How Cross-Channel Marketing Increases Engagement And Conversions
There has never been a more challenging time to be in marketing. I mean, seriously. Just when we think we have all the answers, they change all the questions. And just as we get within touching distance of the goalposts, they move them. And who are “they?” Why our dear customers of course. In the past, we marketers made all the decisions, and consumers followed us blindly. Today, however? Not so much. Modern customers have much more control over the buying process than we do. They also have more choice than ever before when it comes to choosing how they find and receive information. Modern customers have access to businesses 24/7/365 on a variety of channels. In order to reach them wherever they are, your brand has to engage with them across multiple channels. Welcome to the world of cross-channel marketing.
Thanks to the omnipotence of the Internet, modern customers love to involve themselves with brands across multiple channels at any given time. They read reviews on social media, research with search engines, receive marketing emails on their smartphones, and physically go into stores to see and touch products for themselves. This is why cross-channel marketing is so critical.
So Just What Is Cross-Channel Marketing?
Essentially, cross-channel marketing is using one marketing channel – such as email or mobile, for example – to promote the use of another, such as in-store. There are numerous channels you can use to reach potential customers, including your website, PPC campaigns, direct mail, email, mobile or your retail store.
However, use of the word “channel” is a marketing thing, not a consumer one. Your customers see your brand as just that – a brand. They don’t see it as a channel. They experience your brand as a whole, not as a group of disparate marketing messages. And they want a consistent brand experience no matter where, when or how they engage with you.
This is the possibly the most important part of getting cross-channel marketing right. What’s the point of blowing people away with an incredible online experience if you disappoint them dismally in store? Treating each of your marketing channels as a separate entity is extremely risky, as you will lose customers if you don’t get the consistency right. You have to create a cohesive cross-channel marketing strategy to reach out to these customers – as well as new ones, of course – in powerful and exciting ways.
The secret is to create a seamless marketing strategy that engages potential customers and moves them down the funnel towards conversion.
But Does Cross-Channel Marketing Really Work?
Ever heard the expression, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail?” Well, it’s the same with marketing. Cross-channel customers spend up to four times more than single-channel customers. Fact. In addition, over 70 percent of customers prefer an integrated marketing approach. Another fact. And Forbes reports that successful marketers are nearly 35 times more likely to use cross-channel marketing with their customers versus under-performing teams who struggle to use this tactic at all. Research shows that when customers engage with a brand across two or more channels, their levels of engagement were a staggering 166% higher than with single-channel marketing and an amazing 642% higher than those who didn’t receive any marketing messages at all.
Which Channels Work Well Together?
According to a recent report by MediaPost, the most popular cross-channel pairings for adults between the ages of 18 and 64 are:
- Computer and Mobile
- Television and Mobile
- Computer and Television
- Radio and Mobile
- Computer and Radio
Benefits of Cross-Channel Marketing
It’s common sense really – the more doors in which you have your feet, and the more pies in which you have your fingers, the more customers you reach. And the more customers you reach, the more brand recognition you get. One of the truly great benefits of cross-channel marketing is that investing in one channel often has the knock-on effect of increasing interest in another (that you haven’t even had to pay for!) A report by Wordstream, for example, found that advertising on YouTube could increase Google searches for your brand name by over 400 percent!
Giving consumers the choice of where and how they can engage with your brand means they can use the medium they enjoy the most, and with which they’re the most comfortable. This has the added benefit of increasing your chances of getting completed conversions.
At Digital Coach, we do what most other digital marketing agencies fail to do: we join the dots across all platforms, instead of just focusing on one. We’re big into cross-channel marketing, and we know you will be too. Let us show you how to analyse data and interpret the multiple touch points along your customer’s journey. In today’s highly connected world, where every customer follows a different path, things can be challenging. But with us in your corner, you’ve got this. So let’s talk. Today. Coffee’s on.
