Multi-channel demand generation strategy: Your complete guide for 2025

For demand-generation marketers, juggling multi-channel strategies can feel like riding a blindfolded unicycle—LinkedIn ads here, email campaigns there, and endless platforms demanding attention.

But here’s why it’s worth the effort:

Only 5 percent of your market is ready to buy right now. The other 95 percent? They’re out there forming impressions of your brand long before they click “Book a Demo.” 

That’s the 95-5 Rule in action: Focus on reaching buyers before they’re ready because they’re already paying attention. Show up consistently—whether on LinkedIn, in their inbox, or through a podcast—and when they’re ready to decide, you’ll be their clear choice.

Multi-channel demand generation ensures you’re consistently connecting with future customers across every stage of their journey. Whether they find you through a podcast ad, a LinkedIn post, or a well-crafted email, every interaction moves them closer to conversion.

This guide lays out everything you need to master multi-channel demand generation—from crafting tailored messages and picking the right platforms to measuring success and scaling smartly. You’ll find actionable tips and proven frameworks to make 2025 your most impactful year yet. 

Why multi-channel demand generation drives results

Multi-channel demand generation use multiple platforms—like social media, email, paid search, and podcasts—to engage your audience at different stages of their buyer journey. It’s all about delivering the right message in the right place at the right time, ensuring your brand stays top of mind.

Think about the last time you made a big purchase—like enterprise software or a shiny new car. That decision didn’t happen because of one perfectly timed email or a single scroll-stopping ad. It was likely months (or even years) of the brand popping up in your inbox, feed, and conversations, steadily building trust and familiarity.

This is the essence of multi-channel demand generation. It takes 18 touchpoints across 4–5 channels to convert a prospect. Relying on one channel alone leaves opportunities—and revenue—on the table.

An example of a multi-channel ad diversification strategy we use at Impact.com

Let’s say you’re a demand generation marketer for a martech company like HubSpot, targeting business leaders exploring software solutions. Their journey with your brand might look like this:

• Awareness: A LinkedIn ad promoting your free guide, “10 Proven Strategies for Streamlining Your Operations,” catches the attention of CFOs and operations managers, introducing them to your brand.
• Education: After downloading the guide, they visit your website to explore case studies and blog articles that highlight how your solution solves their challenges.
• Consideration: A LinkedIn retargeting ad features a short video on your product’s ROI and key benefits. They might also attend your webinar, where industry experts discuss common challenges and how your solution addresses them.

Each touchpoint builds familiarity and trust, moving them closer to conversion. This multi-channel approach delivers several powerful benefits:

Expanded reach

People consume content differently. Gen Z might find you on TikTok, while Baby Boomers read newspapers or watch cable TV. By meeting audiences where they are, you’re casting a wider net and increasing the chances of connecting with your audience on their preferred platforms.

Faster conversions

Think of it like this: If someone sees your subway ad during their morning commute, that’s one touchpoint. But layer on LinkedIn ads, podcast mentions, and targeted emails? Now you’re hitting five touchpoints in a single day. That repeated exposure builds trust faster, moving prospects through your funnel more quickly.

Better understanding of the customer journey

Multi-channel strategies reveal how platforms work together to drive conversions. As shown in the customer journey example below, a nine-month journey can include multiple touchpoints across channels like paid social, direct mail, and email, each playing a distinct role.

At impact.com, we found that paid social is great for creating awareness and driving traffic but doesn’t excel at direct conversions. Instead, it drives prospects to channels like paid search, where demand is captured through demo requests. By optimizing paid social for educational content and paid search for conversions, each channel is used where it works best, creating a seamless and effective customer journey.

Deeper customer insights

More channels mean more data. If your blog and banner ads drive clicks while cold calls fall flat, you can reallocate your budget to the successful channels or fine-tune the ones that aren’t working.

Smarter resource allocation

Knowing which platforms deliver results helps you focus your time, budget, and energy on where they’ll have the most impact. With clear performance insights, you can scale smarter, adapt faster, and hit your goals more efficiently.

A strong multi-channel strategy connects your prospects with the right message at the right time, seamlessly guiding them through the funnel. Over time, it builds trust and positions your brand as the top choice when the 95% are ready to buy.

Common multi-channel demand generation challenges (and how to tackle them)

Multi-channel marketing isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Juggling platforms can get messy—data gets fragmented, messaging loses consistency, and feeling overwhelmed. 

Here’s how to tackle the biggest hurdles and keep things running smoothly.

Challenge #1: Data everywhere, insights nowhere 

Each platform speaks its own language when it comes to metrics. LinkedIn ads track impressions, clicks, ROAS, and sales contribution, while email campaigns focus on delivery, open, and click-through rates. This can make it tricky to tell a cohesive story.

Solution:

• Invest in a unified dashboard tool like Google Data Studio or HubSpot.
• Create standardized reporting templates that translate metrics across channels.
• Focus on key performance indicators that matter to your business goals.
• Schedule regular data review sessions to spot trends and opportunities.

Streamlining your data helps you focus on what matters and confidently make decisions. 

Challenge #2: Keeping it consistent (without being boring) 

Nobody wants to see the exact same message everywhere they look. But your brand voice still needs to feel cohesive.

Solution:

• Create channel-specific guidelines that maintain your core message.
• Adapt your tone for each platform (professional on LinkedIn, casual on TikTok).
• Use templates and brand guidelines to ensure visual consistency.
• Test different content formats while keeping your key message intact.

A cohesive brand voice connects with your audience while keeping your content fresh and engaging.

Challenge #3: Getting attribution right 

Here’s a tricky one: how do you know which channel deserves credit for that conversion? Will you use a first-touch model that credits the initial interaction, a last-touch model that focuses on the final step before conversion, or something more nuanced like a W-shaped or U-shaped model? 

Solution:

• Choose an attribution model that fits your business (first-touch, last-touch, or multi-touch). At impact.com, for example, we use a W-shaped model, which assigns credit to the first interaction, lead creation, and opportunity creation. 
• Get alignment from leadership down to marketing on how you plan to measure success. 
• Consider exploring machine-learning models for more complex customer journeys.
• Document your attribution decisions to maintain consistent measurement.

A clear attribution model gives you insights into what drives success.

Challenge #4: Playing the long game (when everyone wants quick wins) 

Building an effective multi-channel strategy is more like a marathon than a sprint. It takes time, commitment, and company-wide alignment.

Solution:

• Set realistic timelines and expectations with stakeholders.
• Break the implementation into phases.
• Celebrate small wins along the way.
• Keep leadership updated on progress and key findings.
• Document your journey to show incremental improvements.

Patience pays off. Laying a strong foundation now sets you up for sustainable success down the road.

Challenge #5: Resource constraints 

Multi-channel marketing can stretch your team thin. That’s where an Operations person becomes your secret weapon.

Solution:

• Hire or designate a dedicated Ops person with these key skills:
  • Analytics expertise for data interpretation.
  • Technical proficiency with tools like Google Analytics and Salesforce. 
  • Strong project management capabilities. 

An Ops person lays the groundwork for success by setting up systems, streamlining processes, and regularly analyzing performance data. Think of them as the glue that keeps your multi-channel strategy running smoothly.

Your step-by-step guide to multi-channel success

Ready to build your strategy? Let’s break it down into manageable chunks.

Step 1: Set SMART goals that actually matter

Before you launch a single campaign, you need crystal-clear, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives to guide your multi-channel demand generation strategy.  Here’s how to make them count:

Specific: Outline what you want to achieve. For instance, launch a multi-channel strategy that combines email, paid search, social media, and content marketing to connect with your ideal customer profile (ICP) across their favorite platforms.

Measurable: Track everything. Set up conversion tracking for each channel—whether its clicks, demo requests, or form submissions—and monitor performance in real time. For example, aim to boost lead acquisition by 25% and marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) by 15% in six months.

Achievable: Be realistic about your resources. Allocate budget wisely, use tools like HubSpot and Google Ads, and train your team to execute campaigns and measure results effectively.

Relevant: Make sure your goals align with the company’s overall objectives, like driving pipeline growth or increasing visibility on platforms where your ICP spends their time.

Time-bound: Set deadlines to keep momentum going. For example, roll out two campaigns in the next 90 days and aim for full implementation by year-end. Quarterly reviews will help you course-correct and stay on track.

When your goals check all these boxes, they create a roadmap that guides your strategy and keeps everyone focused on the finish line.

Step 2: Know your audience (like, really know them)

Throwing content at the wall and seeing what sticks? That’s so 2015. Here’s how to get strategic about understanding your audience:

• Survey thoughtfully: Tailor your questions to what matters—like purchase history, location, or preferences—so you get meaningful responses.
• Keep it brief: Respect your audience’s time by keeping surveys under five minutes. Quick surveys = higher participation.
• Choose the right survey type: Whether it’s satisfaction, feedback, or loyalty you’re measuring, pick a format that matches your goals.
• Send surveys strategically: Timing matters. Send them after purchase, during onboarding, or at key touchpoints in the customer journey.
• Be consistent: Use uniform rating scales to make responses easier to compare and analyze.
• Ensure confidentiality: Anonymous responses encourage honesty. Collect data points like industry or company size to uncover trends without breaching privacy.
• Test and follow up: Validate your survey before sending it and follow up with respondents to show their feedback matters.
• Use feedback software: Tools like SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics make creating, distributing, and analyzing surveys a breeze.

By asking the right questions and spotting patterns, you’ll gain the insights you need to understand your audience. You can then use this intel to create tailored, relevant, and engaging content that grabs their attention.

Step 3: Craft messages that hit home

Remember: Different platforms, different vibes. Here’s how to nail it:

• LinkedIn: Keep it professional but not stuffy
  • Example: “Discover how leading CFOs are transforming their tech stack.”
• Email: Get personal and value-focused
  • Example: “John, here’s how other finance teams cut costs by 30 percent.”
• TikTok: Fun, authentic, and trend-aware
  • Example: Behind-the-scenes looks at your company culture.

Step 4: Pick your platforms wisely

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Start where your audience already hangs out.

Use survey insights to figure out where your audience spends their time. Financial services professionals? They’re probably on LinkedIn or checking email. Retail buyers? You’ll find them scrolling TikTok. Prioritize the channels where your audience feels at home, and invest your energy there.

Once you’ve established a strong presence on the right platforms, you can expand your reach. As you branch out, fine-tune your strategy for each audience segment, ensuring that every platform delivers value.

Step 5: Start small, then scale smart

Think small before you go big. Stick to a few platforms that fit your goals and audience, and focus on getting those right. LinkedIn and email might be perfect matches for B2B, while TikTok and Instagram are ideal for retail buyers.

Track engagement, conversions, and ROI to see what’s delivering results. Once you’ve identified your top-performing channels, expand your presence gradually, building on what works. Scaling smartly keeps your efforts focused and avoids stretching your team too thin.

Measuring multi-channel marketing ROI: metrics and KPIs

If you can measure it, you can improve it. But measurement alone isn’t enough—you’ve got to connect the dots between your metrics and your business goals, especially when presenting to leadership. Start with the big picture, like revenue contribution, and then zoom in on the details.

For example, if your company aims to hit $1M in revenue, don’t say, “LinkedIn drove a 0.7% conversion rate.” That’s a snooze-fest. Instead, say, “LinkedIn contributed $250K based on our last-touch attribution model.” The first one gets ignored; the second one gets budgets approved.

Here’s how to make sense of all those numbers and tell a story that resonates:

What to measure

• Leadership-level metrics:
  • Revenue impact: How much revenue is marketing driving, and what’s the ROI?
  • Customer acquisition cost (CAC): What does it cost to win a new customer?
• Marketing-level metrics:
  • Marketing qualified leads (MQLs): Potential customers engaging with your content — clicks, form fills, or interactions — that signal readiness to hear from sales.
  • Sales qualified leads (SQLs): Leads vetted by sales as ready to buy, helping identify how effectively MQLs are converting.
  • Opportunities: Prospects who’ve received demos or pricing information and are likely to purchase.
  • Average order value (AOV): The average dollar value of opportunities, showing whether fewer high-value or more low-value opportunities are needed to meet revenue goals.
• Channel-level metrics:
  • Paid social: Track reach, impressions, click-through rates (CTR), return on ad spend (ROAS), and CAC payback.
  • Paid search: Measure share of voice, CTR, demo requests, and ROAS.
  • Email marketing: Monitor delivery rate, open rate, CTR, and click-to-open rate (CTOR).

Reporting to leadership

Once you’ve nailed down your metrics, the next step is reporting them in a way that showcases what’s working, identifies areas for improvement, and tells the story behind your results. Use this framework:

1. Set benchmarks and goals: Align metrics with past campaign data and industry benchmarks to evaluate performance.
2. Plan a reporting schedule: Share progress regularly, leaving enough time to capture meaningful insights but not so much that you miss shifts in performance.
3. Segment your data: Break down performance by audience demographics, behavior, and channel to identify what’s driving results.
4. Highlight key content and channels: Showcase top-performing content and formats, while also addressing areas for improvement and iteration.
5. Provide context: Don’t just share numbers; explain why they matter by comparing them to previous campaigns and factoring in external influences.
6. Visualize your data: Use clean, simple charts and graphs to make results easy to understand for leadership.
7. Highlight key takeaways: Focus on what worked, what didn’t, and how you adjusted along the way.
8. Focus on financials: Provide clear financial benchmarks to demonstrate ROI and show how marketing impacts the bottom line.
9. Make comparisons: Stack results against past campaigns and industry standards to provide additional context.
10. Provide recommendations: Outline what should continue, what should change, and where to pivot for future campaigns.

By pairing actionable metrics with clear, contextual reporting, you showcase the true value of your multi-channel strategy while giving leadership the confidence—and data—they need to keep investing in its success.

FAQs

Building customer relationships through multi-channel marketing 

Mastering multi-channel demand generation is no small feat, but the payoff is worth it. By meeting your audience where they are, crafting tailored messages, and scaling strategically, you’re turning every touchpoint into an opportunity to build trust and lasting connections.

Remember, it’s not about being everywhere at once or chasing quick wins. The real magic lies in creating a thoughtful, patient, and data-backed strategy. With the right tools, insights, and persistence, your multi-channel efforts can turn casual browsers into loyal customers. Your future customers are out there, forming impressions of your brand across multiple touchpoints. Make each count.

Now, it’s time to put this playbook into action and make 2025 your most impactful year yet.