marketing channel strategy

Why being everywhere is costing you

You’re on Instagram, TikTok, Google, Pinterest and email. Every channel gets a little budget and a little attention, and none of them really works. A marketing channel strategy fixes that. It decides which channels deserve your money and time, what each one is responsible for and how they work together, so you stop spreading thin and start winning somewhere.

What goes into a marketing channel strategy

We keep it practical. Every plan includes:

• Customer journey map: how people find you, compare you and buy

• Channel scorecard: reach, cost and real return for each platform

• A clear job for every channel: find new people, convince them or close the sale

• Budget split and targets for each channel, with a test budget set aside

• A review rhythm: when we move money, and what triggers it

How we’d approach it

Say you run a boutique hotel group with three properties. Bookings come from Instagram, Google, travel sites and a newsletter, but nobody knows which ones really drive stays. We’d start by tracing where direct bookings actually come from and what each channel costs per booking once travel site commissions are factored in.

Then we’d give each channel a job: Google search for travellers ready to book, Instagram for inspiration, email to bring past guests back. Channels that can’t prove their role get paused.

A good outcome is a smaller, sharper mix where every channel has a clear job, and more bookings coming in direct instead of through commission-heavy sites.

Where most brands go wrong

They copy what competitors are doing. Your competitor’s best channel isn’t automatically yours. We choose channels based on your customers, your margins and your content, not on what’s trending this quarter.

How we decide what to cut

Every channel has to earn its place. If it can’t show a clear role in the customer journey, or its cost per sale stays well above the rest after a fair test, it gets paused. Paused doesn’t mean forever. Some channels make more sense once the core ones are profitable, so we keep a short list of what to revisit and when.

Where it fits

Channel planning is part of our strategy work. It often starts with a growth audit to see what’s working today, and it hands over to paid social and paid search once the mix is set. We plan for brands across North America.

Not sure which channels deserve your budget? Book a free audit and we’ll show you where we’d start.