Ecommerce success requires diverse multi-channel marketing strategies, beyond just SEO or paid ads. The vast array of platforms, tools, and tactics available for reaching customers today calls for businesses to take a broader, more connected approach with various touchpoints throughout the buyer’s journey.
Multi-channel or integrated marketing functions a bit like a well-coordinated sports team. Just as a team needs each player to work together to win, your marketing channels—such as social media, SEO, and paid ads—should complement each other for the best results.
Adopting an integrated marketing strategy that harmonizes various digital channels can drastically improve your marketing outcomes, as long as you ensure that each channel amplifies the others to create a unified and robust approach.
At its core, integrated marketing looks at the bigger picture at a higher level than channel-specific marketing. It ensures that all marketing efforts—SEO, social media, thought leadership, email, paid search, PR, and others—all work together to drive brand growth.
Multi-channel marketing is essentially the same as integrated marketing. It’s an approach that looks beyond isolated tactics to more effectively impact key business outcomes, usually tied to growth.
Think of it this way: each channel complements the other, creating a digital marketing ecosystem that drives success.
In fact, a Gartner study revealed that integrated marketing campaigns with four or more digital channels performed 300% better than dual-channel campaigns. Integrated marketing campaigns help build consumer trust in your company and its values while nurturing them through the funnel to conversion and beyond.
One of the most significant challenges in ecommerce marketing today is managing the growing number of digital marketing channels. As our VP of Strategy Nik Rajpal points out, businesses went from working six core channels to 15 in just a few years. Adopting a holistic marketing strategy that balances your best channels allows your business to stay competitive.
For example, your social ads can amplify your SEO efforts by boosting your brand awareness, which leads to increased organic traffic.
Relying solely on metrics like return on ad spend (ROAS) or rankings from just one channel is an outdated approach to measuring ecommerce marketing success. For instance, ROAS only measures the revenue generated from a specific ad campaign, not the overall impact of all marketing efforts.
A multi-channel strategy calls for a complete picture of how your audience engages across all your platforms. Metrics like your marketing efficiency ratio (MER), which measures the overall efficiency of all marketing, better indicate the success of a holistic marketing strategy.
A well-executed multi-channel marketing strategy doesn’t just drive sales—it enhances your customer experience.
You can create a seamless customer journey by unifying messaging and touchpoints across multiple channels. When potential customers encounter your brand across different platforms—whether search engines, social media, or email—it’s important to provide them with consistent, relevant messaging.
Consistency builds trust and recognition, critical to creating an engaging experience. It ensures that customers receive the ideal experience no matter where they engage with your business.
Additionally, holistic marketing helps to personalize interactions by gathering insights from various channels, empowering you to tailor your communication and offers according to customer preferences.
Implementing multi-channel marketing may seem complex, but the following steps will help you streamline the process for your ecommerce business:
Adopting a holistic marketing strategy is no longer optional—it is necessary if you want to succeed in today’s complex ecommerce landscape.
Start auditing your current marketing channels, optimizing your full customer journey, and focusing on metrics that reflect overall efficiency, like MER.
The result? A seamless, effective marketing machine that positions your ecommerce business for long-term success.
Ready to start? Evaluate your current plan and check out our recent webinar, Filling the Funnel: Modern Guide to Top-of-Funnel Marketing Strategies.
