from producers to consumers. Marketing channels connect the producers to their consumers and build a healthy relationship between them. Marketing channels can be online, offline, paid, or unpaid. These channels act as a vital part of the business process as it affects the success rate of the product. In short, a marketing channel is a medium that is used by a company for the advertisement of its products and services.

It is an effective way through which the products are delivered to their customers; therefore, marketing channels are also known as Distribution Channels. For example, Coca-Cola is one of the most famous soft drinks in India. But, how does this product reach every part of India? The company provides the product to every part of India through its Marketing Channel. The company uses two basic marketing channels; direct channel and indirect channel. Under the first channel, it directly communicates with the audience. However, by using indirect channels, it distributed the product through different offline and online media like newspapers, advertisements, events, promotion campaigns, billboards, social media, etc.

Importance of Marketing Channel

Marketing channels are essential as they help the business to reach customers. Before a product or service is released to customers, a company ensures its basic and important elements, such as product, price, place, and promotion. Thus, a marketing channel is important for a business because of the following reasons:

1. Reach More Customers: Marketing channels help to reach more customers within less time. If a company uses efficient online platforms where the traffic is more, it can reach more customers within less time.

2. Builds a Healthy Relationship with Customers: Marketing channels build a healthy relationship between producers and consumers with the help of interaction related to products and services. This relationship helps to gain more trust from customers and increase the company’s sales.

3. Product-related Information: Marketing channels provide use, importance, benefits, and strategies regarding products and services. This helps to encourage the customers for buying the product.

4. Customer Support: Marketing channels provide customer support for all consumers. This helps customers to interact through phones, emails, and social media and get their questions and problems solved as soon as possible. 

5. On-time Delivery: Marketing channels help a company make sure that its products are delivered to the customers at the right time. It is important to provide the customers with their product on time because otherwise, the company has a high possibility of losing the customer.

6. Enough Stock: Proper marketing channel also helps a company in maintaining enough products in stock with itself. The company can easily store its products in warehouses and supply them according to the prevailing market demand.

Number of Channel Levels

The channel level includes Direct Marketing Channels, where sales take place between producer and consumer, and Indirect Marketing Channels where producers take the help of retailers for the distribution of the product. 

1. Direct Marketing Channel

Direct Marketing Channel is defined as a type of channel where the sales of products take place directly from producers to consumers. There is no involvement of any third party, such as retailers, for their distribution. For example, any online shopping website, such as Amazon sells its products directly from its shopping website to the customers.

2. Indirect Marketing Channel

An indirect Marketing Channel is defined as a type of channel where any third party, such as wholesalers, distribution agents, and retailers are involved in the distribution of products. The manufacturer makes contact with such third parties located at different locations and then sells their products. For example, Amazon also uses indirect marketing channels. Customers can purchase goods from independent retailers through Amazon, and those companies/retailers will have to fulfil the deliveries on time. 

Indirect Marketing Channel is further classified into three categories:

• One-Level Channel: One level channel is a channel where only one intermediary; i.e., the retailer is involved in the sales between the manufacturer and consumers.
• Two-Level Channel: Two level channel is a channel where two intermediaries; wholesalers and retailers are involved in the sales.
• Three-Level Channel: Three-Level Channel is a channel where three intermediaries; distribution agents, wholesalers, and retailers are involved in sales.

Types of Marketing Channels

1. Email Marketing:

Email is used by more than 4 billion people today. It is one of the most cost-effective strategies. Email marketing involves sending emails to customers. Once they sign up, using the same email, the producers can share new offers, products, lists, and newsletters through email. The required files can be easily attached to the email. If consumers or receiving users want to stop receiving their messages and emails, the user can unsubscribe from their channel.

2. Influencer Marketing:

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing where pairing with influencers is done on which the customer has trust. A maximum number of producers and manufacturers make use of influencer marketing. The major channels used for influencer marketing are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Influencer marketing works well for the business as the targeted audience has trust on the influencer.

3. Social Media:

Social media platforms are used by most of the youth today. The manufacturer and producers use social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp for marketing their products. The producers build a network over social media platforms and share information over the platforms. Social media marketing channels require less time to reach more customers.

4. SEO:

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is also the most widely used marketing channel. In order to get in front of the target audience, it makes sure that the product site gets ranked in Google search. If the site gets to appear in the top ranking, the customers are attracted to the product. With the help of traffic tools and analytics, it is possible to monitor how effectively the SEO is working.

5. Websites and Blogs:

Having your own website and blog results is an advantage for marketing. Websites and blogs act as marketing tools for the products and provide required information and customer support for the customers. Customers can get answers and solutions to their queries upon visiting the websites and blogs. Therefore, building a simple, efficient, and user-friendly website and blogs is required. The users can even purchase the products from the official website.

6. Video Marketing:

In video marketing, the producers create videos and use them as content for their marketing. The videos can consist of features of the product, reviews, feedback from previous customers, videos for entertainment, steps for using the product, or any achievements. These videos are then shared on various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms. With the help of videos the manufacturers can describe their products more effectively, and it is even accessible for their customers to understand it.

7. Podcast Marketing:

Podcast Marketing makes use of podcasts for marketing the product. It is a type of marketing strategy that makes use of audio content for marketing the product. This podcast is made in such a way that audience takes an interest while listening to it. This podcast can contain encouraging stories of products, steps, benefits, stories and reviews of customers, achievements, etc. Few episodes are provided for the customers initially in order to engage them with the product. In order to increase the traffic paid ads are also being used in between the podcast.