Out of whack: 5 signs your marketing channels are not aligned

When we say 'marketing', we could mean a bunch of things... or like, literally everything.

Most organizations find themselves managing a growing number of platforms, and wanting to perform better on each and every platform too—from social media and email to content marketing and paid advertising. This is why the 'general marketer' is becoming a role of the past, and specific roles or teams are introduced for some real good multi-channel marketing.

But that's where the potential problem of marketing misalignment comes in. 😱

In this post, we're going to cover the 5 signs your marketing channels are not aligned (and how to fix it).

5 signs your marketing channels aren't aligned

1. Inconsistent brand presentation

   
   When your LinkedIn content is cleaning UP with vibey content... but your email newsletters look like something your mom made on Word Art—it's giving brand identity crisis. This will result in reduced brand recognition and trust; two things you definitely want when scaling or driving business.
   
   Solution: Develop (and actually follow) comprehensive brand guidelines across all platforms, for both content and design.

2. Disjointed customer journey

   
   For the ultimate customer experience, you've really got to think about the user journey. If each channel or part of their journey looks or feels different, it can be really off-putting and see increased drop-offs and lower conversion rates.
   
   Solution: Draw out user journey maps, so 1) you can identify disconnects and 2) you can plan better for cross-channel transitions.

   Learn more about omnichannel marketing.

3. Conflicting campaign messaging

   
   If one channel is harping on about a value proposition that another channel seems to know nothing about, we've got a problem. The same goes for feature pushes or product benefits. It's only going to confuse your customers and result in the dreaded decision paralysis.
   
   Solution: Prioritize centralized campaign planning with clear primary and secondary messages so everyone is on the same wavelength. 🌊

   Psst... you might be interested in our guide to maintaining consistent messaging.

4. No cross-channel insights or data

   
   When each team is in it for themselves with completely siloed performance metrics and no cross-channel insights, it's difficult to have a complete understanding of your overall marketing effectiveness and your operational efficiency.
   
   Solution: Implement cross-channel attribution modelling and unified reporting to bring the crew back 2getha.

5. Uncoordinated timing and scheduling

   
   Okay, when you've got promotions, launches, and campaigns rolling out, you kinda want that 'thunderclap' moment. You know, when everything happens at the same time for maximum impact (and excitement) across your marketing channels. If they're rolled out inconsistently, it might result in missed opportunities and confusion for both customers and internal teams. Cue a lot of "is it okay to share this yet?" Slack messages (IYKYK).
   
   Solution: Create centralized marketing calendars and workflows with clear dependencies between channel activities.

Integrated marketing: Avoid marketing channel misalignment

When you've got multiple marketing channels you want to excel on (which we all do, right?), there's one marketing strategy we're pretty sure you want to know about.

👉 An integrated marketing strategy 👈

Let us just tell you why real quick:

• More team alignment
• More productivity and efficiency
• More results, with less resources

And the best bit? You can build out your integrated marketing strategy in just 10 steps. Read our integrated marketing guide to find out more.