CLASSIFICATION OF MARKETING CHANNELS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OMNICHANNEL APPROACH

The article discusses the relevance of using multiple marketing channels to interact with consumers and offers the author’s vision the classification of marketing channels with the aim of structuring and presenting in an orderly form all kinds of channels that occur when using omnichannel marketing.

In the course of the work, the author emphasizes the importance of a high degree of channel integration in omnichannel marketing and pays attention to the concepts of «marketing communications», «communication channel», «sales channel», «distribution channel». It is noted that under the influence of market conditions, including the development of digital technologies, changing consumer behavior patterns, these terms go beyond the basic content. Communication channels and sales channels are beginning to represent a single system that performs the functions of preliminary information, contact, sale, after-sales customer service, which the author presents in his work under the terminology «marketing channel».

Within the framework of the classification of marketing channels proposed in the article in omnichannel marketing, information contact, selling and delivering channels in offline and online environments are highlighted. Information channels are associated with the implementation of the stage of search and evaluation of options, provide the consumer with data on various aspects related to the product. Contact channels, implying a direct connection between the consumer and the company, allow you to ask questions and clarify information. Selling channels provide the opportunity to make a purchase. The delivery channels are responsible for the physical receipt of the goods by the consumer. The author demonstrated examples of how consumers use different marketing channels and their combinations during the purchasing process.

The developed classification allows us to present a variety of marketing channels that are relevant when an organization applies an omnichannel marketing approach, in an orderly, structural form with an emphasis on the tasks of each marketing channel.

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