Relationship between Customer Type and Communication Channels in Czech Enterprises

Customer orientation and communication with them are among the key factors in companies’ competitiveness in an environment of increasing digitization and changing customer behavior. Understanding how key customers are defined within companies and which communication channels are used to reach them is therefore essential amid changing market conditions.

Current research shows that marketing communication in the B2B and B2C segments operates on different principles: B2B communication emphasizes building long-term relationships, value, and logical arguments to support purchasing decisions, while B2C communication focuses on emotional interaction, brand, and quick consumer decisions.

The aim of this article is to evaluate the relationship between the structure of key customers and the communication channels used by Czech companies of various sizes and from different industries. Based on data from 153 companies operating in the Czech Republic, the relationship between customer orientation and the forms of marketing communication used was examined. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and PERMANOVA.

The results showed that neither industry nor company size statistically explained differences in customer structure or in the choice of communication channels. The only significant factor was customer type. B2Boriented companies prefer personal, relationship-based forms of communication (direct sales, telephone contacts, professional events), while B2C companies systematically use digital communication mediums (web, social networks, email marketing).

The article thus confirms that effective marketing communication is based primarily on understanding and segmenting customers, and on choosing channels that correspond to their decision-making behavior – areas at the core of the Business Model Canvas’s design and innovation.