Multichannel marketing

A channel is a route through which customers discover, buy, receive or obtain support for an offer. Multichannel marketing coordinates several routes—such as stores, partners, websites, phone and mobile—so customers can use the options that suit them and the company can serve them sustainably.

When to use it

• To evaluate and combine routes to market.
• To reinforce segmentation and customer-journey choices.
• To prevent channel conflict over price, ownership, territory, service or data.

Origins

Selling through several routes long predates the label. Sears, for example, issued a direct-selling catalogue in the United States in 1894. As supply chains professionalised, firms had to balance direct sales with retailers, brokers, importers, licensees and other intermediaries.

The internet’s expansion in the 1990s multiplied customer touchpoints and made coordination more visible. During the 1990s many established brands faced a particular dilemma: sell directly online and risk alienating retailers, or protect the existing channel and concede digital demand. Multichannel marketing emerged as a discipline for managing the portfolio and its conflicts.

What it is

Multichannel marketing lets customers and the firm interact across more than one channel. Each route can carry communication, transaction, fulfilment, service and feedback.

Channels may be direct or indirect. A physical product can be sold by the manufacturer or through a retailer; a digital product can be accessed across devices and platforms. Customers often cross channels during one journey—for example, researching online, viewing in store, buying through an app and seeking support by phone.

Multichannel means offering several coordinated routes. Omnichannel is often used for a more integrated ambition in which identity, context, inventory and service travel with the customer. The label matters less than whether the journey works.