What does the word “channel” mean to you in the context of your business?
For a lot of entrepreneurs, it’s about marketing and all the different ways they connect to their target audiences and drive awareness and interest.
For others, it’s about how they interact and communicate with prospects and customers throughout their relationship.
And, for still others, it’s about all the different ways they’re getting their products or services out into the marketplace and in the hands of their customers.
The funny thing is that all of the above are absolutely correct.
Each is a definition of “channel” when it comes to your business model, namely marketing, communications, and distribution.
The thing is you can’t just focus on one.
You need to define them all and continue to update and tweak them as you grow and as the world around us changes.
Because that’s the thing about channels—they’re probably one of the biggest areas of our strategy impacted by external forces and, thus, more out of our control than in.
For instance, we can’t control our target audience adopting new or different social media channels, or our client’s preferences for text vs email or phone vs chat support.
So, how do you craft a strategy that works not just today but into the future as well?
To me, there are three things you have to build into your business practice:
Hey, next week I'm wrapping up my Business Model series with Pricing Models, but if there's something in your model or business canvas you'd like me to delve into, please just let me know.
In case you missed any, here are the other emails from this series on business models, revenue models, and cost structures.
Until next week, remember that while ignorance may or may not be bliss, it's definitely not a strategy for success.
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I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
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