For every product, there’s a delivery pipeline — often more than one. Consumer product manufacturers might rely on warehouse shipments, direct store delivery or direct-to-consumer models. Software companies can turn to inside sales, distributors, OEM partners and “touchless” customer acquisition. For their part, financial institutions have self-service, assisted self-service and full-service options across a myriad of physical and virtual locations.
All this complexity can leave executives wondering which channels to prioritize. Each channel has its pros and cons, depending on the target consumers and their cost to serve. There’s also the issue of how to manage channels so they reach the consumer effectively. As ecommerce and physical channels continue to multiply, their alignment has never been more important. Finally, other channels are entering parts of the shopping journey — from idea generation to product review and purchase — and require astute management as well.
