What are the most effective communication channels?

🕒 4 min.

Radio, press, television, internet, phone, e-mail, sms … There are many communication channels that we can use to reach our customers. But, from among them all, which ones are the most effective for your business?

📑 In this post you will find:

The customer is the main focus of attention

The starting point for choosing the most appropriate media channel is to know your target audience.

You have to be aware of whom you are addressing,

From this point, the message plays a very important role, because what the sender transmits must be the same as what the receiver understands, without distortions nor misinterpretations.

Users must understand the message clearly and what we expect from them.

Todays’ consumer does not buy products, but experiences instead, so it is imperative to personalize the communications we carry out whenever possible. We will only be able to generate new satisfactory experiences if we know the needs and interests of our clients and we create an added value in every single contacting point with them.

The client has to feel like we don’t treat them just as any another user, but as a person with their particular concerns and tastes; on top of that, they must know that we are able to give them a response at the time and place they need it.

We are facing a multi-channel consumer, therefore we can’t focus on a single media channel. We will move in different media channels, taking advantage of the synergies that emerge from them.
Thus we must be sure about what channels the client prefers and at what time they use one or the other.

Types of communication channels

Each channel has its own features to consider:

Personal

They are a more direct means of communication, which enable the interaction between the sender and the receiver. It implies a conversation limited to a reduced number of participants.

A direct, close and segment-limited channel would be SMS Marketing.

Interpersonal

We have a message from one sender to many receivers. There is no possibility of personalizing the message, nor personal contact. This does not mean that there is no prior segmentation to adjust the communication to the target.

An example for instance, would be radio and communication.

Interactive

They are communication channels with wide coverage that allow the interaction with users.

Social media is a good example.

Factors to consider when making the choice

Other factors to consider due to their influence are:

The geolocation of your target

It’s not the same to have a local business, than an online store. Obviously the coverage and resources needed will not be the same.

The investment

Each channel has a cost. Depending on your goals, you will have to assess your suitability and return on investment (ROI.)

Three questions that will help you with your choice

Taking into account all of the above, it is time to ask yourself three questions.

The answers will depend on each company’s characteristics, but there is a determined response in which many will agree on:

1 In which channels is your target moving?

Via mobile phone.

2 Where do you spend most of your time?

On my mobile phone.

3 Can your business bear the investment?

It depends on the cost.

The present-day consumer is on their mobile phone and to reach them it is necessary to integrate Mobile Marketing into the company’s global strategy.

There are many types of Mobile Marketing actions, but there is one that is able to give a positive answer to all questions: Marketing via text messages.

1 In which channels does your target move?

On mobile phones.