Digital Channel Mix

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

Closing channels

Within our channel mix, each channel has specific audience functions. Some channels are used to increase awareness of our product, service, or sale, and so on.

Along with channels that encourage consideration, these channels are called ‘assisting channels’ as they help bring the consumer along the journey and assist them towards taking action.

There are also what’s known as closing channels. These are the channels that consumers typically use before taking action, converting, buying something or filling out a contact form, and so on.

A conversion is a valuable action on our site so it’s always good to know as much as we can about the channels that bring people on site to convert.

Common closing channels include:

• Paid search or PPC
• Organic search
• Email marketing

Assisting channels

While a lot of attention is justifiably spent monitoring closing channels, assisting channels are essential components of the digital marketing ecosystem.

Consideration

Let’s take a step back before the conversion stage in the consumer journey to look at some consideration-driving channels that assist in the process. These include social media, some affiliates, and certain types comparison content.

Awareness

But consideration channels are only part of the puzzle. If we take a step back further again to the top of the funnel, we must consider the importance of awareness-driving channels in bringing people into the funnel and assisting the conversion. Typically, awareness-driving channels – like display banners and video – help organizations spread the word of their product and can act as the starting point for the consumer journey towards conversion. These channels can drive a lot of clicks and traffic, and they may assist conversions or sales by bringing consumers who may not have been aware of your product into the purchase funnel.

As digital marketing is outcome based, if a channel doesn’t directly deliver a conversion, it probably assists the consumer in taking action to some degree. Assisting channels that drive awareness and consideration include social media, video advertising like YouTube, online display, content marketing and blogs, and so on.

Just remember, as they don’t typically finish the sale, they are considered assisting channels as they helped bring consumers along in the conversion journey.

While we can easily measure the effectiveness of closing channels through the number of direct conversions or sales they have delivered, we need different metrics to understand the value of assisting channels.

To help measure performance, some common KPIs applied to assisting channels include:

• Post-impression conversions
• Post-click conversions
• Assisted conversions
• Increases in closing channel conversion rates
• Possible lower costs per lead or costs per sale