Channels — how do you reach your customers?

How do people find you, decide to buy, and stay in touch after? Your channels answer all of that — here's how to map them properly.

How do your customers actually find you?

Channels are every touchpoint between your business and your customers — from the moment they first hear your name to the support they get after they've paid. Getting your channels right can make or break a business model. Getting them wrong means spending money reaching the wrong people, in the wrong places, at the wrong time.

Five things channels need to do

Every channel serves one or more of these:

Awareness — how do people find out you exist?
Evaluation — how do they decide whether you're worth it?
Purchase — how do they actually buy?
Delivery — how do they get what they paid for?
After sales — how do you support them once the sale is done?

A lot of businesses are strong at awareness and weak at everything else. They get people to the door but lose them before — or just after — the purchase. Mapping all five phases usually reveals gaps you didn't know you had.

Direct vs. indirect

Direct channels — you own and operate them: your website, your sales team, your social media, your physical stores. More control, more margin, more data about who your customers are.

Indirect channels — you reach customers through partners: distributors, retailers, marketplaces, resellers. Lower setup cost and faster reach, but you give up margin and some control over the customer experience.

Most businesses use a mix. The key is being deliberate about which segments you serve through which channels, and why.

A quick comparison

| | Your own channels | Partner channels | |---|---|---| | Margin | Higher | Lower | | Setup cost | Higher | Lower | | Customer data | Full access | Limited | | Brand control | Full | Shared |

Questions to explore with clients

How do customers first hear about you? What's actually driving awareness right now?
How do potential customers evaluate whether to buy from you?
Where and how do they purchase — and is that as convenient as it could be?
Are your current channels actually reaching the right segments?
Which channels generate the most revenue relative to what they cost?
Are there channels you're not using that you probably should be?