Making Money On-line: CMOs Not Happy With the State of Cross Channel Marketing

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

CMOs Not Happy With the State of Cross Channel Marketing

It’s no secret that the best customers are the ones who engage with brands across multiple channels. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the brands who deliver value to customers across channels see strong growth.

How much growth?

Companies with strong cross channel customer engagement see a 9.5% year-over-year increase in annual revenue.
Cross channel customers who shop on more than one channel have a 30% higher lifetime value score than those who shop on only one.
Then add in the fact that, according to Forrester, cross channel retail sales in the US alone will be nearly $2 trillion by 2018—and you can see why delivering a strong cross channel experience is paramount for success.

The Struggle Is Real

However, according to a recent study conducted by The CMO Council "... marketers are struggling to deliver on the big promise of true cross-channel alignment across both digital and physical worlds. According to the research, one of the biggest challenges for marketers in 2017 will be understanding the connected customer journey across all touch points and how best to interact on a more personal, content-rich level."

Here are some the key findings from the report, entitled “Connected Interaction to Power Brand Attraction”, which was released this past December:

42% of respondents plan to better integrate campaigns into a comprehensive, connected customer experience.
37% of respondents will address connecting physical and digital experiences.
29% of marketers intend to invest in more technologies to manage data, as well as the talent needed to oversee and optimize the new marketing technology stack.

Liz Miller, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the CMO Council predicted that 2017 "will represent a real turning point in the customer experience as marketers plan to turn their sights toward connecting, streamlining and measuring the entire journey.”

Moving On From Coordination To Orchestration

Marketers of today must move from campaign coordination to campaign orchestration to deliver the consistent brand experiences customers expect.

Rather than simply scale outdated marketing methods to increasingly more digital channels, or expect customers to follow pre-determined “customer journeys,” marketers need to orchestrate marketing programs that adapt to customer behaviors and contexts.

By orchestrating the customer experience in a way that empowers the customer--not the marketer--to determine what interactions come next, marketers can deliver consistent, personalized brand experiences at scale.

Moreover, marketers need to break down internal marketing silos that pass marketing inefficiencies onto the consumers. Marketing teams need work together collaboratively and efficiently to orchestrate channel programs with that deliver consistent and personalized experiences for the customer.

Cross Channel Campaign Management

As the demand for multichannel campaign management (MCCM) grows, the number of vendors has grown, too. With so many options, how do you assess the capabilities of each one to make the best choice for your company?

Download the Gartner Magic Quadrant For Multichannel Campaign Management: How To Evaluate Current MCCM Vendors to learn the strengths and cautions associated with each vendor.