What Is Multichannel Marketing?

Whether or not you’re in the marketing industry, multichannel marketing is probably a term you've heard thrown around a lot in recent years. But what is multichannel marketing? How do you do it? And is it really worth your time and money? 

If these are questions you’ve been asking yourself, you’re not alone. The marketing world can be confusing and complex so let's take a few moments to go over the basics of multichannel marketing and answer these looming questions. 

Multichannel Marketing: What is it? 

First, let's go over the basics. Simply put, multichannel marketing is the practice of exposing your brand to consumers via multiple channels – typically both direct and indirect. It’s using social media platforms, direct mail, email blasts, streaming service commercials, postcards, display ads, etc. together in order to boost brand awareness and get your business in front of the right audience as frequently as possible.

With multichannel marketing, the goal is to have your online and offline channels integrated into a cohesive, coordinated, and synchronized unit ensuring your customers have multiple, consistent ways to receive information on your business. All in all, multichannel marketing is all about boosting exposure and giving consumers a choice in how to interact with your business. 

Multichannel Marketing: Is It Effective? 

To give you a quick answer, YES – multichannel marketing is very effective as it allows your campaigns to work together to boost impressions, engagement, and profit. It also helps brands diversify their presence, build lasting customer relationships, and increase marketing efficiency. Essentially, by not constricting businesses to a single channel, multichannel marketing allows businesses to reap the benefits of multiple platforms. With multichannel marketing, you can have your cake and eat it too.

But, don’t just take our word for it – let the statistics down below speak for themselves…

• Consumers who see ads on multiple channels also have a 24% higher conversion rate than those who see them via one channel. In fact, multichannel customers spend three to four times more than single-channel customers do.
  
  
• The average consumer goes through at least six channels before they finally make the decision to purchase a product or service.
  
• 72% of consumers would like to connect with brands through multiple channels
  
• Companies with integrated multi-channel marketing are 3x more effective than those with no integrated campaigns.
  
  
• Over 50% of multi-channel marketers have recorded an outstanding ROI.
  
  
• Companies with an effective multichannel strategy in place are able to retain 89% of customers
  
• Companies with multichannel marketing usually observe a 9.5% growth in YOY (Year-Over-Year) annual revenue.
  
• Multi-channel campaigns have better response rates when Direct Mail is part of the marketing channels.

These are just a few of the standout statistics that show multichannel marketing is worth your time, energy, and money. If you would like to see more about the state of multichannel marketing in 2022, check out this article.

Multichannel Marketing: How To Do It?

Great, now you understand multichannel marketing and the understandable hype around it. But how in the world do you go about creating a solid multichannel campaign? To be honest, it can be tricky to jump right into. In fact, not knowing how to run multichannel campaigns prevents 21% of marketers from implementing them. But, you shouldn’t let the challenges of multichannel campaigns stop you from capitalizing on their advantages. Below are a few tips and tricks to help you start your multichannel campaign journey off on the right foot. 

• Know Your Audience
  Before starting any marketing campaign, it is critical you know your target audience. If you know your intended age demographic is younger, you should definitely include Instagram in your marketing mix. If you’re a new mom & pop restaurant, postcard marketing will be critical in targeting your local community members. Knowing who your targeted audience is is a major help in deciding which marketing channels will work best with your campaign. 

• Set a Balance Between Channels
  Balancing a mix of direct and indirect channels is essential to how effective your campaign will be. Don’t just choose any combo of channels and call it a “multichannel campaign” before heavily researching the pros and cons of each. It's best to provide your consumers with a diverse variety of channels, that way you'll be reaping the benefits of both direct and indirect channels -- not either or. 
  
  
• Establish Cohesiveness Across Channels
  With multichannel marketing, it is key that your brand’s message remains consistent across channels. While your platforms don’t need to be identical to one another, they should match and complement one another. This will increase brand awareness as the consumer will easily be able to recognize your brand no matter if it's on a postcard or social media post. 

• Understand Each Channel
  Although your marketing needs to be cohesive across channels, you also need to play by the rule of each channel. This means understanding that lengthy, wordy posts are not meant for Instagram as it is a more visual platform. Having a grip on the “rules” of each channel will better allow you to get the most out of every marketing dollar. 
  
  
• Test Your Campaigns Effectiveness
  One of the biggest things in starting a multichannel campaign is tracking the effectiveness of each channel. What channels are getting the most engagement? Which channel is driving the most traffic to your website? What channel is performing the weakest? Monitoring your campaign will allow you to ensure you are investing in the channels that are the most effective for your individual business. 

Did the realization that multichannel campaigns can take a lot of time and effort make you want to stray away from them? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, 45% of marketers agree that they did not implement the multi-channel marketing strategies because they feel they lack the necessary talent, technology, and processes. If that’s how you feel too, we have the answer for you – Taradel. Taradel is an easy, all-in-one marketing solution that allows you to reach your target audience with direct mail, Google Ads, social media platforms, and more. And the best part, it takes only a few minutes and simple steps to set up your entire multichannel marketing campaign. So, if you’re ready to make the most out of your marketing dollars, start creating your first multichannel campaign with Taradel here.