Hi all! One thing about marketing is we’re always looking for the next growth opportunity. But it’s no longer as easy as picking a new channel. Instead, it’s more about how these channels talk to each other, especially with AI now in the mix.
When growth slows, marketers often reach for the same lever: adding a new channel.
The reality is that most channels already work. Email works. SMS works. Push works. Paid media works. The challenge is understanding how those channels come together across increasingly complex customer journeys.
It’s not about channels; it’s about how they work together
The old playbook just isn’t cutting it. Customer journeys haven't been linear for a while, and they’re getting even harder to predict.
A shopper might discover a product on social media, dig into it more on their phone, compare options on their laptop, add it to their cart (then abandon it), and then visit a physical store.
Even though customers aren’t experiencing your brand through individual channels, brands still manage those interactions as separate campaigns far too often.
The question isn’t whether email is more valuable than SMS, or whether push will outperform paid media. It’s understanding which channel and message should come next based on the customer’s behavior, intent, and preferences.
That’s where omnichannel orchestrationbecomes less of a channel strategy and more of a growth strategy.
How AI makes it all just…click
The best way to make omnichannel orchestration work in real time and at scale is through strategic use of AI — especially as AI changes how customers discover products and evaluate their options, as they move through the buying journey.
Instead of investing in a new channel, you can use AI-driven segmentation to discover new audiences worth targeting, like first-time buyers who show the same behaviors as your most loyal customers.
Or, you can reengage customerswho have incomplete journeys. AI helps determine the best message, channel, and send timeto drive those conversions.
So the next time you start feeling the pressure to drive more growth, take a step back first.
Do you need to add a new channel? Or do you need to rethink how your existing channels connect across the customer experience?
Because your next growth opportunity may not come from a single channel at all. It may come from how your channels are working together.
What I’m feeling connected to
The Search for Planet X — As helpful as AI can be, we also need to be careful not to let it do all the thinking for us. That’s why I’ve been revisiting this game recently — it’s pure deduction as you search for the elusive “Planet X,” and it’s all about reading between the lines and forming logical connections. If you’re trying to find new ways to connect your customer experiences, then you may just be the starget audience for this game.
How small teams can still drive loyal customers
CRM teams are facing a familiar challenge: deliver more revenue, more loyalty, and more personalized customer experiences — often with fewer resources.
That’s exactly what Alfie Calas, former Head of CRM at thortful, tackles in the latest episode of Marketers on Marketers.
In conversation with Bloomreach’s Valentina Benaglio, Alfie shares how lean CRM teams can make a bigger impact by focusing on the right moments, using customer data more intentionally, and letting AI and automation take on more of the heavy lifting.
For any marketer trying to scale lifecycle campaigns without losing relevance or personality, this episode is packed with practical ideas worth borrowing.
Okay, I’m off to find Planet X (again)! Meanwhile, I hope you’re putting on your customer-first caps and brainstorming new ways to engage them. Be sure to tune in next week for another issue of The Edge!
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