The Pros and Cons of Multichannel and Cross-channel Marketing

Nowadays, the customers are getting more accustomed to online shopping, which has led to the growth of various marketing channels across the world to reach to your customers more efficiently. Multi-channel marketing refers to the application of a distinct strategy across several platforms that can be done through emails, advertisements, retail stores, websites, SMS, etc. that widens your opportunity to connect with prospective clients.

There are several benefits as well as downsides of multi-channel marketing that an entrepreneur should know about before utilizing this method.

Pros Of Multi-Channel Marketing

• • Expanded audience communication- This system allows you to reach your potential customers via different channels according to their preference. You can post your ads in social networking sites to target the right message to the audience or even invest in paid search engine forums to get ahead of your contenders. But that doesn’t assure your sales getting high as you may be banging the wrong door.

• • Regular messages– By multi channel approach you can keep on sending brand associated messages to your customers consistently. It might get annoying for your clients if they get numerous messages about your offers in one day. You must build the right SMS marketing strategy to reach them out.

• • Brand awareness- With this procedure, you not only get your product in the market but also build its significance throughout. Convincing customers to purchase your product with just your first marketing touch point is not easy as you must collect more touch points to convert them into prospective buyers.

Cons Of Multi-Channel Marketing

• • Time consuming- It is not possible to sync in all the possible channels, so you must keep updating each of them manually about any changes in stock level or offers. You might lose track of which is altered, and which is not. You must manifest advanced form of analytical tools.

• • Costly platform- As you apply more marketing channels, it would require more resources which may not fit in your budget, in relation to the fact that you have a spending margin. Some channels require intense effort to get running smoothly.

• • Mishandled Customer management- Just like the channels, the customers are spread wide and can be far reaching which means if you are not able to fulfill your client’s needs on time you might jeopardize your relationship with them. So, to conduct customer research, build a connection and win their loyalty becomes a lot harder than it seems.

To implement this strategy successfully you must take into considerations some tips to get them going. Some guidelines that you can follow can be to assign the channels to diverse departments and create an integrated marketing team so there is no chaos among the staff, and they are aware of their responsibilities. A multi-channel platform where every single customer is given equal prominence and receive valuable services should be their priority. Having personalized relationship and using those data to know about their requirements can be a boost up for your enterprise. Getting your message out there isn’t enough, you must make a commitment towards your clients which will all be worthy in the end.

Cross-channel marketing is an evolved form of communication with your consumers. It helps in integrating products and services across multiple channels and using the different channels to work together. Some examples that explains it well is like, having your marketing website linked to your social media pages, or using your blog post to stimulate your YouTube videos, interlinking them to give more opportunities for the customers to explore.

Pros Of Cross-Channel Marketing

• • Customer friendly- This strategy ensures that your customers know about your brand and what you have to offer by directing them to using diverse online marketing channels. You can get a clear idea about your client’s conduct by tracking their browsing venture, their purchase history and use this info to comply with their needs.

• • Varied channels- There are two main marketing methods used in this system, email and mobile marketing. By implementing the email marketing, you will set a personalized bond with your prospective clients. Whereas mobile marketing will help you to reach out to those customers who do not respond to your emails.

• • Promoting engagement- A single channel can be useful for collecting data about your customers, but it will not be enough as you will have to use this limited information to understand your clients. Giving access to your valuable consumers to change course and use varied means to reach you while also managing your brand exposure via social media, mobile applications, websites, emails and word-of-mouth is necessary for your product recognition.

Cons Of Cross-Channel Marketing

• • Regulatory changes- A cross-channel integrated marketing entails siloed departments to deliver a customer-centered marketing approach. Your vital customers can block and abandon the progress if they are not cooperative about it.

• • Inaccurate data- Since the customer’s data are entered over divergent channels it gets scattered and cannot be relied upon entirely. To identify the mistakes becomes quite difficult, so it requires arduous effort to develop the business based on these essential customer data.

• • Customized messages- Just like multi-channel marketing, cross-channel marketing entails to send personalized messages to every buyer. It becomes problematic to keep a uniform brand messaging and composition. If you lose track and send contrary resources which doesn’t make sense, your brand loses its identification as your potential buyers get confused about your product and services.

To execute this marketing strategy effectively you can follow some useful points like, to create an accurate intonation you must gather customer information spread across the channels, or the browsing and purchase history, past campaigns with the help of professional and skillful analytics. Use these data to decode multiple touch points of the customer accounts, besides getting an idea of your buyer’s image. To increase your conversions, allocate the channels both online and offline adaptation while also keeping an eye for any changes.

CONCLUSION

Even though multi-channel and cross-channel marketing are considered as equivalent, there is a difference between the two. It can be said that cross-channel is the advanced form of multi-channel for experienced sellers. While multi-channel can be accessible across various channels like websites or applications, cross-channel provides an ideal and integrated customer service across a combination of different channels. Both has its pros and cons but keeping in mind that every strategy needs a detailed hypothesis, they can be utilized impeccably.