Quick definition: Cross-channel marketing is the ability for brands to connect with their customers across various communication channels, including email, social media, SMS, and mobile apps.
Key points to note:
- Cross-channel marketing allows brands to reach customers on the most relevant and preferred channels throughout the customer journey.
- Brands should avoid siloing their teams by channel to orchestrate cross-channel campaigns more effectively.
- Cross-channel marketing can help address issues with inconsistent messaging across different channels and over- or under-communication
This post will cover:
- What is cross-channel marketing?
- What is the difference between cross-channel marketing and multichannel marketing?
- What problems can a cross-channel strategy solve?
- What are the benefits of cross-channel marketing?
- How does a company launch a cross-channel marketing campaign?
- How can companies better understand how to reach their customers?
- How will cross-channel marketing continue to improve in the future?
What is cross-channel marketing?
Cross-channel marketing allows marketers to reach customers across different channels, including:
- Web
- Mobile
- Apps
- SMS
- Call center
- In-store
- Direct mail
The purpose of cross-channel marketing is not only to acquire new customers but also to continue the conversation with them across the channels they use throughout the customer lifecycle — all the way from acquisition to loyalty and retention. Marketers need to ensure they can create cross-channel experiences that are relevant to where the customer is in the buying journey.
The difference between cross-channel marketing and multichannel marketing.
Cross-channel marketing connects experiences on different channels across a single campaign. For example, if you created an online account with a brand, the next step in a cross-channel marketing strategy might be to send you an email. The goal of the campaign would be to make your onboarding experience more successful.
Multichannel marketing, on the other hand, is more general and less connected. A company may use multiple channels to interact with its customers, but these efforts typically occur across more than one campaign.
What problems can a cross-channel strategy solve?
Companies can sometimes send mixed messages to their customers. For example, they may send a 50 percent off coupon one day, followed by a 20 percent off coupon the next — resulting in a confusing and inconsistent customer experience. A cross-channel strategy prevents this by ensuring consistent communication across all channels.
In addition to mixed messages with content, the frequency of contact can lead to problems if teams are siloed. If a company can't track how each team is handling customer communications, it may end up sending a customer redundant or disordered emails and SMS messages, which can frustrate the customer and push them closer to unsubscribing.
What are the benefits of cross-channel marketing?
- Communicate on preferred channels with personalized offers.
- Increase conversions with engaging experiences.
- Deliver seamless interactions tailored to each stage of the journey.
- Differentiate messaging for new vs loyal customers.
- Gain deeper insights to respond in meaningful ways.
How does a company launch a cross-channel marketing campaign?
Launching a cross-channel marketing campaign requires strategic planning, starting with the right technology and a clear understanding of your customers, teams, and channels. Here's how to build a strong foundation:
1. Evaluate the current technology stack.
To get started, a marketing team needs to evaluate its technology stack. It’s not uncommon to see marketers using decades-old marketing technologies to communicate with their customers. For example, one team might use a platform to send mobile messages, while another uses a separate system for email, and so on. This approach is often unsuccessful because the marketing messages are inconsistent, off-brand, or fragmented. On top of that, the customer data remains siloed across these different systems.
2. Map technologies across all channels.
The first step for marketing teams is to understand what technology they're using for each channel. They also need to review team structures, because there could be different teams for email, mobile, and direct mail — and internal teams often don’t talk to each other.
3. Analyze customer data.
Companies need to evaluate how they think about their customer data. A customer might respond better to a direct mail campaign than an email campaign, but if the company’s technology is siloed, it won’t know that preference. Cross-channel marketers need to understand not only who their customers are, but also where they are in the journey and what channels they use. Marketers should ask: What channel will generate the highest conversion rate for a given customer segment?
4. Build a phased rollout approach.
Companies should approach cross-channel marketing in phases. They can start by identifying a few channels they want to improve or focus on. If they want to improve email campaigns, for example, they can begin by tailoring email content to where the customer is in the journey. And once that’s established, they can start adding additional channels that make the most sense for their audience as they advance their marketing maturity.
Cross-channel marketing examples.
Here are examples of how different industries could use cross-channel marketing to create cohesive customer experiences that drive results:
- Telecommunications: A telecom company sends an SMS inviting users to enter an online competition for free data. The link directs them to a landing page, followed by a personalized email with exclusive offers based on their browsing activity.
- Ecommerce: An online fashion retailer targets Instagram users with ads for a new collection. Shoppers who click are retargeted via email with cart reminders and a discount code, followed by in-app push notifications about similar items.
- B2B: A software company promotes a new whitepaper via LinkedIn ads. Once downloaded, the lead enters a nurture flow that includes email follow-ups, a personalized webinar invite, and an outreach call from sales — with each touchpoint reinforcing the same message.
- Healthcare: A healthcare provider emails patients about flu shot availability, follows up with SMS reminders to book appointments through its patient portal, and shares educational content on its mobile app and social channels.
- Retail: A department store sends loyalty members an in-app push notification for an exclusive in-store sale, follows up with an email coupon, and shares real-time updates via social media.
- Technology: A tech company announces a product launch via email, shares feature teasers on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn, delivers an in-app walkthrough for current users, and posts support articles for further education.
These cross-channel strategies deliver consistent, personalized experiences that increase engagement, loyalty, and performance across the customer journey.
How can companies better understand how to reach their customers?
Brands need to learn about their customers. They must not only identify who the customer is and how they interact with the brand, but also their demographic information, where they live, and what language they speak. For example, brands can track when a customer opens an email or interacts with a text notification and then use that information to figure out patterns.
How will cross-channel marketing continue to improve in the future?
Cross-channel marketing is rapidly evolving, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are at the center of its future. As of June 2025, AI is increasingly embedded into marketing platforms, enabling brands to deliver smarter, faster, and more personalized experiences across every touchpoint.
In the coming years, we’ll see major improvements in:
- Real-time personalization: AI will make it easier to deliver tailored messages instantly based on a user’s behavior, preferences, or location — whether they're browsing a website, opening an email, or using an app.
- Predictive customer journeys: Machine learning models will anticipate what content or channel a customer is most likely to engage with next, allowing marketers to adjust their strategies proactively.
- Automated content generation and optimization: Generative AI will assist in producing copy, images, and offers that are optimized for each channel and audience segment — saving time and improving performance.
- Unified customer profiles: Cross-channel data will be automatically consolidated and analyzed to give marketers a clearer picture of each customer, enabling seamless experiences across marketing, sales, and support.
Ultimately, AI will help brands be more responsive, data-driven, and customer-centric — turning cross-channel marketing into a truly real-time, adaptive discipline.
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Other glossary terms:
Customer Journey Orchestration
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FAQs
What is cross-platform marketing?
What is a cross-marketing strategy?
A cross-marketing strategy is a collaborative approach in which two or more businesses partner to promote each other’s products or services to their respective customer bases. This type of partnership helps all participants expand their reach, boost brand awareness, and drive increased sales by tapping into new and complementary audiences.
Example: A fitness apparel brand partners with a health supplement company to co-promote products through social media campaigns and email newsletters, reaching both brands’ customers with relevant offers.
What is a cross-channel sales strategy?
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