7 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Cross-Channel Marketing

Introduction

Although cross-channel marketing might sound daunting, its concept is relatively straightforward. Whereas multi-channel advertising uses multiple ways to connect to an audience, cross-channel takes these numerous ways to deliver a more connected audience experience. No matter which channel they cross into, your audience will remain on one seamless route.

There are many benefits to cross-channel marketing. With proper setup, it can bring further interaction, enhanced insights, and a more robust brand. To reap the full benefits of this strategy, here are seven of the most common errors in cross-channel marketing that you should avoid:

1-Inconsistent Messages

Although it's elementary advice, many brands commit the error of inconsistent messages. No matter which search engine people use to find you, or on which social media platform they see your ad, it's essential to keep your message consistent.

It's still important to tailor your message to reflect each platform and reflect the mindset and demographics of your target audience of each platform. However, your ads on these platforms shouldn't offer conflicting information. Don't offer different promotional values, such as "10% off" per one platform and "15% off" per another.

2-Offering the Same Promotions on Every Channel

Each platform carries its unique personality, just like your audience. Which means if your ad performs successfully on one platform but not on another, the second platform might require a different offer rather than a change in your message or layout. Investigate which promotions interest your audience from each platform to get the best results from each.

It's not unexpected to have great results with bottom-funnel conversions such as demo or sales inquiries through one platform but poor results from another. Consider alternative conversion methods you could use for reaping benefits through the underperforming one.

3-Setting Up Identical KPIs for All Channels

Every channel in cross-channel marketing requires its own target and KPI, as your click-through rates will vary per platform. Likewise, your targeted costs per conversion will also differ. If your Facebook leads are of lesser quality than those in your LinkedIn campaign, your Facebook cost per action might be lower. On the other hand, you might be happy to allocate a larger budget for LinkedIn, considering its superior results.

This also applies to your Return-on-Ad-Spend and lifetime value. Don't just consider your present goals for individual channels, but if doable, plan each channel's whole value and adjust its corresponding KPI.

4-Having an Inflexible Budget

Your budget might allot X amount for one channel, Y amount for another, and so on. It's okay to budget for each category. But any channel has the potential to dramatically rise above or fall below its average history of effectiveness. If you set your budget in stone, without monitoring a channel's everchanging efficiency and no flexibility to compensate for these changes, you stand to lose perfect marketing opportunities.

5-Developing Conflicting Retargeting

Should your marketing plan involve any online sales, it's important to link both the online and offline channels. A presence in both isn't enough, as customers expect a seamless connection between the two. They want to check online if a product is in stock before their visit, redeem an online coupon, use a digital or physical gift card, or make an online purchase that will be ready for in-store pickup.

Your final goal shouldn't be conversions limited to one platform. Sales should flow synchronously throughout all platforms, making each shoppable while merging digital traffic with in-store visits.

6-Not Tracking Through Google Analytics

Among the greatest difficulties for those starting a cross-channel marketing strategy is knowing what drives sales. Unless a business uses only one channel, it isn't easy to actually know what drives sales. Although each platform has its way of tracking, it often over credits itself. It's not just due to the platform wanting to indicate its worth but also because of a technological inability to validate results from the other platforms.

Because of this, it's critical for a third-party Source of Truth to verify the sources of your cross-channel sales. Google Analytics is the best known and most straightforward choice. Despite Google having its own ad platform, the Google Analytics tool is impartial when tracking.

Each target created through Google Analytics will have an attribution based on a last non-direct click model. This means, aside from a visit directly from the site, whichever channel initiated the click just before the conversion will get the conversion credit.

While setting up your cross-channel strategy, don't omit the section for tracking setup. Ensure all your platforms are constantly tracked in the analytics, enabling you to arrive at informed optimization decisions.

7-Disregarding Non-conversions

It would be nice if all channels resulted in a direct conversion, but they don't. Most times, multiple channels work together to direct your audience to conversion. This is the object of cross-channel advertising. As a result, it's crucial to determine the part each platform plays and at what phase. The Google Analytics' Assisted Conversions report will display the number of conversions each of your channels or campaigns assisted in, whether or not they were the last non-direct click.

Another analysis can be located in the Top Conversion Path Reports, found in Google Analytics' Multi-Channel Funnel. There you'll see all the unique paths leading to the conversion, the number of each path's conversions, and the conversions' value.

Conclusion

To avoid mistakes in cross-channel marketing:

1. Make sure your marketing are messages are consistent and factual.
2. Have your advertising accommodate your audience expectations throughout every channel.
3. Develop unique targets and KPIs for each channel.
4. Plan your budget with flexibility in your allocations.
5. When tracking, use a Single Source of Truth.
6. Be consistent when retargeting audiences.
7. Observe the paths of every channel.

These guidelines can help you avoid these common cross-channel marketing mistakes.  By investing your time and effort in a well-thought-out strategy, cross-channel marketing can bring powerful conversions.