From in-store to Instagram and SMS to email, there are innumerable places to connect with your customers. But just connecting with your customers on multiple platforms isn’t enough — you have to bridge all the touchpoints together to create a cohesive cross-channel brand experience that transcends platforms and meets consumers where they are.
Brands that successfully bridge the cross-channel gap are achieving customer growth, greater revenue, and that most coveted of brand-consumer relationship statuses: emotional loyalty. Take a closer look at the full value a strong cross-channel marketing strategy can provide.
Reach new customers
When you think across channels, you open a whole new world of opportunities to attract, engage, and convert consumers who may be considering your brand. For instance, you might make first contact with potential customers on social media via targeted paid ads and add a discount code or perhaps a limited-time offer to sweeten the deal. And then follow up with a personalized email (appropriately segmented based on first-party data) to keep them engaged.
Or, perhaps they’re more of in-person shopper. Don’t forget to let them know they can find you — and meaningful offers and experiences — on Twitter and Instagram while they’re in your store. In-store signage and receipts are prime spots for these reminders. By utilizing a cross-channel strategy, you can reach potential customers no matter where they are or what platform they prefer, while greatly increasing your reach and expanding your audience.
Grow wallet share
When you think beyond single channels of engagement, you open a whole new world of revenue opportunities with new and current customers. For example, there are any number of uses for the location and purchase data collected when customers are in your store:
- Send a follow-up email and ask if they enjoyed their experience
- Offer some loyalty points in exchange for a quick review
- After a purchase, suggest additional related items that may be of interest
By connecting with your customers through personalized messaging, you’ll stay top-of-mind longer, and ultimately increase their chances of buying from you again.
Build trust and loyalty
Cross-channel marketing has plenty of positives, but it can also present logistical challenges. Moving data across channels creates more opportunities for gaps in security. But, there’s an upside: if you use data securely and responsibly to create personalized experiences across all your customer interactions, you will build significant trust over time. That trust can only exist when your audience knows they can depend on you to always provide a personal, consistent, exceptional, and secure experience no matter where you’re reaching them.
How does building trust translate to building value? It’s an essential component to emotional loyalty — the deepest of bonds between brands and their customers. That connection will keep customers coming back for more. And with a strong cross-channel strategy in place, they’ll know they can always reach you, whether via email, social, in-store, or whatever other channels the future holds.
Implementing a seamless cross-channel marketing strategy not only adds value for the customer, it adds value to your business. Today’s consumers expect to hear the right message, at the right time, in the right place. And while it takes effort to get the cross-channel marketing formula right, it helps businesses build brand-customer connections, grow their customer base, and take their business to new heights.
Contact Marigold Engage+ here to start building a cross-channel marketing strategy that works for you — and your customers — today.
