Customers deserve special treatment, and every marketer knows that. A 2020 study revealed that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience.

Note that today consumers want to be able to engage with you through any channel. Whether you're operating online or offline, they need to reach you at their convenience and get their problems solved. That's why cross-channel communications are essential for business success.

Discover why customer engagement is a top priority for every marketer and how to integrate offline and online marketing channels to increase your customer engagement here.

Why You Need Quality Customer Engagement

Customer engagement covers all interactions that happen between a brand and its customers to establish and maintain relationships. As it turns out, customer engagement is one of the most critical influencers of purchasing decisions. When people feel connected with your brand, they are more likely to choose it repeatedly.

Here are other reasons why customer engagement is essential to your business:

• Reducing customer loss

Customer satisfaction, customer experience, and effective listening are the three pillars of customer engagement and keys to retaining your customers. According to a Gallup study, businesses that successfully engage customers can increase customer loyalty by 25%.

Check Out Customer Engagement Best Practices & Examples for 2022

• Increased sales

The Gallup study mentioned earlier also revealed that marketers who implement successful customer engagement achieve 66% higher sales.

With better engagement, customers willingly share their burdens with marketers, who, in their turn, direct all their efforts to meet the consumers' needs.

• Streamlined sales processes

You're less than 20% likely to sell to a new customer. However, selling to an old customer is much easier since they're well acquainted with your business. When you build a loyal customer base for your business, conversion rates increase.

• Spreading success stories to potential customers

Word of mouth is an ancient form of marketing but still very effective. When you communicate with a customer correctly, they'll not just come back for another purchase. They'll also spread the word to other potential customers, who might turn into your leads.

With that in mind, let's see some of the marketing trends marketers employ to engage customers in 2022.

Current Marketing Trends

Here are some 2022 trends based on Hubspot's annual marketing trends report. These tendencies can guide your cross-channel customer engagement efforts and help you pick the right channels.

• Digitalization has been embraced by marketers more than ever.
• More marketers will invest in influencer marketing. 57% of marketing professionals that currently leverage influencer marketing say it's effective.
• Video is efficient, but lower attention spans mean that marketers will keep content short. More than 31% of global marketers currently invest in short-form video content.
• More businesses will use SEO to acquire search traffic.
• Virtual events will continue, but some brands will invest less.
• Inbound marketing will remain a best practice for growing brands.

Offline and Online Marketing Channels for Cross-Channel Customer Engagement Campaigns

Integrating online and offline strategies can be challenging without prior experience. Offline vs. online marketing channels require different approaches and may be difficult to align. You also should know what offline and online marketing channels attract the most customers and generate the best result. Here's an overview of the most popular options with explanations of when to use them.

Digital Marketing Distribution Channels

• Social media. Use social media to listen in and join conversations related to your industry or product.
• Email marketing. Send emails to engage with customers through friendly reminders and newsletters.
• Push notifications. Integrate push notifications into your app to keep customers engaged, but DON'T overuse them. A timely notification on their screens can make customers return to an app.
• Content marketing and SEO. Optimized landing pages, product pages, and blog posts gather Google traffic. You can use insights from these channels to improve customer experience.
• Paid advertising. Paid advertising puts your company at the top of the search results for a specific keyword through Google's advertising.

Offline Marketing Channel Communications Systems:

• Direct mail marketing. A personalized postcard in the mailbox will always grab the customer's attention. Use direct mail strategies such as tailored postcards to connect with customers personally. Letters, newsletters, catalogs, and flyers are other popular marketing mail options.

Learn When to Use USPS Marketing Mail?

• Call centers. Customers must be able to reach you via phone whenever they have a question or concern about your product. Be sure to launch professional customer support to provide an immediate response.
• Events. Participate in seminars and trade fairs or organize your own events to engage with prospects and existing customers.

How to Combine Offline and Online Marketing Channels

With the advent of digital marketing, it's easy to overlook the power of traditional marketing channels like direct mail. These channels still have a role in your marketing strategy, and integrating online and offline strategies can drive greater results.

You will need to build a workflow for your marketing campaigns using automation tools to manage all customer interactions and track the results over time.

Here are some essential tips for building a workflow for your marketing campaigns.

Evaluate All Marketing Channels

Study all offline vs. online marketing channels carefully. Look for the pros and cons of each channel. Assess the amount of time, work, and investment required to see results and decide if that fits your business.

Perform Market Research and Choose the Best Channels

Where do your customers spend the most time? That's where you need to be. Whether offline or online, your customers have their favorite channels. Combine this market research with your evaluation to pick the right touchpoints for your marketing campaigns.

Develop a Marketing Strategy and Plan a Budget

After choosing channels, you must develop a plan and a budget for your campaigns. You will need to answer the following questions to finalize the strategy:

• When should you use a specific channel?
• How often should you use each channel?
• How do you create and reuse content that you can share across multiple channels on your list?

Choose Automation Tools

You need automation tools to integrate offline and online marketing channels and synchronize them. For instance, modern software like Inkit Send allows you to automate direct mail communications and make them trigger-based. As a result, customers will receive marketing mail based on their previous activities. It makes every mailing highly relevant.

Apart from mail automation software, you will also need a CRM and additional solutions that automate the channels you use.

Inkit Send for Trigger-Based Direct Mail Automation

Your direct mail campaigns are in good hands with the leading mail automation tool – Inkit Send. Inkit Send API automates your direct mail campaigns, from printing to delivery and tracking. It smoothly integrates with other software you use to make mailings personalized and trigger-based.

With Inkit Send, your marketing team no longer has to manage manual tasks. Instead, they get the time they need to do what they do best – gaining new customers.

Check out the functionality of Send here or get a free version to test it.