A person searches for a product on a mobile device, then purchases said product on a desktop, or vice versa. Sound familiar? It should. Gone are the days where customers relied solely on a brick-and-mortar storefront for the entire customer journey. The internet ensures that today’s customers are constantly connected to brands all around the world, accessible at any time, from any device, from any place.

In fact, a recent study from retargeting company Criteo found that 36% of shoppers utilize two or more devices to complete an online purchase.

While this may seem overwhelming, it can also present immense opportunity for those brands willing to work within today’s cross-device world. When it comes to cutting through that noise, marketers face a tough battle, but clearly one that is worthwhile.

The first step is to understand how cross-device behavior works. That means learning how to gather and use data to best understand the customer’s buying behavior and provide a consistent, top-tier experience no matter where they are shopping.

While the brick-and-mortar store certainly still matters, the customer may also visit a brand’s various social media sites, blogs, emails, and, of course, the brand website. And they will increasingly do so from multiple devices, including a range of different mobile devices.

3 Ways to Better Target Cross-Device Shoppers

Given the way today’s customer is changing and evolving, how can marketing teams keep up? Below are three ways marketers can best work with shoppers, on any device, to provide the best cross-channel marketing experience.

1. Take a User-Centric Perspective

Marketers must change the traditional way they view the customer journey to focus on the user experience, rather than simply working to blast out the same message through the maximum number of channels. When working to reach cross-device customers, brands should try to engage with their customers as holistically as possible, ensuring they have the most positive experience with the brand throughout each and every channel and device.

This practice is how marketers can build a stronger relationship between consumers and the brand. Cross-channel campaigns such as these are a combination of email, SMS, voice, and social media campaigns, that work to truly personalize the buying experience more than ever before. And this concept pays off. The Criteo Report found that in the United States and in the United Kingdom, brands that use user-centric, cross-device metrics to truly understand customer behaviors and intent show a 1.4x higher conversion rate than those with a device-centric approach.

Speaking of metrics…

2. Gather and Use Available Data

Consumer data is one of the best tools any marketer can have in their corner. Through cross-channel marketing, they have more access to customer data than ever before. There are numerous ways to track and analyze social media actions, text responses, website behavior, and digital ad clicks to see a bigger picture of target audiences.

All of these interactions can be gathered and used to create holistic profiles of ideal customers, allowing marketers to create highly engaging, personalized campaigns and content. This sort of personalization helps brands to be heard above the noise of the competition and helps when reviewing optimization, what is working and resulting in conversion, and what isn’t. Both the good and the not-as-impressive data goes right back in to help marketers test and optimize content and messaging to be most impactful in the future.

Customer behavior can also change over time, as can their preferred devices, depending on access to new technology or just changes in circumstances. Information collected may show that, due to a new job that has them on the road more often, a customer is using their mobile device more regularly than before. Thus, a marketer can work to provide the best, most personalized, and most consistent mobile experience for that customer.

3. Do Not Neglect Mobile

Both the power and impact of mobile is felt through every part of modern marketing. It is critical that marketers are able to effectively connect with customers on their most personal and trusted device.

The Criteo report found that, in the UK, about half of online purchases are completed on a mobile device, a year-over-year increase of 13%. Whether a customer is engaging with a brand’s app, website, or social media channels, they are likely doing so on their smartphone.

When looking at more holistic, cross-channel data sets, marketers often find this cross-device behavior. Google AdWords and other such platforms have even added features related to cross-device conversions to help marketing teams better understand how mobile is impacting sales.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to cross-device shoppers, marketers have many ways to gain clearer insight into their behavior and make ideal decisions. Many customers just feel better or safer moving from a mobile device to a desktop for final purchase. Creating a unified experience will help either mitigate that situation, or allow it to occur easily, depending on the direction marketers want to take. But, by gathering, analyzing, and using the data found from those multi-channel, cross-device behaviors, marketers can make the best choice.

Learn how Emarsys can help orchestrate your strategy across all channels to maximize reach and results.

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