If you’ve been around retail marketing for even a couple of years, you will know Q4 is everything. Across the industry, the final quarter of the year is a HUGE opportunity where buyers are in their research+buy era, competition gets loud, and attention is all on advertising.
Holiday campaigns don’t wait until December anymore; apparently, October is the new Christmas! Brands are already decking the halls (and their social feeds) early, making sure they are absolutely everywhere a shopper will look before the holiday/peak season hits. And who wouldn’t want a piece of Q4? It can bring in 30-40% of annual eCommerce revenue; it’s the perfect season for growth!
A great example is the John Lewis Christmas advert, which launched on November 4th this year. Timed perfectly for the start of peak shopping days, the campaign ran across TV, social media, and digital channels, creating a seamless, shareable, omnichannel experience. Every single year without fail, it sparks conversations and excitement. (We go mad for it here, clogging up a Slack thread about how it’s made us cry.) It shows just how a well-planned campaign can smash peak season with its precision, timing, orchestration, and omnichannel marketing.
This article will walk you through how to make the most of Q4 – from running campaigns that actually convert, to using your CRM to create personalised experiences that keep customers coming back.
Multi-channel is about presence. Omnichannel is about connection. CRM is how you make it personal. Let’s get into it.
Multichannel vs Omnichannel: What’s The Difference?
Both multichannel and omnichannel reach customers across multiple channels and boost engagement and sales.
Multichannel marketing means you’re showing up on multiple platforms, email, social media, your website, and maybe some ads. You’re present, you’re visible, but each channel is basically doing its own thing. If a customer abandons their cart on your website, they get a generic email reminder that has no clue they also browsed your Instagram yesterday… The channels exist, but they don’t talk to each other.
Omnichannel marketing is when all those channels actually work together. It’s the difference between a brand that exists in multiple places and a brand that follows the customer journey across all of them. For example: When someone browses on mobile during lunch, gets a personalised reminder that evening, and walks into the shop where staff can see their preferences… That’s omnichannel. It’s seamless, connected, and honestly, it’s what customers expect now.
For Q4, this distinction matters even more. Holiday shoppers are researching on their phones, comparing prices on their laptops, reading reviews on social, and buying wherever is easiest. They don’t think in channels; they think in “I want this jumper and I want it now.” If your marketing can’t keep up with how they actually shop, you will end up losing sales.
CRM Marketing Tips in Q4
Q4 compresses an entire year of marketing pressure into twelve weeks. Everything is completely amplified. Customer attention is all over the place, purchase windows are teeny tiny, advertising costs go mental and first impressions can become long-term relationships. Your CRM platform tracks the complete journey from the first click through the post-holiday retention, so you need to optimise not just for Q4 revenue but for customer lifetime value.
1. Build Consistent Multichannel Campaigns
During Q4, your customers are everywhere. Be everywhere, but make it make sense. They’re scrolling TikTok, checking emails, comparing prices, and impulse-buying on their phones at midnight. Multichannel gets you in front of them, and omnichannel makes sure it all feels connected.
WeDoCRM Recommends:
- Use your CRM to sync audiences and campaigns across email, social, SMS, and ads so your message is consistent everywhere.
- Segment wisely and build smart segments like “VIP shoppers,” “window browsers,” or “gift buyers” etc, and tailor content for each one.
- In your CRM platform or ESP, sync your email and social audiences so your “last-minute shoppers” see the same offer in their inbox and their Instagram feed.
Customers don’t think in channels; they think in experiences. Your platform is what makes those experiences feel seamless.
2. Real-Time CRM Automation for Q4
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and last-minute panic (dog on fire meme comes to mind) Q4 moves fast. You can’t afford to wait days to follow up. React fast or miss out! You need real-time reactions that meet customers the moment they’re ready to buy.
WeDoCRM Recommends:
- When someone abandons their cart or browses your gift guide, your CRM should automatically nudge them with an email, SMS, or ad. Setting up automation triggers is so important.
- Sync those messages across all platforms so customers don’t get the same message twice or worse, none at all.
- In your CRM / ESP, if a customer adds something to their cart but doesn’t buy, send a reminder email within 3 hours and trigger a matching retargeting ad.
Fast, relevant, and consistent, that’s omnichannel done right.
3. Maximise Q4 Ad Spend with CRM and Omnichannel Targeting
We have seen brands that have ad spend in Q4 can skyrocket by up to 100%. Everyone’s fighting for clicks, and it’s easy to burn through your budget. This is where your CRM platform earns its keep. We have written about how brands have a downfall with PPC in our blog below.
WeDoCRM Recommends:
- Export your CRM segments to Meta or Google Ads so you’re showing offers to people who’ve already engaged with your brand.
- Exclude recent buyers. Don’t waste spend on people who have already converted.
- Double down on loyalty. Nurturing existing customers costs less and converts higher, so use your CRM for that.
- Read our blog: Why CRM and email might be better for your B2B organisation than PPC
Your CRM helps you market smarter, not louder.
4. Post-Purchase CRM Strategies That Build Loyalty Beyond Q4
Q4 is about driving revenue, but what about after Q4? The real thing that is goldust is turning those one-time buyers into year-round brand advocates.
WeDoCRM recommends:
- Build post-purchase journeys such as thank-you messages, product tips, and loyalty invites automatically.
- Personalise your follow-ups. If someone bought a gift, your CRM/ESP should remind them about future birthdays or anniversaries.
- In your CRM/ESP, set up a workflow that turns every new customer into a loyalty programme invitee after their second purchase.
That’s omnichannel loyalty, a connected journey that keeps giving long after the wrapping paper’s gone!
4. What to Track in Your Omnichannel Q4 Campaigns
Q4 is about setting the stage for long-term growth. Your CRM will be your best friend for this; it helps you see which channels drive repeat purchases and which need a tweak.
WeDoCRM Recommends:
- Track the full journey. Don’t just measure the last click. Try and understand where customers start and how they move between channels.
- Watch lifetime value (LTV). Identify your most profitable customer segments and invest in them.
- Use this year’s data to plan smarter for the next. Refine and repeat!
Why Multichannel and Omnichannel Matter for Different Industries
Retail brands need omnichannel because customers literally bounce between online and offline. Someone researches trainers on your app, checks reviews on social, then pops into your shop to try them on. If your staff in the shop can’t see that digital journey, you’ve lost the plot.
B2B companies might think omnichannel doesn’t apply to them, but it absolutely does. Your prospects are reading your LinkedIn posts, downloading whitepapers, attending webinars, and having sales calls. If your CRM platform can’t connect these dots, your sales team is flying blind.
Service businesses like gyms, salons, or SaaS platforms benefit massively too. A customer books online, gets reminder texts, checks your app, and leaves a review on Google. That entire journey should feel connected.
How a CRM Strategy with WeDoCRM Can Help
Multichannel presence gets you seen. Omnichannel excellence, powered by smart CRM strategy, gets you remembered. And in Q4, when everyone’s shouting and attention is fragmented, being remembered is what drives sustainable growth.
Q4 isn’t just about hitting revenue targets (though yes, definitely do that). It’s about:
- Building customer relationships that last beyond the holidays
- Gathering data that informs your strategy all year
- Testing and refining your omnichannel approach
- Proving the value of your CRM investment to stakeholders
- Setting yourself up for a strong start to next year
Use your CRM to create experiences that feel personal, seamless, and genuinely helpful. Launch early, stay consistent across channels, automate the repetitive stuff, and keep humans involved where it matters.
At WeDoCRM, we help brands build CRM systems that truly work. If you’d like to explore how your tech stack is performing or brainstorm ways to make it stronger we’d love to chat.
Get in touch: hello@wedocrm.co
We look forward to hearing from you!
