Which Marketing Channels Are Best to Grow Your Business?
Wondering which marketing channels can drive the most growth in 2024? Get our updated framework for selecting and testing channels that align with your product, audience, and budget.
Choosing the right marketing channels can make or break your growth in 2024. With so many options—paid ads, outbound, affiliate, social media, and more—it’s tough to know where to start, especially when budgets are tight and time is limited.
Below, we’ve outlined a simple framework to help you narrow down your channel choices. You’ll also find a marketing channel chart that maps out which platforms work best for different business types, from eCommerce to B2B. Once you find your fit, you can focus your tests on the channels most likely to deliver a strong return.
Finding Your Fit: The 2024 Marketing Channels Chart
The chart below helps you pinpoint which channels make the most sense based on two variables:
Customer Intent: Are people actively looking for your product or service?
Targeting Specificity: Do you need to zero in on a very particular customer type, or can nearly anyone be your buyer?
How to Use the Chart
Identify which quadrant(s) best describe your situation.
Look at the marketing channels in those quadrants.
Start testing the largest “bubbles” first—those usually have the most potential scale.
Tip: If your business caters to a wide consumer audience (B2C or eCommerce), focus on the left side of the chart. If you’re a B2B brand, lean toward the right side.
Quadrant 1: Top Left
Active Intent, Broad Audience
Your customer is actively searching for a solution like yours, and your product can appeal to a broad market. Examples include everyday consumer goods or widely-used software solutions.
Channels to Consider
Google SEM*: Pay-per-click ads on Google Search. Effective if your product category has decent search volume.
Bing SEM*: Similar to Google but at roughly 15% of the volume.
SEO*: Ranking organically on search engines through keyword-optimized content. Less direct targeting than SEM but great for long-term brand visibility.
Amazon Ads: Ideal for eCommerce sellers. Amazon’s ad platform can expose your products to shoppers already in a buying mindset.
Pinterest*: Highly visual platform, popular among younger demographics and women. Good for lifestyle, fashion, food, and home-related products.
(*These channels also appear in other quadrants.)
Quadrant 2: Top Right
Active Intent, Narrow Audience
Customers are actively searching for solutions, but your target market is specific—such as a particular industry, role, or technology stack.
Channels to Consider
Integrated Partnerships: Co-marketing deals with businesses whose customer base overlaps with your own.
Tradeshows: Physical or virtual exhibitions that bring highly targeted prospects together.
Review Sites: Platforms like Capterra, G2, or TrustRadius for B2B software; can be a big source of leads but may overlap with people already familiar with your brand.
Google SEM*: Same as Quadrant 1, but with more niche keywords.
Bing SEM* and SEO*: If your audience uses search with very specific terms, these channels can be highly targeted.
Quadrant 3: Bottom Left
Passive Intent, Broad Audience
People aren’t necessarily looking for your product, but almost anyone could be interested once they learn about it (often B2C). Think of impulse buys, lifestyle brands, or products/services with broad appeal.
Channels to Consider
Pinterest*: Great for visual inspiration, especially if your product is visually appealing.
Display Networks (GDN, DSPs): Banner ads across various sites. Can reach large audiences but less precise targeting at scale.
Content Amplification (Taboola, Outbrain): Placing sponsored stories on high-traffic news or lifestyle sites to drive top-of-funnel awareness.
Facebook+Instagram*: Robust targeting, but broad enough for almost any consumer product.
Affiliate*: Pay partners a commission for driving traffic or sales—especially useful if you have strong brand assets for affiliates to use.
YouTube: Vast audience potential. Second only to Facebook in terms of granular targeting.
TV/Radio: More traditional but can still work well for mass-market products at scale.
Podcasts*: Fast-growing channel. Niche audiences exist, but you can also reach broad audiences through popular shows.
Quadrant 4: Bottom Right
Passive Intent, Narrow Audience
Your target customers aren’t actively searching for you, and they’re part of a specific group—often B2B solutions or specialized consumer niches.
Channels to Consider
Facebook+Instagram*: Can still be effective if your total addressable market (TAM) is large enough (200k+).
LinkedIn: Particularly useful for B2B, especially if you’re targeting specific job titles or industries.
Direct Mail: Highly targeted, can send physical materials to a precise set of leads.
Outbound (Calling & Email): Old-school but still effective for B2B. Identifying high-quality leads is key.
Podcasts*: Identify niche shows with audiences that match your persona.
Affiliate*: Can be highly effective if you partner with the right industry associations or niche sites, but generic affiliate sites may have poor fit.
Making Sense of It All
Scope Out the Largest Channels: Start with the biggest relevant “bubbles”—Google SEM for direct intent or Facebook for broad appeal. They generally have the most headroom to scale.
Match Your Intent & Targeting: Use the quadrants to zero in on whether your audience is searching for you, and how specific your targeting needs to be.
Validate with Small Tests: Once you’ve identified likely channels, run controlled pilots to see if you can achieve profitable CAC before going all-in.
Ready to Explore Your Next Channel?
Every business is different. Whether you’re a B2B SaaS solution or an eCommerce brand, the key is to test, measure, and refine. If you’d like help deciding which channels to prioritize—or if you’re ready to scale your efforts—Tiger Revenue is here to guide you.
Reach out to us to chat about your unique needs. Our team can help you design a testing plan, interpret results, and build sustainable growth strategies. If you’re already spending heavily on paid media or affiliate, we’d love to offer a complimentary audit to uncover any missed opportunities.
Appendix: Glossary of Key Channels
Google SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
Pay-per-click ads on Google’s results pages. Works well if customers commonly search for products like yours.
Bing SEM
Smaller market share compared to Google but can be cost-effective and less competitive.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Organic search engine rankings. Can yield long-term, sustainable traffic if done correctly.
Pinterest
Great for visual discovery—particularly strong among female and millennial audiences.
Amazon Ads
Paid promotions on the Amazon marketplace. Ideal for consumer products.
Integrated Partnerships
Joint promotions with other companies that share your target audience.
Tradeshows
Physical or virtual events where a targeted audience gathers to discover new solutions.
Review Sites
Influential platforms (like Capterra or G2) that prospective buyers trust for candid reviews.
Display Networks (GDN, DSPs)
Banner ads placed programmatically across a wide range of websites.
Content Amplification (Taboola, Outbrain)
Sponsored content slots on major news or editorial sites.
Facebook/Instagram
Robust ad platform suitable for both broad and niche targeting.
Affiliate Marketing
Partners earn commissions for driving clicks or sales, helping you pay mainly for performance.
YouTube
Video ads offering deep targeting and massive reach (part of the Google Ads ecosystem).
TV/Radio
Traditional but still high-reach mediums for awareness and brand building.
Podcasts
Sponsorship or ad placements on audio shows that reach engaged, niche listeners.
LinkedIn
Target B2B professionals by role, industry, or company.
Direct Mail
Physical mail campaigns aimed at a curated list of potential buyers.
Outbound (Calling & Email)
Proactive outreach to a specific list of leads or companies.
Questions?
For a deeper conversation about which channels fit your objectives, reach out to Tiger Revenue. We’re happy to offer insights, strategy, and the hands-on support you need to find and scale the channels that align best with your product, audience, and growth goals.
