Multichannel strategy shows major operational benefits

Over the past few years, we have seen the number of electronic channels that marketers need to manage multiply at an alarming rate. A range of social media and mobile channels have been added to a complex mix that includes the web and email, creating new customer touch points and bringing a deluge of data into the organisation.

Most enterprises manage these channels through different internal teams and outsource many of their operational requirements to external agencies. The end result is that many organisations have data scattered across a range of databases and systems, some of which they control in-house and some of which are run on their behalf by outsourcing partners.

The inevitable result is a lack of coherence in the marketing department at the operational and technical levels. Companies end up duplicating customer information across marketing segments and often struggle with an inconsistent view of their customers.

The result is that a great deal of value slips between the cracks. Companies are spending inefficiently on marketing campaigns and missing out on conversion opportunities simply because they do not understand the whole customer picture.

A multichannel world

In a multichannel world, the same customer interacts with a company across email, one or more websites, social media, search, display and other channels, yet most companies are not looking at this complete view. As a result, they do not understand the customer's journey from discovery to conversion.

To be truly efficient in a multichannel world, marketers should be looking at customer behaviour and activity across channels to understand how and why they convert.

Armed with consistent and integrated data across multiple online channels, they will be better positioned to understand and influence customer buying behaviour.

In practice, this will mean understanding what the customer conversion points are as well as creating multiple points of entry for engagement. This enables marketers to maximise contact opportunities and improve chances of conversion while reducing cost per acquisition.

The solution

So what is the solution? The first step is to understand what data the business is gathering and how it is being used. Is the enterprise losing out on opportunities because it does not have an integrated view of its customers?

Next, consider how the various channels work together and how the data from each can be gathered into a central location. Once marketers have a central view of all their customer data, they can begin to analyse it for trends, and leverage it to further engagement.

Risk management is key throughout the process, especially when dealing with multiple service partners. Marketers must ensure that they have ownership and control over their data - which is one of their most precious business assets.