A recent report by Forrester Research found that pioneering firms, such as REI.com, Wells Fargo and Macys.com, are seeing their cross-channel integration strategies pay off in terms of increased sales and customer satisfaction. The analyst firm offers these three guidelines to implementing successful cross-channel strategies.

1. Encourage channel choice. Forrester says that far from bullying customers into using the vendor’s preferred channel, successful firms offer customers a choice. For example, JC Penney offers customers a choice of its catalog, Web and in-store sites to make purchases and finds that it increases sales. In fact, the average single-channel customer spends about $150 per year with the firm; a two-channel customer spends about $450; and a three-channel customer spends approximately $900 per year.

2. Ensure channels present a consistent face to the customer. This means ensuring that data remains consistent across all channels. For example, Macys.com works to make sure its bridal gift registry, which is maintained and used across its Web, phone and in-store sales channels, is updated in real time across all three. Such data integrity helps boost customer trust and satisfaction, Forrester says. Similarly, pricing should be the same, no matter the channel used, it said, since the best way to erode multi-channel customer trust is to offer one price online and another in-store.

3. Make sure the cross-channel hand-off is seamless. When customers move across channels, they shouldn’t be penalized, Forrester said. It cited PETCO’s best practice of easing the return process for online customers returning items to its brick-and-mortar stores. PETCO actually adds return process instructions for store employees to its online receipts, easing the whole process and improving customer satisfaction.