Cross-channel marketing improves key business metrics across industries

Using just one or two marketing channels is no longer enough. Customers interact with brands across a variety of platforms every day. Businesses that keep pace with that behavior, by engaging across email, in-app messaging, push notifications, SMS, and WhatsApp, are seeing serious results. When done right, this isn’t just about more noise. It’s about precision: reaching users where they already are, with relevance and timing that match their expectations.

Cross-channel engagement increases the effectiveness of every message you send. Instead of hoping your customer checks their email, why not reinforce that message with an in-app notification or SMS, something they’ll see. This kind of interaction doesn’t just happen randomly. It needs to align with where your customer is in their lifecycle and where your business is in its own growth phase. When you’re early stage, maybe two channels are enough. But as you scale, stagnating with a narrow focus will hold you back.

Data confirms this shift. According to a comprehensive report by CleverTap, businesses leveraging four or more channels in their marketing mix saw up to a 49% increase in conversion rates. Even more compelling, certain verticals are seeing major gains: Fintech apps reported a 31% surge in conversions by combining email, push notifications, and in-app messages. Subscription apps, gaming platforms, and eCommerce saw similar upticks across engagements, onboarding, and user retention. If business growth is the goal, and it is, cross-channel isn’t just a strategy; it’s an asset.

Now, leadership matters. Making this work means aligning your teams under a unified strategy. Don’t let disconnected tools or departments cause disruption. Marketing, product, and data teams need to be aligned. With the right infrastructure, you won’t miss any opportunity to drive value from the attention you’re earning. The companies doing this well are pulling way ahead. They understand that every digital interaction is a chance to drive one more conversion, or lose one.

Bottom line: the brands taking a strategic, multi-channel approach are building stronger, faster-growing businesses. The results aren’t marginal, they’re exponential.

Regional and industry-specific channel preferences are critical for optimizing engagement

The way people engage with technology varies, by market, by culture, and by industry. If you’re running a global company, assuming one type of communication works everywhere is a mistake. It doesn’t. What performs well in London might fall flat in São Paulo. In some markets, email drives action. In others, WhatsApp or SMS is the preferred channel. That’s not just user behavior. That’s infrastructure, regulation, and culture shaping how people connect and respond.

CleverTap’s latest report underlines this. Email still dominates in the US and UK for most industries, it’s mature and reliable. But in South America and Asia, WhatsApp generates higher engagement and quicker responses. In China, SMS maintains strong influence. These aren’t minor variations. They’re market-level shifts. Businesses that treat those differences as critical inputs, not afterthoughts, perform better. It’s not about adding more channels randomly. It’s about using the right ones based on how people in those markets actually interact with digital platforms.

Leadership needs to ensure marketing teams have the freedom to localize operations. A top-down global strategy only works if it’s adaptable at the edges. Executives should push for clear communication between regional teams and central decision-makers, especially when channel performance data varies significantly from one region to another. Anything less will dilute outcomes.

This is also where industry context matters. A Fintech user expecting alerts about transactions won’t respond the same way a casual gamer does to a promo message. Segmenting your strategy by both region and sector is not complex, it’s necessary. The gain is measurable. User onboarding rates, engagement levels, and retention all improve when messages come through the right channel, in the right context, and at the right time.

To scale efficiently, you need to stop assuming and start testing. Let the data lead, especially when expanding into new regions. Treat every market like its own operating environment. The companies that move quickly, test consistently, and incorporate regional intelligence directly into channel strategy, those companies will continue to win.

Measuring engagement and retention through a diversified channel mix

Retention is a better indicator of long-term value than initial conversion. It tells you whether your product actually matters to customers. If they keep showing up, the experience is working. If they leave, it isn’t. One of the most reliable ways to increase retention, and engagement, is by meeting users across several channels with messaging that is personalized, timely, and relevant. The more touchpoints you use intelligently, the stronger the connection.

The data is clear. Subscription platforms, think media streaming or grocery delivery, see 30% to 70% improvements in stickiness when using two to four channels. Fintech platforms using three or more saw over a 28% increase. In gaming, stickiness climbed by 32% with a similar approach. That means customers are not only staying but coming back. This isn’t about volume, it’s about giving customers options to engage where they feel most comfortable, and doing it with message precision.

One channel won’t drive long-term behavior. A mix of push notifications, in-app messages, email, and SMS ensures that users get the right message, at a relevant time. More importantly, it allows teams to personalize based on where a customer is in their journey. Re-engagement campaigns, transactional alerts, onboarding tips, each has a different ideal channel. Matching message type with customer stage is what unlocks real results.

For C-suite leaders, this is a strategic decision. Invest in cross-functional alignment. Your product team needs data from your marketing channels. Your marketing team needs product usage insights. Build short feedback cycles and prioritize experimentation over assumption. A diversified strategy only works when grounded in accurate, real-time user behavior.

Jacob Joseph, Vice President of Data Science at CleverTap, puts it this way: “Many organizations often dive into customer engagement with a narrower focus, which, while important, can limit their effectiveness. Our latest report highlights the crucial need for a holistic approach to truly drive impactful results.” He’s right. A fragmented system can’t deliver personalized experiences at scale. A well-structured MarTech stack, with unified data and integrated delivery capabilities, gives you the control and intelligence to build engagement that’s sustainable.

Stickiness isn’t static. It’s driven by relevance and consistency. Businesses that engineer multi-channel systems with customer behavior at the core will see significantly better metrics, and build deeper brand loyalty over time.

Key executive takeaways

  • Cross-channel engagement drives measurable growth: Leaders should prioritize multi-channel marketing strategies using four or more touchpoints to improve conversion rates by up to 49%, particularly in high-impact industries like Fintech, Subscription, and Gaming.
  • Regional and industry alignment is essential: Executives must support flexible, localized channel strategies, email, SMS, and WhatsApp vary in effectiveness by region, to ensure relevance and drive performance in diverse markets.
  • Channel diversification boosts retention and lifetime value: To improve customer stickiness by up to 70%, decision-makers should invest in personalized, data-informed engagement across at least two to four strategic channels aligned with customer lifecycle stages.
  • Integrated MarTech and cross-team alignment are critical enablers: Delivering consistent, high-performing customer experiences at scale requires unified tooling and coordination between product, marketing, and data teams to ensure seamless cross-channel execution.

Alexander Procter

July 8, 2025

6 Min