Multichannel, cross-channel, omnichannel: what’s the difference?

Website, social media, shop, e-mail, phone, trade fair… Your customers go through many touchpoints before they buy. How these channels work together makes all the difference to their experience, and to your sales. Three terms keep coming up, and are often mixed up: multichannel, cross-channel and omnichannel.

Multichannel: several channels, side by side

A multichannel strategy means being present on several sales or communication channels, but each one operates on its own. The shop has no idea what is happening on the website, and customer service cannot see online orders.

Example: a retailer sells in store and on its website, but a product bought online cannot be exchanged in the shop.

This is often the natural first step for a growing business. It creates more opportunities for contact, but can frustrate customers.

Cross-channel: the channels pass the baton

With cross-channel, the channels talk to each other and customers can switch from one to another during the same purchase.

Example: reserving online and collecting in store (“click and collect”), or receiving by e-mail the quotation requested at a trade fair.

The journey becomes smoother, but each channel keeps its own logic, its own tools and often its own data.

Omnichannel: one experience, everywhere

Omnichannel goes further: all channels share the same information in real time and form a single, seamless experience. Customers are recognised wherever they are; their history, preferences and basket follow them.

Example: a customer starts an enquiry on the website; when they then call, the person they speak to already has their whole file in front of them, and the follow-up message they receive takes that call into account.

In a nutshell

• Multichannel: several channels, independent of one another.
• Cross-channel: the channels complement each other along the same journey.
• Omnichannel: the channels become one, centred on the customer.

Where should an SME start?

There is no need to aim for perfect omnichannel right from the start. Begin with a solid foundation:

• a consistent visual identity and tone across all your media, from your website to your business cards;
• a single contact management tool (even a simple one), shared by the whole team;
• simple bridges between channels: a QR code on your printed materials, a form that feeds your customer database, an up-to-date Google listing;
• automations to connect your tools without re-entering data, which artificial intelligence now makes accessible to small businesses.

That is exactly what our 360° approach is about: the same image and the same quality of message, whichever channel your customers discover you through.