Integrated Marketing

Using integrated marketing to drive positive customer experience outcomes

In today’s increasingly fragmented landscape, it’s more important than ever for marketers to go the extra mile to reach customers and/or prospects using a wide variety of channels. It’s no longer sufficient to only have, say, an email list or an in-store attraction. All of your marketing operations must now work together in order to drive the customer experience.

A major challenge for most modern companies is coordinating marketing activity across all platforms in a uniform, centralized manner. A consumer might get product information while browsing on their phone, then order from their desktop. This may seem like two separate consumers, but in reality it’s just one person taking two different approaches. Businesses have to account for this and understand the chain of events at hand.

Truly integrated marketing tracks all of these steps down the path to purchase across all of your marketing channels. It enables you to sync up all of your various marketing actions, ensuring that no duplicate messages are being sent. Furthermore, a full integration of your marketing means that your prospects will receive the right message at the right time. This is essential to optimizing the customer experience for all of your consumer base — not just those who are ready to buy right now.

Integrating Across Multiple Channels
Integrated marketing is about more than simply having the ability to market to consumers in multiple ways. This marketing must be carefully coordinated across every channel, resulting in a fully cohesive campaign that inspires customers rather than alienating them. Integrated marketing should incorporate, at a minimum, the following five marketing channels:

  • Email
  • Text messages (SMS)
  • Mobile
  • Print (offline marketing)
  • Landing pages

Each of these should have a unique call to action that moves the customer along their journey. For instance, a print ad might contain a call to action that drives prospects to a personalized landing page that contains a targeted offer specifically for each prospect — thus generating a truly personalized customer experience.

Strategic Capabilities of an Integrated Marketing Platform
One of the most important aspects of any integrated marketing initiative is software to  provide infrastructure for the campaign  This software tracks data and keeps the marketing organized, allowing marketers to tailor messages for consumers at various steps on the path to purchase.
Integrated marketing software should have the following functionality:

  • Lead Scoring: The ability to quantify the best leads that your marketing should focus on
  • Lead Lifecycle Staging: Shows which stage of the buyer’s journey a given customer is in
  • Segmentation: Divides consumers into groups based on their demographics, buying habits or any other criteria
  • Database Quality Building: Ensures the quality of the data that populates your marketing database

Tactical Capabilities
Integrated marketing platforms must move beyond data analytics. These platforms must also help you to plan out and execute your marketing campaigns. An effective integrated marketing software package will assist with the following:

  • Campaign Creation: Facilitates the organization and execution of new marketing campaigns
  • Asset Building: Compiles and stores content in a centralized database. The content can then be utilized for several different campaigns and audience segments
  • List Building: Stores the email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses of your customer base
  • Reporting and Analytics: See how your campaigns are doing and how you can better reach your desired audience

Tracking consumers across many devices and phases can be a challenge for modern marketers. The importance of staying organized in the face of these challenges can’t be understated. The use of software, especially marketing automation software, is invaluable in terms keeping all of your marketing efforts on track. For more information about how an integrated marketing platform can help you, check out Experiture’s integrated marketing software.