Multichannel marketing is no longer something that a brand can avoid. In today’s world, consumers use a multitude of online platforms, usually engaging with multiple platforms on multiple devices. Brands and companies that aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity to connect with consumers across multiple channels are far less likely to run effective marketing campaigns than those that do.
However, multichannel marketing is challenging to implement, and a lack of funding and resources often prevents brands from doing it right. Let’s dive into some statistics about the benefits and challenges of multichannel marketing.
Top Multichannel Marketing Statistics: Editor’s Choice
- The average number of channels marketers use is four.
- Over 90% of companies with revenues over $500 million use digital video to market to consumers.
- Companies with an effective multichannel strategy can retain 89% of customers.
- About 21% of marketers claim that a lack of investment in marketing tools prevents them from implementing multichannel marketing campaigns.
- Over 90% of retail brands use more than two social media channels.
- About 72% of people would like to connect with brands through multiple channels.
- Less than 10% of companies engage with consumers across multiple channels consistently.
- Only 14% of organizations run coordinated multichannel marketing campaigns.
General Multichannel Marketing Statistics
Most brands understand the importance of marketing to users across multiple channels, and many are attempting to do so. They use at least two and often three or four channels to connect with consumers. Brands that use multichannel marketing generate a higher ROI, with a 10% YOY increase attributed to multichannel marketing campaigns.
1. Around 95% of marketers understand the importance of multichannel marketing.
According to multichannel marketing statistics, approximately 95% of marketers understand that multichannel marketing is important for targeting consumers, but only 73% have a plan in place for multichannel marketing. About 87% of retailers say that multichannel marketing is critical to their success.
2. Over 90% of retail brands use more than two social media channels.
About 91% of retail brands use at least two social media channels as part of their marketing strategy, and about 58% of all retail brands use no fewer than eight channels (social media and otherwise) to interact with customers and potential clients.
3. The average number of channels marketers use is four.
Multichannel market data shows that most companies understand that the more channels you use to reach customers, the more customers you can reach. On average, about 52% of companies use three or four channels to market to consumers. However, some use as many as eight.
4. Over 90% of companies with revenues over $500 million use digital video to market to consumers.
Digital video has become the number one method companies with revenues of over $500 million use to market to potential customers. Digital video is a form of content marketing, which 60% of brands consider to be a significant part of their marketing strategies, according to multichannel marketing statistics for 2022.
5. When measuring the success of a multichannel marketing campaign, companies consider data accuracy to be the factor of the highest importance.
About 73% of companies believe that data accuracy is the most important factor in measuring the effectiveness of a multichannel marketing campaign. The other two important factors are understanding audience needs (70%) and branding (58%).
6. Half of multichannel marketers say they usually hit their financial targets.
Around 50% of marketers who run multichannel campaigns say they either always or usually hit their financial targets, which is what channel sales statistics confirm. Companies with a strong multichannel presence see an almost 10% year-over-year ROI increase, compared to a 3.4% increase for companies without a strong multichannel strategy.
7. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of marketing channels increased by 77%.
The pandemic has affected the number of channels marketers use to engage with customers. Instead of using three to four channels, 77% of companies have started using five or six channels. Multichannel marketing trends for 2022 indicate that about 63% of companies use fewer than three channels, and 74% use more than six channels to reach consumers.
8. Email is one of the most used marketing channels.
Direct email is still the most effective marketing tool available, according to most marketers. About 90% of brands use it in their marketing campaigns. Social media is next, with 84% of brands utilizing it, followed by live and virtual events like tradeshows and webinars.
Challenges of Multichannel Digital Marketing
Even though it’s effective, multichannel marketing has its challenges. It requires time, resources, and proper tools. According to multichannel digital marketing statistics, marketers looking to implement multichannel strategies must be technologically fluent and skilled with sometimes complicated automation systems and data analysis.
9. Less than 10% of companies engage with consumers across multiple channels consistently.
There are over 20 channels available to marketers to engage with customers, but managing marketing effectively across multiple channels means picking a few and sticking to them. Only about 9% of companies successfully engage with customers across multiple channels consistently, global multichannel marketing statistics show.
10. Lack of time and resources is one of the major reasons that marketers don’t run multichannel campaigns.
About 23% of marketers say that lack of time and resources is a major obstacle when it comes to running multichannel marketing campaigns. Another 11% agree that running a multichannel marketing campaign is a daunting task.
11. Almost 60% of marketers believe that creating video content is challenging.
Despite being the number one way that companies with large revenues do content marketing, video is still challenging to make, according to a channel marketer report. About 46% of marketers believe it to be the most effective form of content. However, 59% believe that developing video content is very challenging.
12. Only 14% of organizations run coordinated multichannel marketing campaigns.
Very few companies run coordinated marketing campaigns across multiple channels. Less than 15% report doing so, and only 30% of marketers are very confident in their ability to deliver a multichannel strategy.
13. Companies with an effective multichannel strategy in place are able to retain 89% of customers.
Channel marketing in connection to sales shows that multichannel marketing is effective, with consumers spending about 13% more on a purchase after doing online research and 10% more after being reached via a multichannel marketing campaign. Good multichannel marketing strategies can retain almost 90% of customers.
14. Not knowing how to run multichannel campaigns prevents 21% of marketers from implementing them.
Running a multichannel marketing campaign requires a degree of technical skill that some marketers don’t have. An effective campaign relies on tools like email automation and other types of software. Marketers who don’t understand how to use these tools are unable to run effective campaigns.
15. About 21% of marketers claim that a lack of investment in marketing tools prevents them from implementing multichannel marketing campaigns.
Along with a lack of skills, time, and resources, the biggest hurdle that marketers face in developing campaigns is a lack of investment in marketing tools (21%) and board-level buy-in (23%).
The Importance of Multichannel Marketing and Consumer Behavior
What do consumers think of multichannel marketing? B2B multichannel marketing statistics show that consumers are happy to engage with a brand across multiple channels. In fact, many would prefer to do it that way. Consumers today are savvy and want to do a lot of research before purchasing. Much of multichannel marketing is simply reaching those consumers with enough information across various channels to help them make a buying decision.
16. Around 67% of B2B consumers do research before making a buying decision.
According to omnichannel marketing statistics, B2B buyers are savvy, with 67% of them doing some kind of online research before purchasing. Of those who buy, about 64% read between two and five pieces of content online before buying.
B2B marketing statistics also show that B2B customers base their buying decisions on their direct or indirect customer experience.
17. 72% of consumers would like to connect with brands through multiple channels.
Over 70% of people would rather connect with a branch through multichannel marketing than a single channel. Considering that 98% of Americans switch between multiple devices every day, and 72% of adults prefer digital communication with companies, this isn’t hard to believe.
18. Over 70% of customers like to shop on more than one channel.
Multichannel marketing trends indicate that 73% of people engage with brands across multiple channels. About 86% of consumers regularly switch between two channels while shopping and 25% have bought things from a brand’s online store while standing in the company’s physical store.
19. Most users have an average of about 5.5 social media accounts.
It’s no wonder that multichannel marketing is so effective when you consider that the average internet user has over five social media accounts. Businesses that manage to engage with their customers online outperform those that can’t.
20. Over 80% of people use their smartphones to assist them with in-store shopping.
While more and more people use ecommerce to buy things, it’s not the only way. Omnichannel marketing research shows that about 82% of people have been observed using their phones while inside brick-and-mortar stores to help them make a purchase.
The difference between omnichannel marketing vs. multichannel marketing is that omnichannel uses all available channels to reach consumers, while multichannel uses a select number of channels.
Multichannel Marketing Trends: The Takeaway
Multichannel marketing is an effective and necessary tool for any brand hoping to form long-lasting relationships with its customers. A company must be prepared to find consumers “where they’re at,” and that often means reaching out to them through different platforms including email, social media, live events, webinars, and direct mail.
Although multichannel marketing can be challenging to execute well, there’s no doubt that investing in it is a smart move.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is multichannel marketing effective?
Yes, companies with strong multichannel marketing strategies have seen a larger increase in their year-over-year returns than those without them. Companies with strong multichannel strategies usually see about a 9.5% YOY return, while companies without said strategies see around 3.5%. Multichannel strategies have also been shown to be more effective at retaining customers, with 89% of loyal customers gained through multichannel marketing methods.
What companies use multichannel marketing?
There are thousands of companies today using multichannel marketing strategies—too many to list here. Some companies that have very effective multichannel marketing techniques include Apple, Starbucks, Disney, Under Armor, and Bank of America. These companies all use multichannel marketing in different ways—to enable customer education, drive customer loyalty, or personalize user experience.
Are multichannel customers really more valuable?
Multichannel customers have been known to spend between 10–13% more on purchases than other customers. They often do a lot of research online before purchasing. Additionally, consumers now switch between multiple channels and devices in a day, meaning that the opportunity to engage with them increases if you have multichannel marketing strategies in place.
How is multichannel marketing measured?
There are several ways to measure the success of a multichannel campaign. The simplest and most obvious way of doing this is to track the ROI of each campaign and each channel. This requires tracking the campaign from its start and then analyzing data collected from the channel. Another method is to focus on attribution—that means evaluating all the touchpoints that a user may have encountered on the way to making a purchase. Conversion rate, cart abandonment rate, and customer retention rate are also ways of tracking multichannel effectiveness, according to multichannel marketing statistics.
Sources
E-Commerce Germany, Gurus Coach, Passive Secrets, The Pipeline
