You are now on 5 sales channels — Facebook, Zalo, Email, Website, Shopee. But if the customer has to retell the story 3 times, or you lose track of them when they change channels, then that strategy is costing you money and losing the customer experience.

In fact, most SMEs in Vietnam are operating under the model Multi-channel (multi-channel channel) – where businesses are “everywhere” but there is no connection between channels. Meanwhile, the new trend – Omnichannel (cross-channel) – is helping businesses reduce marketing costs by 20–30%, increase customer retention by 90%.

So what is the difference? And how to convert effectively?

Multi-channel: The “everywhere” trap that SMEs easily fall into

What is multi-channel?

Multi-channel is a model in which businesses use many different channels to communicate, market and sell - for example: Facebook, Zalo, Email, Website, Shopee…

Central thinking: Channel-centric - focuses on appearing in as many places as possible, but each channel operates independently.

For example: example:

• Facebook to run ads.
• Zalo to consult customers.
• Email to send product information.
• Excel to save customer lists.

It sounds methodical, but in reality, no channels talk to each other.

3 Invisible Costs When Businesses Operate Multi-channel

1. Waste of time and human resources

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

Each tab switch is an interruption - directly affecting response speed and customer experience .

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

2. Duplicate advertising costs

Due to asynchronous data, the advertising system cannot identify old customers → businesses have to pay twice to re-reach the same people.

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

3. Fragmented data – the source of all waste

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

No common CRM system → data cannot be measured, cannot analyze customer journey, and cannot optimize advertising.

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 – Customer-centric Thinking: The Core The Core of Sustainable Growth

What is Omnichannel?

Omnichannel (cross-channel) is not just about being present on multiple channels, but about connecting all channels into a unified journey.

Central thinking: Customer-centric – every touchpoint revolves around the customer, not the platform.

In an Omnichannel system:

• Customers send messages on Facebook → data automatically saved to CRM.
• When they open an email or click on the website, that behavior is updated in the customer profile.
• Zalo staff, customer service, Sales 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 90% higher loyalty rate, and average spending of 30–40% higher than single-channel customers.

Each experience A smooth experience is a “plus point” in brand trust.

Reduce Sales & Marketing Costs

Centralized data allows businesses to:

• Re-target more accurately → not pay for advertising to old customers.
• Automate customer care, reduce personnel costs.
• Analyze purchasing behavior to optimize campaigns.

According to Gartner 2024, businesses switching to Omnichannel can reduce advertising costs by 20–30% and operate, while increasing performance by 1.5 times.

Deep personalization – increase conversions many times

Omnichannel helps you know where customers are, what they have done, and what they need next.

For example:

• If customers do not open emails, the system automatically sends Zalo messages.
• If customers abandon their cart, CRM sends a notification with a discount code.

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

GTG CRM – Omnichannel Platform for Vietnamese SMEs

GTG CRM is specially designed for small and medium-sized enterprises, helping connecting the entire customer journey: from advertising, messages, emails, to after-sales care.

1. Unified Messaging – Unified Message Management

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

GTG CRM solution:

Concentrate messages from Facebook, Zalo, Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp... to a single Inbox.

No need to switch tabs, no missing customers.

Benefits: Response speed increased by 50%, chat-to-order conversion rate increased significantly.

💡 Action Tip: Use the feature Auto Label to automatically tag leads by source (Facebook Ads, Zalo OA, Website Form...).

2. 360° Customer Profile – Comprehensive Data Picture

GTG CRM automatically aggregates all interactions from multiple channels into a single profile:

• Messages, emails, order history, advertising sources, interaction behavior.
• Instant synchronization, ensuring data is always accurate.

Benefits:

• Businesses control all customer assets, regardless of employees.
• Easy analysis Lead Quality and optimize advertising costs.

3. Cross-Channel Automation – Don’t Miss Any Opportunity

GTG CRM allows building automated multi-channel customer care scenarios, for example:

• If the customer hasn’t read the email → send a Zalo message.
• If the customer hasn’t returned in 30 days → send a promotional email.
• If the customer responds positively → automatically assign the “potential” tag.

Benefits: Reduce the workload for the Sales & Customer Care team, while increasing the repurchase rate and loyalty.

Conclusion discussion

While Multi-channel only stops at helping you reach customers, then Omnichannel is the step forward to help retain and nurture them long-term with a seamless, consistent experience across all channels.

With GTG CRM, small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam do not need a complex technical team can still easily transition to a true Omnichannel model — where data, messaging, email, advertising and automation are unified in a single platform best.

GTG CRM – Smart Omnichannel platform helps businesses save costs, increase conversions and build sustainable customer relationships.

• Multi-channel helps you reach customers.
• Omnichannel helps you retain customers for a long time.
• GTG CRM is a solution that helps Vietnamese SMEs easily switch to Omnichannel without the need for a technical team.

🎯 Experience GTG CRM today

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