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.
