Key Takeaways
- Choose from email, SMS, MMS, push, in-app, web, embedded, WhatsApp, and more channels we support.
Choose from email, SMS, MMS, push, in-app, web, embedded, WhatsApp, and more channels we support.
- Build one journey to coordinate every channel, so each message reflects what the customer just did.
Build one journey to coordinate every channel, so each message reflects what the customer just did.
- Structure each journey as input, decision, and action: entry data, splits and suppression, then message tiles.
Structure each journey as input, decision, and action: entry data, splits and suppression, then message tiles.
- Let Nova Decisioning choose each person’s channel, message frequency, and send time from live engagement.
Let Nova Decisioning choose each person’s channel, message frequency, and send time from live engagement.
- Start with two or three channels your customers already use, then add more as results come in.
Start with two or three channels your customers already use, then add more as results come in.
Batch-and-blast campaigns send the same message to everyone on a calendar date. Customers now move between channels on their own schedule, so customer-led journeys respond to what each person does instead.
We send on email, SMS, MMS, mobile push, in-app, web push, in-browser, embedded, WhatsApp, Rich Communication Services (RCS), over-the-top (OTT), and webhooks. One journey, an automated sequence of steps each customer moves through, coordinates all of them.
Why Connected Channels Beat Batch-and-Blast
Using more channels doesn’t automatically mean better engagement. The difference comes from how those channels work together, so every interaction builds on the last from first touch to conversion.
- Trigger: Batch-and-blast sends on a fixed date. Connected journeys send when a customer acts, such as browsing, buying, or going quiet.
Trigger: Batch-and-blast sends on a fixed date. Connected journeys send when a customer acts, such as browsing, buying, or going quiet.
- Audience: Batch-and-blast gives the whole list one message. Connected journeys treat each customer like your only customer.
Audience: Batch-and-blast gives the whole list one message. Connected journeys treat each customer like your only customer.
- Channel context: Batch-and-blast runs email, SMS, push, and in-app in silos. Connected journeys let each message account for the one before it.
Channel context: Batch-and-blast runs email, SMS, push, and in-app in silos. Connected journeys let each message account for the one before it.
- Outcome: Batch-and-blast repeats itself across channels. Connected journeys keep every touchpoint relevant and timely, moving customers toward the next step.
Outcome: Batch-and-blast repeats itself across channels. Connected journeys keep every touchpoint relevant and timely, moving customers toward the next step.
When email, SMS, RCS, push, and in-app messaging work in sync, customers experience one consistent journey instead of a stack of separate sends. Consistent messaging drives stronger engagement, retention, and lifetime value.
Channels Iterable Supports
Each channel does a different job, and the table below shows how, when, and in what format to use each one. Webhooks, automated messages one system sends to another, let a journey pass data to your other tools.
Channel Iterable supports
How to Utilize?
When to Utilize?
What Format to Utilize?
For providing context and direction around core product and brand messages with ease & efficiency.
– Transactional updates – Customer support – Milestone celebrations – Brand/product news
Text, images, files, and links
SMS/MMS
For driving urgency through brief, real-time messages that inspire relevant action.
– Exclusive offers – Flash sales – Confirmations – Reminders – Personalized win-back messages
SMS: Short text (160 characters) MMS: Text, images, videos, audio
In-App Messaging
For optimizing engagement and conversion funnel metrics with unique experiences rooted in customer signals.
– Behavior-based recommendations – Guided tutorials – Feature discovery – Gamification
Text, banners, and pop-ups
In-Browser Messaging
For capturing visitor attention at key moments while they actively browse, without requiring them to leave the page.
– Promotional offers – Feature announcements – Cart abandonment – Product recommendations
Banners, modals, and pop-ups
Web Push Notifications
For re-engaging users outside of the website with their permission, bringing them back to your site with a single click.
– Flash sales – Order notifications – Cart abandonment – Event reminders
Short, clickable alerts, sometimes with images or rich media
Mobile Push Notifications
For activating a passive audience with context-aware prompts that feel natural and valuable.
– Limited deals – Subscription alerts – Re-engagement prompts
Short text alerts with CTA notifications, sometimes with rich media
Embedded Messaging
For delivering native, context-aware messages within mobile and web apps without disrupting the user experience.
– Helpful nudges – Personalized content – Milestone celebrations
Inline notifications, embedded banners, or dynamic modules
For engaging users on a platform they frequently use, ensuring interactive, high-visibility conversations.
– Customer support – Product launches – Personalized offers – Order updates
Rich media and interactive elements like buttons and catalogs
OTT Messaging
For delivering non-intrusive messaging in a highly visual and immersive format within streaming platforms.
– Marketing campaigns – Localized promotions – Subscriber boost
Video, interactive overlays, branded ads, and deep-link notifications
RCS
For richer, branded two-way mobile conversations that save replies to the profile.
– Interactive offers – Order updates – Quick-reply surveys – Fallback to SMS
Branded sender, rich cards, carousels, quick replies, and read receipts
Webhooks
For handing journey steps to other systems, such as ads, customer relationship management (CRM), direct mail, and support tools.
– Sync to ad audiences – Create support tickets – Trigger direct mail – Fetch live data
HTTP calls to external endpoints (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE)
How One Iterable Journey Orchestrates Channels
Every cross-channel program follows the same pattern: input, decision, and action. Iterable Journeys spans the Visual Journey Builder, Tiles, Journeys Live Data, and more, so you build each layer on one canvas. A tile is a single step in a journey, such as a wait, a split, or a message send.
- Data layer (input): Events, list or segment membership, and API calls start a journey. The Start tile accepts Event occurs, Schedule, API call, or Other journey.
Data layer (input): Events, list or segment membership, and API calls start a journey. The Start tile accepts Event occurs, Schedule, API call, or Other journey.
- Journey orchestration layer (decision): Yes/No Splits, waits, and exit rules set each path. Suppression, holding a message back, uses quiet hours and frequency caps across channels.
Journey orchestration layer (decision): Yes/No Splits, waits, and exit rules set each path. Suppression, holding a message back, uses quiet hours and frequency caps across channels.
- Action layer: Message tiles send per channel; webhook tiles hand off to ads, CRM, and support tools. Journeys Live Data pulls current data, like inventory.
Action layer: Message tiles send per channel; webhook tiles hand off to ads, CRM, and support tools. Journeys Live Data pulls current data, like inventory.
- AI decisioning layer: Channel Decisioning, Frequency Decisioning, and Send Time Decisioning, part of Nova Intelligence, choose the channel, volume, and timing for each person.
AI decisioning layer: Channel Decisioning, Frequency Decisioning, and Send Time Decisioning, part of Nova Intelligence, choose the channel, volume, and timing for each person.
For example, imagine a shopper who adds running shoes to a cart and then leaves the app. Here’s how one journey responds across push, email, and SMS:
- An Event occurs Start tile enrolls the shopper when the abandoned-cart event arrives.
An Event occurs Start tile enrolls the shopper when the abandoned-cart event arrives.
- After a short wait, a mobile push tile sends a reminder with the cart contents.
After a short wait, a mobile push tile sends a reminder with the cart contents.
- A Yes/No Split checks for a purchase, and an exit rule removes anyone who bought.
A Yes/No Split checks for a purchase, and an exit rule removes anyone who bought.
- Shoppers who haven’t purchased get an email with product details and reviews.
Shoppers who haven’t purchased get an email with product details and reviews.
- If the cart is still open, an SMS tile sends a final nudge outside quiet hours.
If the cart is still open, an SMS tile sends a final nudge outside quiet hours.
- A purchase at any step suppresses every remaining message, so no reminder follows a completed order.
A purchase at any step suppresses every remaining message, so no reminder follows a completed order.
Consider how Babylist handles this: it expanded from one channel to six managed in Iterable. Those six are email, push, SMS, mobile inbox, web push, and transactional messages. Babylist also grew its push notification volume 220% since launch, which you can explore in Babylist’s channel expansion.
How Nova Decisioning Chooses Channel, Frequency, and Timing
Coordinating channels is the starting point, and the next question is which channel, how often, and when for each person. Nova Intelligence is our native AI layer, built into your data and journeys, not bolted on. Within it, Nova Decisioning learns from each customer’s engagement and makes those three calls automatically. Three capabilities, each part of Nova Intelligence, handle these decisions:
- Channel Decisioning reads each person’s engagement patterns, picks the channel they respond to most, and sends the message there.
Channel Decisioning reads each person’s engagement patterns, picks the channel they respond to most, and sends the message there.
- Frequency Decisioning reads preferences and engagement trends, sets how many messages each person gets, and adjusts volume to match.
Frequency Decisioning reads preferences and engagement trends, sets how many messages each person gets, and adjusts volume to match.
- Send Time Decisioning learns from each person’s real engagement and sends when they’re most likely to open.
Send Time Decisioning learns from each person’s real engagement and sends when they’re most likely to open.
Send Time Decisioning has delivered a median 83% lift in open rates across our customers compared with randomized send times. If you’re weighing Iterable alternatives, see how we compare with Customer.io and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which Channels Does Iterable Support?
You can reach customers through email, SMS and MMS, mobile and web push, in-app, in-browser, and embedded messages, plus WhatsApp, RCS, and OTT. Webhooks extend the same journeys to ads, CRM, and support tools, so outside systems act on the same customer signals.
2. How Does Iterable Orchestrate Campaigns Across Channels?
You build a journey that takes in customer behavior, decides each person’s path, and sends the next message on the channel that fits. Because one journey controls every step, a purchase or reply on one channel changes what that customer receives on the others.
3. Can One Iterable Journey Send Email, SMS, Push, and In-App Messages?
Yes. A single journey can place email, SMS, push, and in-app tiles side by side, along with any other channel we support. Each customer gets one sequence that reflects what they’ve already seen and done, instead of four campaigns competing for attention.
4. Does Iterable Support WhatsApp and RCS?
Yes. WhatsApp carries rich media and interactive elements like buttons and catalogs, while RCS adds a branded sender, rich cards, carousels, quick replies, and read receipts. You can add both to a journey, and RCS can fall back to SMS when a device can’t receive it.
5. What’s the Difference Between Cross-Channel and Multichannel Marketing?
Multichannel marketing means you’re present on several channels, each usually run as its own campaign. Cross-channel marketing connects those channels, so each message accounts for what the customer did on the last one. The result is one conversation that moves across channels instead of parallel streams that repeat each other.
Start Your Cross-Channel Program
Customers move across channels on their own schedule, and connected journeys let every message build on the last. We help you activate data from your source of truth, personalize each message, and reach customers on every channel they use.
- Pick two or three channels your customers already use.
Pick two or three channels your customers already use.
- Build one journey that connects them around a single trigger.
Build one journey that connects them around a single trigger.
- Add channels as you learn what each one does best.
Add channels as you learn what each one does best.
For a detailed breakdown of each channel, download our cross-channel guide. It shows how brands at different stages of cross-channel maturity get results.
