Study Reveals Marketers Still Not Practicing True Integration

Despite what came out of the State of Marketing Report from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, where 57% of marketers said they were all about driving top-line growth via highly interactive (and highly relevant) dialogues across multiple channels, reaching across social, digital, and traditional media channels, it would appear many marketers are still not practicing what they are preaching as according to the study from cross-channel commerce solution provider CrossView, many retailers and marketers still think being cross-channel is as simple as offering in-store pickup for ecommerce sales.

Yikes…

Mark Fodor, the CEO of CrossView says the bricks-and-mortar stores like Sears, Best Buy and Target “get it” when it comes to multichannel marketing integration and that there is clearly an opportunity for all retailers to utilize integrated marketing but the problem lies in the “s” word… “The opportunity for merchants to become more cross-channel is there, but they need to learn how to communicate with their customers across channels and not fall into silos,” Fodor says.

Catch the “s” word? How many organizations be they B2B or B2C are hamstrung by “silo-ed” departments, with one department not knowing what the other is doing yet each trying to increase sales from the same customer?

Of course silos are nothing new in terms trying to get to that integrated happy medium… look at this chart from June, 2010 in eMarketer…

“Organizational structure” sure sounds a lot like silos to me, doesn’t it?

And the findings from the CrossView survey paint a continuing bleak picture for fans of marketing integration…

  • Only 12% of retailers could access a customer’s pending web order in the store
  • 60% had inconsistency across in-store and online promotions
  • 56% of retailers displayed ratings and reviews on their website and O
  • Only 52% use collaborative filtering, which provides tailored recommendations to customers

As any frequent visitor here knows, I am a huge proponent of integrated or multichannel marketing strategies. I mean I didn’t write Why An Integrated Marketing Strategy Is Vital To Success for the hell of it… I meant it and I believe it. There are consumers who use the Internet. There are consumers who do not, believe it or not, use the Internet. And there are consumers who use both. Wouldn’t it be nice if the same integrated message was used to reach all of them?

But wait, there is some hope in the integrated marketing strategy world…

Google Analytics Multi-Channel Funnels – Great Improvement for Tracking Conversions

The aforementioned headline says it all… In the past, marketers, businesses, etc., have been able to see only the last click, the last source that brought the conversion for their website. With multi-channel funnels they now will be able to see the entire path that leads to the conversion and give them more insight into their customers and their online behavior before they make a purchase, and this way they will be able to target the best course of action and promotion methods to increase their online conversions.

Initially offered to a limited audience, Google is offering a Google Analytics Multi-Channel Funnels to everyone and have set up a Webinar to learn learn more. Click here for more info.

Source: multichannelmerchant.com, The Star Group, Marketers Still Not Integrating Their Marketing Strategy