Cross-channel and omnichannel marketing solutions are widely used in marketing operations across various industries. Did you know that 73% of businesses use multiple channels in their marketing strategy? An ever-increasing competition in the digital world has left businesses at a crossroads. They need to adapt to new technologies and changing market trends constantly. Therefore, they must incorporate different marketing techniques and change their strategies to stay relevant in the market.
What is Cross-Channel Marketing?
The process of using multiple marketing channels or platforms to capture your target audience is known as cross-channel marketing. This technique helps you create a more cohesive customer journey for your target audience across various channels such as email, mobile apps, social media, online, offline, and more. Cross-channel marketing solutions help businesses provide a seamless and consistent message and brand experience, regardless of which channel the customer uses to interact with your brand. It is like providing a uniform experience to all customers across platforms.
Cross-channel marketing helps your business maintain a consistent brand message that builds trust, coordinates marketing efforts across channels, integrates data from various channels, performs customer journey mapping, optimises campaigns, establishes a multi-platform presence, and customises messages to suit each channel's characteristics. This strategy is more holistic and customer-centric.
A leading German-based automobile manufacturer, Mercedes Benz, launched a campaign strategy through online and offline channels to launch the CLA class car. They ran a Superbowl ad with celebrities Usher and Kate Upton, created a microsite for the product, bought Facebook ads, and partnered with influencers. This initiative helped them receive over 85 million organic impressions and 2 million likes, resulting in the CLA model increasing their sales by 14%.
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
Omnichannel marketing involves a customer-centric approach that integrates all channels. It helps deliver a unified and consistent brand experience across physical stores, apps, and websites. This technique enables customers to seamlessly interact with the brand across multiple platforms, thereby improving the brand experience. This integrated approach to marketing and sales empowers businesses to ensure consistent branding, cross-channel data integration, a customer-centric approach, fast transactions, and integrated communication, ensuring flexibility and adaptability. Omnichannel marketing solutions recognise the interconnectedness of various channels and break down silos between online and offline experiences.
A leading hospitality service provider, OYO, used MoEngage, an omnichannel marketing platform, to deliver a robust experience to customers across their website and applications with Push AmplificationTM, achieving a 44% increase in push notification delivery rates. Singapore Airlines created a powerful customer-oriented omni experience by partnering with AOE-integrated airports and shopping malls that enable customers to shop, pre-book, and improve in-flight operations, thereby increasing user engagement.
What are the Key Differences?
Although both cross-channel and omnichannel marketing may seem similar by definition, they follow two different approaches. Most importantly, they also differ in terms of integration, strategy, and customer experience. Here are a few key differences between cross-channel and omnichannel marketing solutions.
In terms of channel
In cross-channel marketing, multiple channels can be selected and connected. In omnichannel marketing, all channels can be selected and interactively connected. Cross-channel marketing involves using multiple channels to reach a specific target audience but will not necessarily provide a seamless and integrated experience across those channels. Omnichannel marketing provides a unified and seamless experience across all channels, ensuring consistency and continuity as customers move across different touch points.
In terms of approach and integration
Cross-channel marketing enables users to record communication between all channels and communicate dependently between selected channels. Omnichannel marketing ensures that all communication channels work interactively and in harmony with one another. Cross-channel marketing's integration enables channels to operate in silos with less stress on coordinating, communicating, and customer experience across them. Omnichannel marketing integration creates a cohesive experience for customers, enabling them to switch between channels during their journey.
In terms of messaging and personalisation
Omnichannel marketing enables businesses to personalise depending on customer requirements and deliver consistent messaging depending on the channels focused. Cross-channel marketing also helps personalise the message based on customer requirements but delivers uniform, consistent messaging across all channels. It does not allow you to customise messaging according to the channel you focus on. Cross-channel focuses on using different channels independently to deliver consistent messaging and promotions. With interconnected channels in omnichannel, businesses can ensure a smooth transition and consistent messaging as customers move from one channel to the other.
In terms of data flow and end goals
The data flow accessibility and transparency depend on the channel used in cross-channel marketing. Data is easily accessible across all channels with complete transparency across all channels in omnichannel marketing. The end goal of the cross-channel method is to improve engagement, whereas in omnichannel, the aim is to extend one-to-one personalised communication. It enables businesses to leverage data from different channels to get a comprehensive understanding of behaviour and preferences, enabling personalised and targeted marketing efforts.
In terms of customer experience
The selected channels work in sync with each other, providing an invariable and uniform experience for customers in cross-channel marketing. In omnichannel marketing, all channels work interactively with each other, providing customers with a seamless and engaging experience tailored to each customer. Cross-channel marketing involves using multiple channels, but these channels may not be tightly integrated. Businesses cannot deliver a seamless customer experience through this method. However, businesses can deliver a consistent and unified customer experience through omnichannel marketing as it prioritises integration.
Which Approach Should I Use?
Omnichannel marketing solutions are the best option for your business as they follow a holistic approach to achieving your business goals. It ensures that your brand values, identity, and message remain consistent across all channels, creating a unified and recognisable brand image. Your business can focus on the customer's desires and preferences regardless of the channel.
The omnichannel approach guides marketers in understanding the customer journey and adapting marketing strategies that help reach customers during their buying journey. It also helps you adapt marketing strategies based on customer feedback and the latest trends across channels. Also, increasing ROI with cross-channel marketing solutions could be quite challenging. With a holistic real-time view of the customer's journey, you can easily interact with customers and achieve your sales goals with the omnichannel method.
Get the Best Omnichannel Marketing Solutions at Vajra Global
Navigating the complexities of omnichannel marketing could be quite challenging. At Vajra Global, we implement a holistic approach fueled by marketing automation and AI powered by machine learning algorithms to bring out the best customer engagement and conversions with an assured return on investment with a robust omnichannel strategy. Our in-house team of highly skilled and experienced industry experts will analyse your business through an in-depth audit. We incorporate the latest trends in marketing and streamline your efforts by implementing marketing automation and AI in your operations.
Our omnichannel strategy will monitor customer behaviour and preferences across all touchpoints and set personalised and targeted marketing efforts that will boost your customer base with increased customer retention and brand loyalty. Contact us for a comprehensive overview of our services. We also provide a wide range of supporting services, such as search engine optimisation, content marketing, social media marketing, inbound marketing, website and web application development, and graphic design.