What it really means to own the relationship

Contributed by JHDesigns

Omnichannel Isn’t “More Channels,” It’s a Better Customer Experience

If your marketing strategy still depends on just one or two feeds showing you love, you’ve likely felt a drop-off in engagement and predictability this year. That’s because attention has fractured across devices and platforms as user behavior continues to change. Algorithms keep moving the goalposts and feeds are optimizing for entertainment or time spent, rather than brand engagement. In that world, growth is favoring brands that own the customer relationship through touchpoints like email, SMS, and website—and then amplify it across the open internet. That’s omnichannel marketing at its best.

The Algorithm’s Love Is Conditional

You may find that one or two timelines are driving most results because they currently align with your creative and media mix. As soon as those systems evolve (sometimes overnight), even minor changes in how they rank or price inventory can meaningfully affect your reach. Instagram Reels, TikTok’s For You Page, the LinkedIn feed—all of that love is conditional. It works when the platform’s incentives align with yours and collapses when they don’t.

In short: it’s rented reach. Rented reach is leased land. You should still use paid media when you need speed, scale, and specificity that owned channels can’t deliver on their own, but when you own the relationship, you don’t depend on it for every result. 

In that context, omnichannel functions as the amplifier: it carries the same promise across your owned touchpoints (site, email, SMS) and open-web environments (CTV, digital audio, publisher-direct, search), so no single feed can make or break your week.

Omnichannel Is a Better Customer Experience

Feeds have grown volatile and creative burns out faster when it lives in one environment. At the same time, privacy changes have thinned third-party signals, so cookie-based targeting and last-click stories are becoming less reliable. That pushes brands toward consented first-party data and lightweight ways to recognize customers across screens.

Context and brand safety now matter more, too. That’s why budgets are moving into open-web environments like CTV, digital audio, publisher-direct, and retail media. Most importantly, customers expect continuity. They want the same promise, tone, and next step whether they meet you on a TV app, a podcast, a publisher, or in their inbox. Omnichannel meets that expectation by keeping the story, the offer, and the measurement connected from start to finish.

What Owning the Relationship Means

Ownership doesn’t describe a channel; it creates an asset. When people grant permission to stay in touch and you meet their expectations, you build trust you can access directly. That asset holds value regardless of any algorithm or auction. 

Ownership also sharpens measurement. When you control touchpoints, you control tagging. You establish cleaner baselines and see what actually moves revenue and retention over time.

5 Ways Ownership Compounds

1. Memory. Owned channels create a repeating story. Repetition builds recall; recall drives preference. Each touch makes the next one easier to recognize and believe.

2. Permission. Deliverability improves with good engagement, which increases future reach, which further improves deliverability. 

3. Economics. Paid impressions buy moments; owned relationships buy options. As your reachable audience grows, the marginal cost to reach them falls, and the payoff from every new campaign rises.

4. Signal. First-party interactions (opens, clicks, replies, on-site behavior) are durable signals. They anchor targeting and measurement when third-party signals can’t.

5. Network effects. The more customers who know you directly, the more social proof, referrals, and repeat behavior you see, compounding the value of the next cohort.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Mature programs treat their site and newsletter as the source of truth, so start with a clear home base: your website and your newsletter. That’s where the full story lives and where you can measure results consistently.

Invite your visitors to one primary action. For this campaign, make it explicit: “Join our newsletter for weekly playbooks,” or “Download the 5-minute buyer’s guide,” or “Book a 30-minute consult.” Pick one and feature it on your site, in your emails, and in your ads so people always know their next step.

Use that same message and offer everywhere. A short video or CTV spot introduces the promise. A podcast pre-roll or a publisher placement reinforces why it matters. Email or SMS follows up with details. A simple retargeting ad reminds people and links back to the same page. Every touch repeats the same offer and the same call to action. When every placement supports the same outcome, they stop competing for credit and start working together.

What to Keep In Mind

1. Compounding takes time. Early results may look flat. The lift shows up later in stronger retention, more repeat purchases, and a lower blended CAC/marketing + advertising spend.

2. Consistency wins. Brands that keep the same promise, tone, and offer across channels earn steadier engagement than those chasing constant novelty.

3. Omnichannel extends what you own. Open-web platforms perform better when they carry the same offer that lives on your site and in your email/SMS, not as a replacement for owned relationships, but as a form of reach built on top of this.

4. Measure durability. Ask: If one channel disappeared tomorrow, how many customers could we still reach directly? Work to grow that number over time.

Build Better Customer Relationships

When growth depends on a couple of feeds liking your content, every week feels uncertain. Owning the relationship changes that rhythm. As more customers hear from you directly, your message stops starting from zero, and the cost to win the next customer begins to fall. That’s the quiet compounding you see later in stronger retention and loyalty. Not because you shouted louder in one place, but because every touchpoint reinforced the same story.