Marketing

Getting
Marketing Multichannel
Right
by Kristin Naragon
May 29, 2019

John Kuczala/Getty Images

Summary.   Consumer brands have more opportunities than ever to engage

potential buyers. From tablets to smart watches to home AI assistants, the average
household now has six devices connected to the internet.  But how do companies
make sure they’re... more

Consumer brands have more opportunities than ever to engage

potential buyers. From tablets to smart watches to home AI
assistants, the average household now has six devices connected
to the internet. And nearly all Americans — 98 percent — use
multiple devices a day. But how do companies make sure they’re
sending the right message, to the right person, on the right
channel, at the right moment?
More communication is a good thing, as long as brands offer
seamless transitions between devices. According to the New
Jersey Institute of Technology, this is important to 9 in 10
customers. For example, if someone shopping for a computer uses
his phone to open an email reminding him to revisit his Dell
online shopping cart, the email should include the contents of
that cart and a mobile-friendly link that makes hitting “buy”
completely painless. Or say a customer visited the Mercedes
website last weekend to customize a new car. The postcard
Mercedes sends this week should include a picture of the design
and directions to the closest dealership as well as the names and
numbers of top salespeople.

A further step is to leverage behavioral information to engage

customers when it makes sense. Consider satellite radio station
SiriusXM, which (full disclosure) is an Adobe Campaign client.
After customers buy a SiriusXM-equipped car, the company sends
them an email asking them to “click here” to start a trial
subscription. However, because research shows customers are
more likely to start a trial if they’re on the road, the message takes
users to a page that asks if they are currently in their cars. If they
click “yes,” the brand sends them instructions on how to activate
the trial.  If they click “no,” SiriusXM sends them a text message
with the activation link, so they can easily start the trial the next
time they hop into their vehicles, without having to remember to
open their emails. This focus on cross-channel communication
has helped sustain subscription growth over the past year.

Companies should also look for every opportunity, no matter how

small, to make experiences more convenient for customers. 
For example, fashion retailer Nordstrom links photos of products
on its Pinterest page to the corresponding product on its e-
commerce site, which helps bring its 4.4 million Pinterest
followers directly to the point of sale. In the past, many brands
only offered red-carpet treatment during the holiday season or
special sales. Today, customers expect the best deals and service
every day of the year. Shoppers won’t just buy the first product
they see; the vast majority actively search for the best deal they
can get. So companies should respond in real time. For example,
 on game days, the San Francisco 49ers organization sets up kiosks
around the stadium allowing fans to push a button to indicate
whether they are satisfied or unsatisfied with their experience.
The team then uses that data to adjust its strategy towards
ticketing, parking, concessions, and social media.

Companies that want to survive in the coming decades won’t

make it by focusing on each channel separately. They have to
think more holistically and put customer experiences at the heart
of their marketing strategy across every channel.

Kristin Naragon is the director of product

marketing, Adobe Campaign.

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