Editorial Articles

The majority of email marketers are now asked to perform cross-channel campaigns, according to a recent survey of over 150 email marketing professionals. Over 90 per cent of respondents say their role now includes mobile, social media and/or web channels. Social media is one of the most popular channels with 53 per cent already using it and another 21 per cent planning to before the end of this year.

Relevance is the key driver, but marketers struggle with measurement
Almost half of those questioned (45%) say relevance is the principal driver for cross-channel marketing campaigns. But, while marketing professionals recognise its importance, 48 per cent admit that they do not understand which channel generates the best results. The findings of the survey show that, while the majority of email marketers are using, designing and rolling out cross-channel campaigns, measurement is often disorganised and ad-hoc.

Lack of integration hampers understanding
Just 12% say they have the integrated systems to design, build, execute and report on cross-channel campaigns. Another 44 per cent say they are looking to integrate systems, showing integration is important. The survey highlights the disparity of marketing systems and processes in organisations, hampering marketers understanding of the effects of cross-channel marketing.

Integration essential to measurement
The survey warns that unless marketers can integrate systems to gain visibility into all of their marketing channels, they will be unable to measure campaigns effectively, and justify their impact to the rest of the business.

Top tips to enhancing integration
Responsys outlines five important considerations for email marketers looking to roll-out effective, integrated cross-channel campaigns:

1. Programme automation – promoting campaigns across multiple channels can be time-consuming. Automation based on engagement trigger points will enable cross-channel dialogues without the high costs of labour.

2. Cross-channel campaign management – matching content to customer preferences is a key part of a cross-channel campaign management. It’s not enough for marketers to just ‘know’ which customers will be interested in which offers. An integrated content strategy will enable you to get the best out of each channel, and see which channels are most effective.

3. Data model flexibility – effective cross-channel marketing depends on accurate data collected from multiple sources. Marketers need to be wary of tools that lock data into a predefined format, prohibiting them from adding personalisation to better communicate with customers and prospects as individuals.

4. Integration – integration between multiple sources of information, including web analytics, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, social networks and ecommerce platforms, is key to providing insights into customer behaviour and attributes. A single system that can handle the flow of data between the various sources is essential to effective data integration.

5. Reporting and analysis – cross-channel marketing adds a new set of reporting and analytics needs. It’s important your reporting system is easy to use and has the ability to generate reports that can be mapped back into the campaign metrics, so decisions can be made on facts, not just ‘gut feel’.

It’s clear that cross-channel marketing has developed rapidly in the past 12 to 18 months in a bid to drive relevance with customers and prospects. However failing to integrate channels means the majority of email marketing professionals are unable to measure and justify their campaigns to the business. Using channels with integration and measurement in mind, and managing campaigns from one single system, is sure to help marketers demonstrate the true impact of cross-channel marketing campaigns. 

Simon Robinson
Marketing & Alliances Director, EMEA, Responsys