Choosing sales channels

There are many different ways to sell products and services. Consider a multi-channel sales approach.

Multi-channel sales approach

If your business focuses on a single method of selling, such as over-the-counter sales, you might be limiting your potential market.

You might be able to grow your sales and reach new customer groups if you were to adopt a multi-channel sales approach.

Consider these methods:

• direct selling
• over-the-counter sales
• online sales
• telemarketing

Direct selling

Direct selling is an effective way to build long-lasting customer relationships and grow a flexible, low-cost business. Independent salespeople use direct selling to sell their products and services directly to customers in meeting places such as homes, offices, and markets, rather than through conventional retail shops and outlets.

Direct selling advantages:

• It helps you to avoid expensive rental overheads.
• It may allow you to run your businesses more flexibly.
• It benefits customers through the convenience and personal attention they receive from direct salespeople.

Direct selling disadvantages:

• Salespeople can find it hard or time-consuming to find new customers and reach out to them.
• Salespeople can spend a lot of time on customer interactions to make sales.
• Without the use of a retail outlet, storage, delivery logistics, insurances and security for your products and cash are considerations to be managed.
• The reputation of direct selling has been harmed in the past by illegal pyramid and network marketing schemes—direct selling businesses need to market themselves purposefully and professionally, and be aware of legal selling practices and obligations.

Direct selling examples

Retail shop and over-the-counter sales

Over-the-counter sales, also known as retail sales, are one of the oldest and most traditional ways of selling products and services.

This sales channel is dependent on your business having customers regularly walking in and purchasing from you. A quiet day with minimal customers means your sales are low, impacting revenue and the ability to cover operational costs for the day.

In order to make retail sales successful, you need to invest in marketing the products and services of your business to drive foot traffic into the front door. Without marketing, you risk being dependent on existing customers and their buying patterns.

Finding the right business location for your store is critical for new businesses, so you can benefit from high volumes of foot or vehicle traffic to generate the customer and sale volumes you need.

Shopping centres and shopping districts that attract customers are attractive locations for retail and over-the-counter sales.

Retail examples

• Cafes and coffee shops
• Clothing and footwear stores
• Outdoor adventure stores
• Car parts and accessories stores
• Furniture stores
• Bottleshops
• Convenience stores
• Pharmacies.

Online sales and ecommerce

Purchasing products and services online is popular as customers can do it any time of day or night, from any device and usually at a cheaper cost than in store.

There are many benefits to adding online selling to your sales channels including reduced staffing costs and a wider audience of customers including national and international.

There are also challenges with online selling. Many business owners invest a lot of money into website development of complex ecommerce sites, but then don't invest in marketing to drive visitation to the site.

One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to drive traffic to your site is to use hyperlinks to your website in emails and newsletters you send to customers.

Operating an ecommerce business can be very lucrative if it is set up professionally and correctly.