Marketers use an average of 10 channels to attract customers
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 5:45 am
According to Salesforce's latest annual State of Marketing report, marketers around the world rely on a wide range of "tried and trusted channels" to reach customers. On average, they use 10 different channels.
There are 4 key channels that are used by at least 9 out of 10 respondents:
Social networks (93%)
For example, marketers can use VKontakte to distribute ghana b2b leads content and engage with audiences on social media. They also create attractive websites and mobile apps so customers can learn about products and make purchases. Digital advertising, such as banners and search ads, helps them reach a wide audience, while email newsletters allow them to maintain personal contact with their customer base.
Websites/Apps (91%)
According to the report, websites and mobile apps are among the key channels used by marketers, with 91% of respondents using them.
Websites play an important role in an integrated marketing approach. They serve:
The brand's calling card
The website is the first thing most potential customers encounter. It forms the first impression of the company, its products and values.
Content platform
Marketers post various content on the site - from information about products and services to expert articles and videos. This helps attract organic traffic and demonstrate brand expertise.
Channel for e-commerce
Many companies integrate online sales capabilities into their websites, allowing customers to make purchases directly.
Source of user data
Websites collect valuable information about visitor behavior - which pages they view, how long they spend, what they add to their shopping cart. This helps marketers better understand their customers.
The link between online and offline
Websites can serve as an "entry point" for further interaction with customers, such as through in-store contact, calls to a call center, or newsletter subscriptions.
Digital advertising (90%)
Digital advertising is a wide range of advertising formats that are placed in the online environment. Some of the most popular types of digital advertising that are actively used by marketers include:
Search Engine Advertising (SEM)
Ads displayed in search engine results (Google, Yandex, etc.) in response to user queries. This format helps attract targeted traffic.
Display advertising
Banners, videos and other visual advertising materials placed on third-party websites and applications. Effective for increasing brand awareness.
Targeted advertising in social networks
Advertising posts and ads shown to social media users (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) based on their profile and behavior. Helps to accurately reach the target audience.
Native advertising
Advertising materials integrated into the natural content of a website or application, looking like organic publications. Increases audience loyalty.
Remarketing
Displaying ads to users who have previously visited the company's website or interacted with its content. Reminds them of the brand and encourages them to take the target action.
Email Marketing (90%)
Some of the main ways to use email marketing are:
Newsletters
Regularly sending subscribers information about new products, promotions, useful content and other important company updates.
Personalized campaigns
Create customized offers, reminders and other messages based on each customer's behavior and preferences.
Automated trigger emails
Automatically send emails in response to certain user actions, such as abandoned carts, birthdays, anniversaries.
Transactional messages
Send emails related to specific customer actions, such as order confirmations, shipment notifications, and more.
Re-engagement campaigns
Attempts to re-engage inactive subscribers by offering them special offers or encouraging them to engage with the brand again.
While all of the most used channels are digital, many marketers also use traditional methods such as direct mail/print advertising (80%) and events/sponsorships (76%). Notably, only 56% use organic search, despite it being the leading way consumers learn about brands.
Overall, nearly 8 in 10 (78%) marketers are satisfied with their cross-channel customer engagement. High performers (32%) are far more likely than low performers (22%) to report complete satisfaction with their marketing results.
Marketers rely on a variety of data sources to better understand their customers and engage them as much as possible. The most widely used data sources are consumer data (84%), first-party data (84%), and transactional data (84%). Less than half (61%) use third-party data, down from 75% at the end of 2022.
Personalization is also a key priority, especially in first-party channels such as mobile messaging (57% with full personalization), email marketing (54%), and social media (52%). High-performing companies, on average, have twice as many channels with full personalization compared to low-performing companies (6 vs. 3, respectively).
However, there is room for improvement in data availability and source integration. Only 44% of marketers can independently obtain real-time data, and 31% are completely satisfied with their ability to integrate customer data sources.
There are 4 key channels that are used by at least 9 out of 10 respondents:
Social networks (93%)
For example, marketers can use VKontakte to distribute ghana b2b leads content and engage with audiences on social media. They also create attractive websites and mobile apps so customers can learn about products and make purchases. Digital advertising, such as banners and search ads, helps them reach a wide audience, while email newsletters allow them to maintain personal contact with their customer base.
Websites/Apps (91%)
According to the report, websites and mobile apps are among the key channels used by marketers, with 91% of respondents using them.
Websites play an important role in an integrated marketing approach. They serve:
The brand's calling card
The website is the first thing most potential customers encounter. It forms the first impression of the company, its products and values.
Content platform
Marketers post various content on the site - from information about products and services to expert articles and videos. This helps attract organic traffic and demonstrate brand expertise.
Channel for e-commerce
Many companies integrate online sales capabilities into their websites, allowing customers to make purchases directly.
Source of user data
Websites collect valuable information about visitor behavior - which pages they view, how long they spend, what they add to their shopping cart. This helps marketers better understand their customers.
The link between online and offline
Websites can serve as an "entry point" for further interaction with customers, such as through in-store contact, calls to a call center, or newsletter subscriptions.
Digital advertising (90%)
Digital advertising is a wide range of advertising formats that are placed in the online environment. Some of the most popular types of digital advertising that are actively used by marketers include:
Search Engine Advertising (SEM)
Ads displayed in search engine results (Google, Yandex, etc.) in response to user queries. This format helps attract targeted traffic.
Display advertising
Banners, videos and other visual advertising materials placed on third-party websites and applications. Effective for increasing brand awareness.
Targeted advertising in social networks
Advertising posts and ads shown to social media users (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) based on their profile and behavior. Helps to accurately reach the target audience.
Native advertising
Advertising materials integrated into the natural content of a website or application, looking like organic publications. Increases audience loyalty.
Remarketing
Displaying ads to users who have previously visited the company's website or interacted with its content. Reminds them of the brand and encourages them to take the target action.
Email Marketing (90%)
Some of the main ways to use email marketing are:
Newsletters
Regularly sending subscribers information about new products, promotions, useful content and other important company updates.
Personalized campaigns
Create customized offers, reminders and other messages based on each customer's behavior and preferences.
Automated trigger emails
Automatically send emails in response to certain user actions, such as abandoned carts, birthdays, anniversaries.
Transactional messages
Send emails related to specific customer actions, such as order confirmations, shipment notifications, and more.
Re-engagement campaigns
Attempts to re-engage inactive subscribers by offering them special offers or encouraging them to engage with the brand again.
While all of the most used channels are digital, many marketers also use traditional methods such as direct mail/print advertising (80%) and events/sponsorships (76%). Notably, only 56% use organic search, despite it being the leading way consumers learn about brands.
Overall, nearly 8 in 10 (78%) marketers are satisfied with their cross-channel customer engagement. High performers (32%) are far more likely than low performers (22%) to report complete satisfaction with their marketing results.
Marketers rely on a variety of data sources to better understand their customers and engage them as much as possible. The most widely used data sources are consumer data (84%), first-party data (84%), and transactional data (84%). Less than half (61%) use third-party data, down from 75% at the end of 2022.
Personalization is also a key priority, especially in first-party channels such as mobile messaging (57% with full personalization), email marketing (54%), and social media (52%). High-performing companies, on average, have twice as many channels with full personalization compared to low-performing companies (6 vs. 3, respectively).
However, there is room for improvement in data availability and source integration. Only 44% of marketers can independently obtain real-time data, and 31% are completely satisfied with their ability to integrate customer data sources.