Business Marketing 101: Brand Channel Strategy & Phases

A Brand Channel (channel) is a conduit, source or tactic to communicate to your various audiences. The number of channels are too numerous to list, but the biggies include:

Advertising
Advanced Content (Video, Infographic, Article)
Collateral
Company Website
Email Blasts
Events & Promotions
Logo Merchandise
Marketing Automation
Partner Websites
Public Relations
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media

Understanding channels is critical to the development of a successful marketing strategy. A well thought-out channel plan that prioritizes the development of specific channels will support business growth, focus resources and, help control your budget. I cannot emphasize this enough. One of the most frequent mistakes that I see organizations make is focusing their time and money on the wrong marketing effort at the wrong time.

There are two strategic mistakes I see most often:

1. Promotional Campaigns without a credible Brand Infrastructure (professional branding, clear messaging, credible website)

2. Promotional Campaigns without a Call-to-Action that the audience considers of value

Both of these mistakes occur because marketing companies are selling a solution-in-a-bottle, and because organizations want an easy button to their marketing and sales woes. Moreover, many organizations are directed to these tactics by someone they trust, who tells them that these solutions will drive lead generation, and that they can pay for the effort by some sort of joint-marketing-funds (JMF). Ultimately, this shit doesn’t work and the company’s executives get disenchanted with Marketing.

Phase 1: Core Channels

I recommend a simple brand channel strategy with three (3) core elements:

1. Company Website

2. Collateral (Business Cards, Brochures, Sales Presentations)

3. Social Channel Company Pages

Collectively, these channels are you organization’s most consumed marketing assets, and therefore require the most attention. These should work together to establish your organization’s brand identity, core message, and unique value proposition (UVP). Throughout your channel components, the idea is to provide a user experience that is intentional, professional, simple to navigate, consistent, integrated and in-sync.

CRemember, “you never have a second chance to make a first impression”, so put your initial focus on your core channels (website, collateral, LinkedIn) and create a positive customer journey.

Phase 2: Trial & Build

Once your Core Channels are established, it’s time to further develop your brand and tactics. There are no hard and fast rules here, as each is unique. However, as you begin to develop new channels, don’t over invest in expensive tools, systems or resources. In this phase, the idea is to learn what channels and tactics work for your organization and marketplace, and which don’t…and then begin to build your followers/audience. Here are some ideas:

Promotional Campaigns
Live Events
Industry Conferences/Tradeshows
Webinar Events
Daily Social Media Posts
Monthly Email Newsletters
Speaking Engagements
Press Releases
Logo Merchandise

Phase 3: Extend & Automate

As your marketing sophistication and capabilities grow, it may be time to make some investments in tools and resources. Here are some ideas:

Advanced Content (Video, Infographic, Article)
Search Engine Optimization
Marketing Automation

A Quick Note about Automation Tools

A few years ago, advance marketing automation tools (Hubspot, Sugar, Salesfusion, Pardot, Infusionsoft, Keap) were difficult to understand, exceedingly hard to manage and super expensive. Today, marketing automation tools are much more intuitive, and far less expensive, but they still require some expertise to implement and use consistently. Don’t let the marketing automation sales folks fool you, this stuff is not point and click. An advanced understanding of customer information, sales funnels, content management and strategic marketing is a must.

I hope this was helpful,

Colin Millstone

Founder / President

A seasoned, multi-dimensioned entrepreneur, consultant and business professional who helps organizations get to the next level. With three decades of experience in business, marketing, technology, operations, sales and finance, I bring a results-oriented, collaborative, strategic, passionate, and budget-minded approach to leadership and organizational success.

As a pioneer in Managed Marketing Services and Marketing On-Demand, and the Founder and President of Marketing as a Service (marketingaas.com), I work daily with organizations which are creating, distributing, selling and servicing some of the most impactful products in the world

Connect with me on LinkedIn