Companies struggle to embed cross-channel approach to marketing

The majority of companies are focused on integrated marketing but many are still struggling to implement a truly cross-channel approach, according to new research.

The third annual Cross-Channel Marketing Report, published by Econsultancy in association with Oracle Marketing Cloud, has found that two-thirds of responding companies (67%) agree their ‘priority is for all key marketing activities to be integrated across channels’.

However, only two in five (43%) say they ‘understand customer journeys and adapt the channel mix accordingly’, with fewer still having cross-functional teams (30%) or measuring the financial results of integrated marketing (19%).

The research, based on a survey of nearly 1,000 digital marketers and ecommerce professionals, revealed that orchestrated marketing activities are crucial for delivering individualised customer experience.

According to a fifth of respondents, the most important factors for success in this area are ‘a clearly defined strategy’ and ‘understanding of the customer journey’.

Only 7% of organisations say their organisations are ‘very much set up to deliver effectively orchestrated cross-channel marketing activities’, with almost half (49%) stating that they are geared up for this ‘to a certain extent’.

‘Lack of resources’ (22%) is the reason most commonly pinpointed to explain why companies can’t deliver orchestrated cross-channel marketing activities.

Simon Robinson, Senior Marketing and Alliances Director EMEA, Oracle Marketing Cloud, commented: “The Econsultancy Cross-Channel Marketing Report 2014 shows that companies understand that the key to delivering an effective campaign lies in achieving a better understanding of the customer journey. However, less than half believe they are successfully monitoring the customer journey in order to inform their approach.

“Keeping the customer ‘switched on’ to your brand message is more challenging than ever before and this sentiment is highlighted in the report. Almost a quarter of companies (21%) questioned believe that the customer journey is the singular most important factor for a successful campaign.”

Other findings from the report include:

Half (51%) of companies agree that they ‘focus on the customer not the campaign’ compared to 29% who disagree.

Less than a third (30%) of companies have ‘cross-functional / cross-silo teams to facilitate integrated marketing’, and only 19% have ‘measured the financial results of conducting cross-channel or integrated marketing’.

The focus of marketers continues to shift from traditional to digital marketing channels, with website (53%), email (46%), SEO (38%) and social media marketing (36%) most likely to be among companies’ top-three priorities for the year ahead.

Just over three-quarters of client-side respondents (76%) say they have a mobile strategy in place, up from 60% last year.

The proportion of companies who say they are more ‘focused on acquisition’ has shrunk from 44% to 40%. The proportion of marketers who agree that it is ‘cheaper to retain than acquire a customer’ has increased from 70% last year to 82% this year.

Get this report

The full report is available on the Econsultancy website here: 

econsultancy.com/reports/cross-channel-marketing

The guide is available to Econsultancy subscribers, or on a pay-per-view basis.