The table stakes are covered; your brand is collecting zero-party data directly from customers who are happy to share it, emails are being personalized based on that data, and sales are improving. However, it isn’t time to pat yourself on the back for a job well done just yet. You’re generating a lot of one-and-done business. Customers are still churning, and it costs a lot of money to replace them. A common contributing cause to this problem is email operating in a silo from other critical channels.
Let’s consider a typical customer example. You need new undershirts. It has been a long time since you bought undershirts, and you want to try something new. You do some searching online and encounter a new brand that seems appealing. They respect your privacy and let you browse without invasive pop-ups, and offer a nice “find your size” experience in exchange for your email address. You share a little information about the clothes that fit you well and receive a recommendation for undershirts that should fit. You add them to the cart, but you’re not ready to make a purchase. An email prompts a return visit and a recommendation to download a mobile app where you grab a couple of extra items to reach the free shipping minimum purchase and place an order. When it arrives, the undershirts are perfect, but the add-on items aren’t quite right, and you send them back. A couple of days pass, and you receive the push notification asking for your review – of the products you returned instead of the ones you kept.
31% of consumers felt frustration when they received messaging that didn’t recognize their shopping history
Isolating marketing channels in siloes will inevitably lead to inconsistent or insincere customer interactions. One out of every three consumers is willing to abandon a brand they love after a single negative experience. And even if the customer doesn’t leave your brand, do you want them to leave an honest review about a product they decided not to keep?
Relationship marketing requires consistency and relevance across channels. Each customer interaction should build upon the previous one. Of course, a customer review is part of the table-stakes post-purchase journey. If the ‘review notification’ push message is built into a cross-channel journey, it can exclude the items a customer no longer owns and lead to a positive interaction.
Cross-channel marketing goes way beyond the transaction. Marketers build automations to welcome new customers, nurture them, recognize their life events, reward them for their loyalty, and even win back customers who might have lost interest. Brands exceed customer expectations in today’s competitive digital landscape by consistently connecting these experiences across channels.
80% of consumers have a favorite brand because that brand provides a consistent customer experience.
Boden broke down the channel silos and connected interactions to delight their customers. They started with data to identify critical customer touchpoints and then developed and implemented a plan to connect those interactions across channels.
Learn more about cross-channel marketing and how it can help you improve customer relationships and increase average purchase size:
- Get the just-released 2022 Digital Consumer Trends Index that shares insights from real consumers
- Watch: Pulse: Self Service Journeys
- Read about the importance and potential of Relationship Marketing
