Don't create a meal of multi-channel promoting

This month John Lewis launched a new multi-channel marketing campaign geared toward promoting its new-look luxury women wear department. For many little and medium businesses, however, marketing across completely different channels will be a challenge. Here are a few suggestions to assist target the requirements. They won’t make it as straightforward as slicing bread, but they can facilitate maximise the effectiveness of multi-channel communication, and help place bread on the table.

1. Be consistent

For a variety of reasons, partly historical and technical, different promoting channels area unit usually handled severally, and sometimes by fully {different|totally completely different|completely different} individuals with different talent sets. Often, conventional promoting such as advertising and junk could also be handled in-house, and hi-tech promoting could be outsourced.

To be most effective, it’s important to keep the disapproval and electronic messaging consistent across all channels. Make certain that through web content and emails to written advertising and leaflets you maintain constant look and feel, with consistent messaging and corresponding calls to action. Don’t confuse the customer however be concise , be direct, and be memorable.

2. Co-ordinate

Make certain that ideas, plans and results from each channel feed into the others, and that lessons learned through one channel can inform future plans for all.

Think rigorously concerning temporal order. You may need to embark all of your communications quickly, for maximum impact, or stagger them, for more sustained result. Before throwing everything at one strategy, try some small-scale tests and live the result.

3. Pay attention to detail

More channels mean additional work, and the temptation is to chop corners, but assumption is the mother of the many mistakes.

Make a list of the key parts that ought to seem throughout the campaign, and check systematically that they area unit enclosed in each communication. Add them to regular communications like letters and email signatures. Rope in family and friends to help with things like proof-reading and testing web content. Use financial inducements, free samples and offers of beer where necessary!

4. Track with caution

Do track each channel severally, with unique landing pages, response codes, 0845 numbers etc. But take the individual results with a pinch of salt, and judge on the basis of the campaign. Some channels will be more practical than others at triggering an instantaneous measurable response, but judgement the overall contribution of every one over time is notoriously tough.