What does cross channel mean?
Cross channel is the opposite of multi channel.
- Multi channel means that you sell your products through several channels. This could be a webshop and a physical shop. The webshop and the shop do not work together, they each have their own business idea, management, departments and employees who work in their own way.
- Cross channel means that you sell your products through multiple channels. This could be a webshop and a physical store. The webshop and the shop work together, they have the same business idea, management, departments and employees who work in a similar way.
Do you already have a shop and a webshop today? Then think about whether they work together. If they don't, you'd be wise to start now. Otherwise you risk angry customers, bad publicity and lost sales. Because the vast majority of all consumers today, expect cross channel.
This means that your company must be able to offer the same products, at the same price and with the same service, no matter how they contact you.
Examples of cross channel
Examples of Cross channel:
- If a customer buys a gift card from you in your store, he/she should also be able to use it online.
- If a customer buys some trousers from your webshop, he/she should be able to exchange them, both in your shop and via the webshop.
In other words, cross-channel means that all trade between your business and customer is conducted on the same terms, regardless of which channel is used.
What is cross channel marketing?
Cross channel marketing is again the opposite of multichannel marketing. Although for many, it may be hard to see the difference, as both advertise on multiple channels, it is there!
For cross-channel marketing, marketing activities interact. All marketing activities are carefully tailored to each customer, with the aim of giving a sense that the company is marketing itself personally and with one identity.
Knowledge about the potential customer from one channel is applied to the other channels. Therefore, each message can strongly lead to the next message until the potential customer decides to buy a product.
So this is looking at the customer journey through the customer's eyes - how a mix of messages and channels can create the best interaction, across the board, that gives a greater chance of sale.
