Reading the news, scrolling through Twitter or catching up on emails; we consume content constantly from the moment we wake. Digitisation has led to the growth of many new customer channels, and these provide brands with huge amounts of data as well as endless opportunities to engage with consumers, across every device.
Email marketers have long been wise to the opportunity here, and are rapidly expanding their strategies to encompass multichannel tactics. And if these tactics are applied collaboratively,
the rich insights they gain into customer preference and behaviour can help businesses improve customer experience and foster deeper brand loyalty.
But many companies are being held back from reaping these benefits of a truly customer centric approach by the unwieldy and antiquated structure of their marketing teams. More often than not, functions such as display, social media, email, analytics and offline campaigns are managed by more than one department, with limited coordination between them.
This is particularly the case for big businesses with multiple channels and larger teams. Experian’s recent 2016 Digital Marketer Report found that 59% of enterprise marketers work in teams broken out by channel and are 54% more likely to rank "facilitating alignment" their top priority.
Not only does this risk a logistical nightmare of endless emails, slow responses and miscommunication. These silos can also cause a breakdown in the way that valuable customer insights and data are transferred - meaning they are largely responsible for inconsistencies across different channels that create friction across the customer journey and ultimately diminish customer experience.
For example, there is no point in a sportswear brand targeting a consumer with ads on social media or marketing emails flagging that a pair of trainers they’ve been researching are on sale, if that consumer actually purchased a pair three days ago. It would be ineffective at best and damaging to the customer relationship at worst.
Even when data is being shared, the delay caused by these silos means brands are missing out on opportunities to segment in real time across multiple channels. All too often, their internal structures simply do not reflect the realities of the new customer journey.
The most successful brands today make sure that insights from one channel are transferred to other channels throughout the customer journey, are shared right across the business, and alignment is gained across teams through effective goal-setting that guarantees a seamless experience for the customer.
And while there is no overnight fix for overcoming the channel disconnect, there are some easy steps that brands can take to break down these silos and create a more holistic approach to their marketing campaigns.
Attribution as a tool, not a burden
Marketing attribution has never been so complicated, with the explosion of different channels and devices adding layers of complexity to what used to be a relatively simple funnel.
It provides marketers with a clear picture of how each business unit is contributing to the overall revenue. And as “Last Click" continues to lose ground to more nuanced attribution models, it is becoming easier to understand the value of each channel in moving the customer through their journey and allocate budget accordingly. It’s tempting to ignore it, but there is no doubt that having a clear understanding of attribution helps businesses align cross-channel goals, which in turn can stimulate collaboration across the channel teams.
Map the customer journey
The chances are that a customer will start the day with a cursory check of their emails and social media accounts, followed by a quick browse on mobile of their favourite retailer’s website to pass the time during their morning commute. They might even revisit the site on their work computer at lunchtime to look into an item that’s piqued their interest, before deciding to make a purchase at home that evening.
Even this relatively straightforward journey includes a number of different touch points across several different devices. It’s no longer enough to look at these independently – instead CMO’s need to be bought-in to the big picture, enable their channels to work in harmony together and move a customer through the purchase funnel towards a sale.
So much can be learnt about the way consumers interact with different channels throughout the day, and whether they are browsing, researching or making a purchase can dramatically change the way that brands should engage with them. This understanding will help organisations to prioritise where and how marketing efforts should be directed, forge co-operation across teams and create a common purpose – focused on customer experience as the primary goal.
Always lead from within
Creating an organisational structure where one core team has visibility and clear ownership of the whole strategy is essential. This team can rise above competing agendas, using customer data and insights to join the dots across channels to create a complete picture of the customer journey. This will put them in a strong position to decide on where, when and how they should advertise or direct market to customers.
Working with an external provider that can integrate across customer touch points can also help facilitate multichannel execution and create seamless engagements. For example, Zeta Interactive can mobilise customer insight across technology, data analytics, strategy, and creative to help organisations capitalise on the multichannel opportunity, with a relatively low demand on integration or heavy infrastructure developments.
Businesses cannot afford to ignore the impact that silos have on their organisations, and most importantly on the experience they are providing to the customer. By taking a little time to make sure the right teams and processes are in place, brands stand to capture the huge benefits on offer from engaging with customers seamlessly across every channel – both in terms of driving loyalty and ultimately increasing sales to boost their bottom line.
Zeta Interactive is a digital marketing and smart data company helping over 250 brands worldwide to acquire, grow and keep customers. It was recognised as one of the 50 most promising private companies by Forbes in 2014 and has featured three times in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management.
By Marise Treseder, Head of Marketing at Zeta Interactive
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