The Best Scalable Marketing Channels: Experts Weigh In

Our Analysis on Scalable Channels

When I think of scalable channels I think of several things.

1. A really high volume of potential customers that can be reached through the channel. Nearly limitless.
2. It can be automated or at least somewhat automated.
3. You can repeatedly and somewhat predictably measure the cost to utilize the channel versus the return (aka ROI).

Virality

Let’s talk about virality, (which most experts include) because we’re not talking about creating a video that goes viral. You can’t control that. That is the opposite of repeatable and predictable. You can hope for it, but it’s really a moon shot.  What we’re talking about here is something like what Tinder did, which was create Word Of Mouth virality driven by influencer (paid) marketing at events. So, a combination of channels is often used to create the virality. 

Another example of built-in virality would be referral loops. Referral loops were used by Lyft and Uber when they were getting off the ground.  Vista print help create virality by providing free business cards with a line on the card that said it was provided by Vista print.  This often works well if you have access to a tightknit group of users like the tech crowd, which is how Dropbox launched.  If you want “virality” to be scalable, ask yourself is it predictably repeatable?

Trade Shows

I’ve seen some lists that include trade shows as a scalable channel. I would disagree. Generally, there are a very limited number of trade shows that address a certain target market with a limited number of attendees. I’m not saying face to face marketing isn’t one of the most important channels to explore.  It is.  And in some industries, it’s a rather prolific channel.  However, the number of shows is not limitless, so I don’t see it as a “scalable” acquisition channel.  Road shows and self-sponsored events (like THINK by IBM) come closer to being scalable. As with all channels however, there is a point of diminishing returns.

Maybe NOT Scalable, but Don’t Overlook

• Promotions are deliberate one-time hits, but important.
• Viral is PR is much the same. I can’t over emphasis how mission critical PR is though in general.  If you research the topic, acquiring PR was really what allowed a lot of startups to hit it big.
• Expanding geographically should never be forgotten, but would you really call it scalable or is there a limit there?  Depends.
• Partnerships that produce mutual referrals are every successful salesperson’s “secret.” However, how many mutually beneficial partnerships are there? Depends.

Direct Sales

Direct sales is another interesting one to me. When people say “sales” they’re generally talking about outbound marketing. A sales team of people making cold calls, trying to hit quotas and hitting gongs on the sales floor when they close a sale.  Some refer to this as hand-to-hand combat.

You can hire a certain number of sales reps that have a certain amount of cost that produce a certain amount of sales. I guess in theory you can scale the size of your team as long as the results are supporting the cost. But you could also argue there is a limit on the number of people one can call in a day, which is why some people consider inbound marketing more scalable than outbound.  I don’t want to get into a debate here about inbound vs. outbound, because the right answer is always “it depends.” Specifically, it depends upon the average sale size, the sales cycle, the type of relationship that needs to be built and your exact product as to the right answer.