Marketing leaders love touting omnichannel experiences. But between the ambition and reality, something essential is getting lost across the customer journey.

Recent research shows this gap is more than just frustrating; it can actually be risky.

Most B2B buyers complete the bulk (roughly two-thirds) of their research and decision process; vendor shortlisting, requirements gathering, vendor evaluation before they ever reach out to a sales rep. The average number of interactions with content from your business or your competitors during their research is just over 28 touchpoints!

Still, many businesses, especially small and midsize professional services firms, create marketing plans as if buyers decide after reading one email and clicking a button.

Let’s look at how to close the gap between what we expect and what actually happens.

First: What Even Is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel means your marketing, sales, website, social media, content and customer experience all work together wherever a buyer interacts with your business.

It’s not:

“We post on LinkedIn sometimes.”
“We have a newsletter that goes out when Janet remembers.”
“Our website still says Copyright 2018, but we’ll fix that later.”

It’s a coordinated system where:

Messaging is consistent
Channels talk to each other
Buyers can move smoothly from awareness to consideration to decision

Buyers expect an omnichannel experience, but most businesses don’t provide it.

Where the Disconnect Begins

1. Marketing Plans That Don’t Match Buyer Behavior

Your buyers aren’t researching you in one place. They’re bouncing between:

Google searches
Your LinkedIn posts
Third-party reviews
Vendor lists
Webinar
Emails
Videos
Your website
Your competitor’s website
And yes, old-fashioned word of mouth

If businesses aren’t consistent across these touchpoints, the buyer’s journey feels broken. A company might think it has a clear process, but buyers often see mixed messages.

2. Businesses Still Treat Marketing as a One-Channel Game

Many organizations put most of their resources into one channel, like email or their website, and ignore the rest of the journey. But your buyer’s process isn’t linear, and it’s certainly not limited to one platform.

With ten channels and 28 or more touches, if your brand is only present in two places, buyers won’t see you for most of their journey.

3. Internal Teams Aren’t Always Aligned

Sales focuses on one approach, marketing does something else, and leadership just wants more leads.
But no one is documenting or mapping the customer’s experience from start to finish.

This makes the buyer’s journey feel inconsistent and disconnected.

Why This Disconnect Matters Now More Than Ever

Buyers have more control than ever.

They do their research quietly and often make decisions without speaking to anyone. By the time they fill out a contact form, they might be 70% done with their journey.

AI is reshaping discovery.

Generative AI gathers answers from many sources, including your content, your competitors’ content, search data, and behavior patterns. If your marketing is weak or inconsistent, you’ll be left out.

Referrals don’t carry as much weight.

In fast-growing regions like Central Texas, many buyers are new to the area. They don’t have established networks. They rely heavily on digital discovery.

If you still rely only on word of mouth, you are slowly falling behind.

So, How Do We Close the Customer Journey Gap?

1. Map the Real Customer Journey

Not the journey you wish people were taking.
Not the journey that existed in 2015.
The actual steps buyers take.

Tools such as journey mapping workshops can help you find where buyers get stuck, where they drop off, and where you can be more consistent.

2. Build a True Omnichannel Strategy

This means making sure each channel:

Uses consistent messaging
Supports the same brand story
Helps the buyer make progress instead of getting sidetracked
Captures the data you need to personalize future interactions

When your channels work together, buyers have a smoother experience at every step.

3. Shift from Channel Thinking to Journey Thinking

Instead of:

“We need more LinkedIn posts.”

Try:

“Where does LinkedIn support the journey, and what role should it play?”

Instead of:

“We need more website traffic.”

Try:

“What does someone do after they land on the website, and how do we support them next?”

Thinking about the whole journey helps you avoid wasted effort and get more conversions. You don’t need more channels, just a smarter approach.

4. Consolidate Tools and Align Teams

Your CRM, marketing automation, and analytics platforms must be integrated and consistent.
Sales needs visibility. Marketing needs data. Leadership needs clarity.

When everyone works together, buyers notice the difference and are more likely to respond.

Buyers aren’t impossible to reach; it’s just harder if you use old marketing methods.

There’s no single magic platform. No one touchpoint saves the day. The businesses thriving in this new landscape are the ones building:

Strong, consistent omnichannel ecosystems
Aligned cross-departmental strategies
Content and experiences that meet buyers wherever they choose to show up

The customer journey has changed, so your marketing strategy needs to change too. In 2026 and beyond, the companies that succeed won’t be the ones making the most noise on one channel. They’ll be the ones showing up in smart ways across all channels. Start planning now to help your brand succeed everywhere. Let’s Chat!

The Growing Disconnect Between Marketing and the Customer Journey