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The Magic of Multi-Channel

Customer Marketing
Today, keeping in touch with customers requires a multichannel strategy. Heres how to get started with coordinating,
prioritizing and running your multi-channel campaigns

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Introduction
We are multi-screen creatures. We move sequentially between computer,
smartphone, tablet and TV or use them simultaneously, according to context
and in order to be more efcient.
As businesses communicating with customers, its imperative that we understand
this fundamental aspect of the user experience and tailor our marketing strategies
accordingly. In other words, keeping in touch with customers requires a multichannel strategy.

When done right,


multi-channel
interactions
amplify the brand

When done right, multi-channel interactions amplify the brand just the way that
orchestrating different instruments together yields a much richer musical
experience than any single instrument playing alone.
By cohesively managing an orchestra of campaigns across multiple channels
email, SMS, push notications, Facebook Custom Audiences, etc. brands create
a powerful presence in the lives of their customers. The emphasis, of course, is
on managing cohesively: when dealing with customer-centric, multi-channel
communications, the difference between seamless and elegant and coarse
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and overbearing is akin to the difference between a philharmonic orchestra and


the cacophony of toddlers knocking pots and pans.
Obviously, we prefer the orchestra.

Why Multi-Channel Customer


Marketing is More Effective
Channel Preference

An orchestra of
campaigns
creates a powerful
presence

Different people are more receptive to communications via different channels.


Facebook, mobile push notications, email, text messages, and phone calls
some people are simply more accepting of messages arriving through certain
channels, while others nd those same channels annoying. Determining which
channels are preferred by which customer personas is a powerful way to
improve the response rates and uplift of your customer marketing campaigns.
There are also the circumstantial aspects of each channel; for example, it could
be that you have an obsolete email address for a customer, while that same
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customer might spend hours every day on Facebook.

Channel Medium
Different types of messages work better over different channels. For example,
SMS text messages work best for short messages that have some urgency
associated with them. Emails are obviously better suited for longer messages
and in cases where the visual design plays an important role in the message.
Facebook is best suited to social communications or messages that are designed
to go viral, etc.

Different types of
messages work
better over
different channels

Multi-Channel Variety
Our brains are wired to automatically differentiate between information that we
need to notice and retain versus information that we can discard immediately.
Without this ability, we would be quickly overwhelmed with information and
unable to function. Because our brains are able to ignore or discard most
marketing messages, especially in this era of marketing overload, advertising
must be repeated to get the audiences attention. Repeating a message via
different channels is much more effective than repeating it via a single channel.
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Multi-Channel Synergy
When multiple channels are used in such a way that they complement and support
each other, individual campaigns can generate better than expected results.
For example, if there is no response to a push notication within a reasonable
amount of time, we can use another channel to reinforce the message without
annoying the customer with multiple messages of the same type.
This is the magic of multi-channel, where one and one make three. Multi-channel
marketers don't think of a push notication and a follow-up email as separate
marketing messages. Instead, by focusing on the desired result, each customer is
touched however many times is necessary in the best channels for him or her.
Rather than looking at email open rates or other metrics for individual channels,
stay laser-focused on campaign success by measuring overall effectiveness
across all channels. This holistic approach yields the true picture of marketing
success from multi-channel synergies.

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Sometimes the
whole is worth
more than the sum
of its parts

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The Pros and Cons of


Available Channels
Here is a summary of the relative strengths
and weaknesses of some commonly-used
channels, according to these attributes:
Cost How expensive is it to communicate
with each customer via this channel?
Attention How effectively does this channel
grab the attention of most customers?
Design How much exibility and creativity
is available to deliver high-impact messages
via this channel?
Annoying How invasive or irritating do
customers perceive this channel to be?
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COST

ATTENTION

DESIGN

ANNOYING

Email

Low

Medium

High

Medium

SMS

Low

High

Low

High

Push notication

Low

High

Low

Low

In-app/on-site

Low

High

High

Low

Google

Medium

Low

High

Low

Facebook

Medium

Medium

High

Medium

Twitter

Medium

Medium

High

Medium

Direct mail

High

Medium

High

Medium

Call center

High

High

Medium

High

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Channel Comparison and Best Practices


MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

Preferred by most customers.

Competes for attention with

Keep an up-to-date email address list.

many other emails; requires

EMAIL

Greatest reach: 93% of Internet


users use email, while only 70%

outstanding creative to rise


above the clutter.

use social media.


No control over when the
The perfect t for rich media,

customer will read the email.

images, videos, clickable links, etc.


Even non-spam emails
Customers regularly check their
email inbox.

frequently get caught by spam


lters or inbox promotions
folders.

Great tool for content marketing:


email is the best tool for sharing

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Email lists require close

Always provide an unsubscribe link.


Know and adhere to regulations (e.g.,
the CAN-SPAM act in the US).
Use a good mix of text and images.
Keep total email size small (less than
1 MB).
Even though email is long-form,

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EMAIL

MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

blogs, articles and long-form

attention to ensure that obsolete

remember that you are aiming at

content.

addresses dont negatively

ve-second attention spans. Dont

impact sender reputation.

overdo it!

Deliverability reports are

Make emails personalized, relevant

generally unreliable.

and of high value to the customer.


Invest in good, engaging, content; dont
limit yourself to buy one get one free.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

Immediate delivery.

Limited feedback on whether or

Use with your most engaged

not message was viewed.

customers who have a proven interest


in your messaging.

Close to 100% deliverability.


Highly-personal channel
Highest view rates of all channels:

SMS

83% of texts are opened within 3


minutes.
No spam ltering.
High response rates: up to 45%.

and can be perceived as

Consider sending only to opt-in users.

intrusive if not done correctly.


Use in marketing scenarios when time
No rich media text only.

or location is of the essence (e.g.,


alerts and reminders).

More people are ignoring SMS


now that IM (WhatsApp, Skype,

Link each SMS message to a

etc.) has become so popular.

dedicated, personalized landing page.


Always provide an opt-out method.
Take time zones into consideration.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

Zero cost.

Easy to disable.

Use best time of day best practices for


users to get messages.

Immediate delivery.

Requires that users install your


mobile app.

Utilize location knowledge.

Competes with many other app

Keep it short; include a clear

notications.

call-to-action.

100% deliverability.

PUSH
NOTIFICATION

Users cant avoid looking at it it


appears in their most valuable
digital real estate.
Perceived as less intrusive than
SMS.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

Reaches your audience when

Can only be shown when the

Use for opt-ins, personalized

they are most engaged;

customer is already using the

recommendations, reward program

communications are in the

app/site limits the audience

notices, feature updates, app-ratings.

context of the application/ site.

signicantly and doesnt help


drive customers back to your

Realtime delivery.

IN-APP/ON-SITE
MESSAGING

site/app.

Take great care with your micro-copy.


Ensure that your messaging and

Highly actionable.

creative remain consistent with the


look and feel of your app/site.

Easy to show rich media, images,


videos, etc.
No cost.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

High volume (large audience).

Expensive.

People like getting relevant offers and


communication, but hate getting

GOOGLE DISPLAY
NETWORK

Addresses the user in a neutral

Many users exhibit banner

environment.

blindness.

targeted. Use retargeting sparingly.


Good customer experience trumps

Can potentially use Google data

Retargeting and other forms of

for even better targeting.

personalized advertising may


be perceived as creepy by

Customers spend a lot of time

some customers.

being tracked show


highly-personalized messages that
resonate with your customers.

here so reaching them is easy.


Deliverability metrics and good
analytics are available.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

High volume (large audience).

Expensive.

The more granular your target FCA


audiences, the more personalized and

Addresses the user in a neutral

Big limits on design.

effective these ads will be.

Impossible to include dynamic

Roll out new creatives frequently.

environment.

FACEBOOK CUSTOM
AUDIENCES

Ads feel more native.


Strong social element easy to
interact with.
Can potentially use FB data for

content (e.g., customer name).


Despite the native feel, FB users
may develop a blindness for
these ads.

Set your Facebook campaigns to only


run at times that you feel are optimal
for each audience.

even better targeting.


Customers spend a lot of time
here so reaching them is easy.
Deliverability metrics and good
analytics are available.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

High volume (large audience).

Expensive.

Experiment with Twitters Primary,


Lookalike and Exclusion targeting

Addresses the user in a neutral

Big limits on design.

methods.

Does not support dynamic

The more rened your segmentation

environment.

TWITTER TAILORED
AUDIENCE

Customers spend a lot of time


here so reaching them is easy.

content (e.g., rst name).

is, the more relevant your Twitter Ads


will be.

Strong social element easy to


interact with customers here.
Because its relatively new, users
ignore it less.
Deliverability metrics and good
analytics are available.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

Can reach customers without

Expensive.

Use for sending special event


invitations that are formal and fancy

known online addresses.


Old, annoying, often thrown in
Circumvents the noise of online

(VIP cocktails, etc.)

the garbage before being read.

marketing overload.

DIRECT MAIL

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Open/view rates not


measureable. Non-ecological.

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MAIN PROS

MAIN CONS

BEST PRACTICES

Very personal.

Expensive.

Use for VIP customers.

100% measurable.

Difcult to scale.

Use to get the kind of customer


feedback that you wont get from any

CALL CENTER

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May be perceived as extremely

other channel.

intrusive.

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Creative Ways to Use Multiple


Channels
Here are some ways you can use multi-channel marketing to improve campaign
results. Of course, there are countless others this is where a marketers
creativity and ingenuity come into play!

Sequential Messaging Across Channels


Run campaigns that present a sequence of messages, like telling a story, across
multiple channels. For example, we can use the 97% open rate of SMS messages
to deliver a short teaser regarding a subsequent campaign message to come via
email, and thus dramatically increase the open rates of that email when it comes
half an hour later.

Message Blast
Send the same offer via every channel at once. This works best for a great,
limited-time offer that is highly focused to a niche segment of customers for
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example, big spenders who you know are very interested in a particular product
category. Its also very effective when you want to make sure that every
customer in the segment sees the offer, somehow, on the same day you send it.

Channel Competition
Run campaigns with the same message/call-to-action via different channels, to
different random segments of a target group to see which ones work better.
Known as A/B/N testing, this approach can reveal which types of messages
work best over which channels for your various target segments.

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Multi-channel Marketing May Require


Organizational Change
A nal thought on moving towards multi-channel customer marketing: you
might need to make some changes in the organization to really make it work. In
too many companies, different customer marketing channels are managed by
different marketers, sometimes even by different departments. Within these
silos, marketers typically maintain their own databases.

Coordinating your
channels is key for
success

This presents a big problem for executing effective multi-channel marketing,


because customers will be receiving different (sometimes, even conicting)
messages via the different channels. Instead of the channels working together,
fragmented messaging of this kind can have very negative results.
One of the keys to successful multi-channel customer marketing is managing all
channels in a coordinated way, within the same framework. It is critical to
maintain a single-customer-view customer database. Additionally, it is ideal to
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have a single campaign management framework for scheduling, executing and


evaluating all customer campaigns via all channels. This assures full
coordination of which customers are receiving which messages via which
channels.

The Worlds Most Advanced


Customer Marketing Cloud

It is ideal to have
a single campaign
management
framework

Even the smartest marketers struggle to measure and increase business value
from customer marketing, and are under increasing pressure to do so. Optimove
is the only customer marketing cloud that connects customer marketing to
business results with predictive customer modeling, multi-channel campaign
automation, real-time hyper targeting, and self-optimizing personalization. Ready
to see how predictive customer marketing can help you grow at record speeds?
Request a personalized demo today!
www.optimove.com | info@optimove.com

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Copyright 2016 by Optimove

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