You're present on 5 sales channels — Facebook, Zalo, Email, Website, Shopee. But if customers have to tell their story three times, or you lose track of them when they switch channels, then that strategy is burning money and losing customer experience.

Multi-channel and Omnichannel in Marketing

In reality, the majority of SMEs in Vietnam operate on a multi-channel model – where businesses are "present everywhere" but lack connectivity between channels. Meanwhile, the new trend – omnichannel – is helping businesses reduce marketing costs by 20-30% and increase customer retention rates by 90%.

So what's the difference? And how can we make the conversion effective?

Multi-channel: The "everywhere presence" trap that SMEs easily fall into.

What is multi-channel?

Multi-channel is a business model where companies use multiple channels for communication, marketing, and sales – for example, Facebook, Zalo, Email, Website, Shopee, etc.

Central mindset: Channel-centric – focusing on appearing in as many places as possible, but with each channel operating independently.

For example:

• Use Facebook to run ads.
• Use Zalo for customer consultation.
• Email for sending product information.
• Use Excel to save the guest list.

It sounds systematic, but in reality, there are no channels for them to communicate with each other.

Read more: Manage all social channels on one platform with GTG CRM

3 Intangible Costs When Businesses Operate Multi-channel

1. Waste of time and manpower

According to a 2024 survey by GTG Research, customer service representatives spend 15–25% of their time each day switching between platforms such as Facebook, Zalo, and Gmail.

Each tab switch is a disruption – directly impacting response speed and customer experience.

80% of customers expect a response within 1 hour, but only 25% of businesses deliver (HubSpot, 2023).

2. Advertising costs are doubled.

Due to inconsistent data, the advertising system cannot identify returning customers → businesses have to pay a second time to re-reach the same person.

According to Harvard Business Review, businesses with fragmented data systems spend an average of 23% more on advertising for the same results.

3. Fragmented data – the root of all waste.

Marketing has its own Excel file, Sales stores customer information in Messenger, and Customer Service takes notes in Zalo.

Without a common CRM system, data cannot be measured, customer journeys cannot be analyzed, and advertising cannot be optimized.

Insight: In the age of AI and personalization, data fragmentation is the number one enemy of growth.

Customers don't need you "everywhere"—they need you to understand them everywhere.

Omnichannel – Thinking Around the Customer: The Core of Sustainable Growth

What is omnichannel?

Omnichannel is not just about being present on multiple channels, but about connecting all channels into a unified journey.

The core philosophy: Customer-centric – every touchpoint revolves around the customer, not the platform.

In an omnichannel system:

• Customers send messages on Facebook → data is automatically saved to the CRM.
• When they open an email or click on a website, that behavior is updated in the customer's profile.
• Zalo staff, customer service representatives, and sales staff all see the same information → no need to ask the customer again.

Economic and Strategic Benefits of Omnichannel

Increase Lifetime Value (LTV)

According to Deloitte, customers served across channels have a loyalty rate that is over 90% higher, and spend 30–40% more on average compared to single-channel customers.

Every smooth experience is a "plus" in building brand trust.

Reduce Sales & Marketing Costs

Centralized data enables businesses to:

• More precise retargeting → no more paying for ads on existing customers.
• Automate customer service and reduce personnel costs.
• Analyze purchasing behavior to optimize campaigns.

According to Gartner 2024, businesses transitioning to omnichannel can reduce advertising and operating costs by 20–30%, while increasing efficiency by 1.5 times.

Deep personalization – dramatically increase conversions.

Omnichannel helps you know where your customers are, what they've done, and what they need next.

For example:

• If the customer doesn't open their email, the system will automatically send a Zalo message.
• If a customer abandons their shopping cart, the CRM sends a notification with a discount code.

This experience increases conversion rates by 3–5 times compared to the traditional multi-channel model.

GTG CRM – An Omnichannel Platform for Vietnamese SMEs

GTG CRM is specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses, helping to connect the entire customer journey: from advertising, messaging, and email, to after-sales service.

1. Unified Messaging – Unified Message Management

Problem: Employees have to open multiple applications → slow response → lost leads.

GTG CRM solution:

Consolidate messages from Facebook, Zalo, Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, etc. into a single inbox.

No need to switch tabs, no customers missed.

Benefits: 50% faster response times, significantly increased chat conversion rates to orders.

Action Tip: Use the Auto Label feature to automatically tag leads based on their source (Facebook Ads, Zalo OA, Website Form, etc.).

2. 360° Customer Profile – A Comprehensive Data Picture

GTG CRM automatically consolidates all multi-channel interactions into a single profile:

• Messages, emails, order history, advertising sources, and interaction behavior.
• Instant synchronization ensures data accuracy at all times.

Benefit:

• The company maintains complete control over customer assets, independent of individual employees.
• Easily analyze lead quality and optimize advertising costs.

3. Cross-Channel Automation – Don't Miss Any Opportunities

GTG CRM allows you to build automated multi-channel customer care scenarios, for example:

• If the customer hasn't read the email → send a Zalo message.
• If a customer hasn't returned in 30 days, send an email with a special offer.
• If the customer responds positively → automatically assign the tag "potential".

Benefits: Reduces workload for the Sales & Customer Service team, while increasing repeat purchases and customer loyalty.

Conclude

While multi-channel simply helps you reach customers, omnichannel is the next step in retaining and nurturing them long-term through a seamless, consistent experience across all channels.

With GTG CRM, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam can easily transition to a true omnichannel model without needing a complex technical team — where data, messaging, email, advertising, and automation are integrated into a single platform.

GTG CRM – An intelligent omnichannel platform that helps businesses save costs, increase conversions, and build lasting customer relationships.

• Multi-channel helps you reach your customers.
• Omnichannel helps you retain customers long-term.
• GTG CRM is a solution that helps Vietnamese SMEs easily transition to omnichannel without needing a technical team.

Experience GTG CRM today!

• Customer management, messaging, automation, and advertising – all in one unified platform.