7 Reasons Why You’re Missing Cross-Channel Marketing Opportunities

Why is cross-channel marketing important? The marketing landscape is changing rapidly. There are countless new tools that help marketers both target audiences for your product and reach them in unique places. But it can be difficult to keep up with all this technology, especially in a large company where changing processes take time. There are some agile businesses that have capitalized on emerging cross-channel marketing opportunities. On the other hand, there are just as many companies who have struggled.

In order to continue to grow and reach potential customers, it is critical to stay on top of each marketing channel. With constantly changing channel ROI, relying on just a few options can be detrimental. Here are seven reasons you may be missing cross-channel marketing opportunities that could really impact your business:

1. Falling in love with one or two cross-channel marketing avenues

In your marketing efforts, it is likely that there are a few channels you have deemed to be the best, which is good. When you know the ROI you are going to see on those channels, it’s difficult to extend beyond them. But doing so is critical because at some point, the success of those current channels will dry up, and you don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket.

Plus, there are other channels out there that will yield a positive return. This means that even while continuing with your current successful channels, you can add new ones and generate a higher profit.

2. Lack of expertise channels

Beyond a desire to stick with the few successful routes, you might not know very much about other channels. Having to learn about new ways to reach your customers takes time, and costs money. These barriers to entry might discourage you from adopting new cross-channel marketing avenues. There are also channels you might not even know exist yet, or their effectiveness in your market.

Constant reading and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends will help. Try setting aside a few minutes each week to explore and expose yourself to new ways you can reach your audience. It takes a willingness to learn and try new things.

3. Lack of accountability for a new channel

On a busy team, it can be difficult to find someone to take the lead on a new channel. Entering into new realms often requires more work than initially meets the eye.

First, identify a team (or at least one person) that can take accountability for the channel. Navigating a team switch or an additional hire is a hassle. After that, make sure they understand how the channel works and which tools are effective to track and integrate that data into the rest of your customer view.

By putting clear expectations in place from the get-go, you can ease a lot of upfront effort that may stymie channel adoption down the road.

4. Not knowing what tools exist

Today, there are endless technology options to aid marketing efforts. A lack of knowledge about the technological landscape makes it more challenging to reach audiences in different places. The less you know about which tools can help, the more manual labor will exist.

Not knowing tools makes entering new channels more difficult than it needs to be. Instead, you should always be on the lookout for software than can better empower your team.

Reading articles, following influencers and newsletters that you like. Exploring for yourself will have a dramatic impact on the efficiency of your team and channels.

5. High pressure to meet goals today

When trying to hit certain goals for the week, month or quarter, an emphasis on the immediate can be placed. This makes it difficult to take energy away from those goals and put them towards a better future for your marketing. 

So what can marketers do? You give great examples of ways to help in each area. Here we could use an example.

6. Poor data tracking

Managing data from new channels adds an additional layer of complexity. It is critical to keep diligent data for costs, ROI, and effort spent on each of your channels. This will allow you to assess performance and decide if and where to double down. When entering a new channel, it can be unclear how to collect and monitor that data.

When there is this additional pain point, there is even less incentive to enter the channel. Especially when you are at a very data-driven company. Again, it would be great to see a way to solve for this?

7. Connecting and viewing the data in one place

Unifying your data makes it easy to digest. Creating one singular customer (or lead) view can be a huge pain point for marketing teams. It can require engineering assistance, which might not be available to you.

Keep at it with cross-channel marketing

There are some awesome tools that exist to help with this flow, but implementing some of them is time-consuming and frustrating. Do your best to make these work since cross-channel marketing is an integral part of any successful marketing strategy.

                                                                                                                                   

Learn more about the cross-channel opportunities you might be missing with:

• 6 Ways Data Informs Cross-Channel Marketing Success
• Omnichannel Loyalty: Connecting the Dots for a Better Customer Experience
• Go Further with Cross-Channel Marketing

 

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