As you may know, multi-channel marketing is one of the more effective methods of reaching and communicating to customers. The thing is, multi-channel campaigns tread on a thin wire between effectively “communicating to” and “blasting” customers.

Multi-channel  Blasting

Having reviewed several client’s campaign plans, it is quite common that they overly focus on “reaching” the customer. What about the communicating  and engaging part? Deploying messages through as many channels as possible, with the objective that one or more of them will reach the customer is not multi-channel marketing… it is multi-channel blasting.

What if the offer/message is irrelevant (not appealing to the target) and the campaign have successfully reached the customer with every single channel?

Just image, other then the spam in your inbox, you have also received direct mail, phone calls, and SMS on male enhancement products on a daily basis.

Congratulations, if the objective was to annoy someone, the campaign was a success.

Multi-channel Marketing

Multi-channel marketing is not about reaching your customers through multiple channels… it is about reaching the right customers with the right channels. There is no requirement that multiple channels must be used to reach a single customer. It could be a couple or even just one channel, if it is the right channel.

… but how is that multi-channel marketing? you may ask.

Think of it this way. You can deploy the same message through various different channels, each channel reaching out to a different segment of customers. To determine if the optimal channels are being used will highly depend on the customer data you have. Do you know if the customer is always on the road? Are they always at their desk? Do they work in the field most of the time? etc…

As a side note, you do always have to keep in mind that only relevant messages/offers will work… no matter what channels you select.

The results that a successful multi-channel campaign should yield is communication and engagement with the customer.

-Willv