Sales channels are an integral part of marketing, without them it is impossible to imagine the growth and development of the company. But few people understand what it is and what they are for.
In simple terms, a sales channel is a company's way of attracting an audience.
Each company chooses the most suitable distribution channel (sales) in terms of finances and ease of implementation, and with the help of it attracts new customers and advertises its product. Therefore, there is no single structure of sales channels. All their divisions are conditional, and if desired, the company can even come up with its own sales method, improving an existing one or finding a radically new method.
But if we still talk about the conditional division of this part of marketing, then sales channels are often divided into:
- Active.
- Passive, or incoming.
Active
The most efficient method for comparing results. Active sales channels imply and practice personal communication with each client in order to find himindividual approach. In this type of sales, the initiator of the interaction between the client and the company is the company itself.
There are a number of pros and cons to active selling.
Pros:
- Efficiency through personal interaction with customers.
- Frugality. Most active sales channels avoid the cost of transportation, advertising, etc.
- Clarity of plan and action. The company interacts with a specific customer for a specific purpose.
Cons:
- Difficult to manage. When using active sales channel methods, it is very difficult to control each participant in the interaction process.
- Clarity of plan and action. This point applies to the minuses too, since each employee, when communicating with a client, must be ready to answer all questions. Improvisation is not allowed, because personal contact requires the accuracy of all information provided.
- Communication costs. Usually in active sales channels they use telephone communication to communicate with customers, and the costs do not always pay off.
To deal with active methods in more detail, consider what sales channels are (active type):
- Telemarketing.
- Partnership cooperation.
- "Dealership".
Telemarketing
Telemarketing sales channel is a way to attract customers through a telephone conversation. In telemarketing, clarity of plan and action is especially needed. Communications managers must be able to quicklyto interest the client, while not bothering him and trying to be unobtrusive. This type of sales is very effective for companies that offer services rather than goods, as a telephone conversation eliminates the opportunity to demonstrate the product and its features. But Internet companies or window replacement services are actively using this channel, as it is the most effective and profitable for them.
The advantages of telemarketing include:
- The speed of dissemination of information. The company can attract enough customers very quickly.
- Frugality. Telemarketing excludes all types of costs except telephone communications.
Cons:
- No opportunity to showcase products.
- Negative attitude of some people. Many have a negative attitude towards telemarketing, and as soon as they understand who is calling them and why, they cut off the call.
Partnership collaboration
Partnership is a sales channel that practices the interaction of several companies for mutual benefit. Typically, partnerships involve organizations that have related or similar products or services. Due to this, one company, in addition to its products, advertises and distributes the products of the second company, and the latter does the same. Since the products in most cases are similar or complement each other, this type of sales channel does not cause contradictions among customers, and the participants bring double the influx of customers and profits.
Pros of partnership:
- Double the speed of distribution of goods and services.
- Savings. Companies do not spend money on advertising, transportation, etc., as partner assistance is sufficient for distribution.
Cons:
- Sharing income and paying interest to partner. In partnership cooperation, companies do not interact for free, each of the parties pays for the help of the other.
- Need to retrain staff. Since two companies with different structures are beginning to appear in marketing at once, sales and customer acquisition staff have to retrain in order to present information about two companies at once with dignity and integrity.
Dealership
The so-called dealer sales channel is the most remote and least active type of method. It lacks direct contact between the customer and the company, which is expected in active sales channels.
Dealership lies in the fact that a company that does not have enough funds, and because of this, the ability to organize its own sale of goods, shifts this role to another company that has such an opportunity. Due to this, the company gets the opportunity to make a profit without going into the red, and the dealer-company receives a good share of everything sold.
This method is referred to as active sales channels because the company has to actively attract dealers, that is, in fact, they begin to act as customers who need to be interested and persuaded.
Pros:
- Saving money. Since the company is notspends herself, and the dealer does it for her.
- The ability to enter the market without funds.
- Development at the expense of the dealer company.
Cons:
- No direct customer contact.
- Paying a large share of the income to the dealer.
- Dependency on another company.
- No guarantee of duration of cooperation. The dealer-company can find the best offer at any time and stop cooperation.
Passive or incoming channels
Passive sales channels are those channels that allow you to attract an audience without interacting directly with customers. In this type of sales, the initiator of interaction between the company and the client is the client himself, who has familiarized himself with the information about the product using one of the passive sales methods.
Active sales types are more effective, while passive sales are simpler and more popular.
Let's consider what are passive sales channels using two examples:
- Advertising.
- Reviews from former clients.
Advertising
The most popular way to sell today. We see advertisements dozens of times a day. It is everywhere: in our phones, TVs, buses, outside the car window in a traffic jam, on the radio, on a tree, at the entrance, on products, etc., etc. Advertising is the most popular marketing ploy. It allows you to leave the necessary information in the subconscious of a person without even talking to him. And companies have come up with hundreds of different ways to do this. Somebodyattracts attention with a beautiful picture, someone - with a sounding slogan, still others - with an interesting video, fourth come up with a song about their product, and fifth, for example, put pressure on pity. All these methods work great and delight their companies with profits and an influx of customers.
This time let's look at the cons first:
- High cost.
- High competition. Since there is no direct contact with the client, you have to come up with more interesting and unusual advertising than competitors.
- Need for regular updates.
Pros:
- Saving time.
- Large distribution range.
- The ability to demonstrate the product with all its functions.
Reviews from former clients
A sales method that requires minimal effort from the companies themselves. They only need to create a "Reviews" section on the site and ask the client to leave a review about their goods/services there.
This sales channel can be called the most popular among customers. Potential buyers are given the opportunity to get acquainted with the goods not only from the words of the manufacturer, but also from the words of real people.
But for companies, this type of distribution is quite dangerous, so it is mainly used by large companies with a long-term reputation or those who are 100% confident in the quality of their goods/services.
Pros:
- Savings. There are no costs at all, as the clients themselves are involved in the attraction.
- Trust. The man with the greater desireand purchases with confidence, knowing the impressions of real people.
- Interaction of people. Due to the chain reaction, the number of customers increases, the principle of word of mouth works.
Cons:
- Negative feedback.
- Slow spread.
A small analysis of sales channels
After all the examples, you can do a little analysis of active and passive types of sales.
Methods of both types will bring companies the desired result, so the choice of method depends only on the direction of the company, its capabilities and desires. The effectiveness of sales channels is on the side of active types, but at the same time they are very labor-intensive and need clarity of action. Passive ones are simpler and more global, but they do not guarantee such an active effect. Passive and active channels can be used simultaneously, for example, to order advertising and call customers.
As for the management of sales channels, it is much easier with passive ones, since they require almost no regulation. While most active types require strict control.
But the development of sales channels has no clear leader. Both passive and active can be improved and developed in their own way.
Mostly, sales channels for goods are passive. Since in active sales methods there is almost always no possibility of demonstration. And sales channels for services, respectively, are usually active, but this is not a mandatory rule, and each company can try to reverse this scheme if it finds a worthy one for this.method.
Which sales channels are best? It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, because they are all individual, and each of them is ideal for a certain type of marketing.
Bank sales channels
Bank is an economic institution that provides many services to individuals and companies. The bank is a prime example of applying several sales techniques at once.
His sales techniques are both active and passive. Let's start with active sales methods.
Because the bank has its own "point of sale", it actively uses the direct channel when contact with the client occurs in person. Employees of the institution personally present the information they are interested in to clients.
The bank also practices telemarketing, of course, more often in order to notify existing customers about something, but sometimes also in order to attract new ones, if we are talking about a new, recently opened bank.
Financial institutions are actively engaged in partnerships by signing various agreements on joint programs.
Now consider the passive channels used by the bank.
In large banks, the method of promotion with the help of corporate clients is very common, when large companies interacting with the bank exchange useful information with each other, including that related to the bank itself. Thus, on the advice of one company, the bank receives a new client in the face of another.
Such institutions do not refuse the most common passivesales method - advertising. Banks are actively posting it in print and video formats, attracting famous people to participate.
As a result, the bank uses each of the sales methods discussed above, which once again confirms that sales channels do not have structure and clichés. They can be used in any form, in any quantity and for any purpose.
How to effectively manage sales channels
And finally, let's discuss how to choose the right sales method and use it effectively. To do this is quite simple. There are three main points to understand in order to understand what to aim for:
Who is your product/service intended for? Who will be the main buyer. It is necessary to try to identify all types of potential customers in order to develop an approximate strategy for further actions
