Email marketing is no longer enough to reach potential clients and grow a business. With the number of online advertising channels constantly rising, it’s time to implement a slightly different and more complex approach: omnichannel marketing.
These days, people have unobstructed access to content across multiple devices and channels. This makes it difficult for marketers to effectively penetrate through all the noise and engage their target audiences.
Having a top-quality product or service at a reasonable price is no longer the sole factor in a client’s buying decision. Nowadays, companies must meet their clients where they’re at, wherever that may be.
To place clients at the heart of your marketing efforts, you must create integrated experiences at each touchpoint along their journey. This requires becoming more sophisticated in the ways you serve and engage your target audiences.
All of this can look different for every company. However, the smartest marketers are now implementing strategies, tactics, and tools that endorse what’s known as omnichannel marketing.
Implementing omnichannel marketing is essential for business success these days…
So let’s get started.
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
Whether you recognize it or not, omnichannel marketing is all around you.
Every time you have an outstanding customer experience while shopping from a brand, or interacting with that brand, there’s a strong chance that marketers implemented a successful omnichannel approach.
An omnichannel marketing strategy involves creating a seamless experience across all channels at the same tim – taking digital interactions, such as eCommerce purchases and social media, and integrating them with interpersonal interactions. For example, omnichannel in-person interactions can include in-store staff for B2C companies and sales/client managers for B2B businesses.
This marketing strategy is all about developing and nurturing “the experience” throughout all channels. Put differently, strategic omnichannel marketing elevates multichannel tactics by finding experience-enhancing ways to connect each interaction you have with your clients. It demands all company departments work together under the same guidelines, rules, and mission.
The main objective is to develop high-quality connections that propel clients to take action, regardless of device or channel. Omnichannel marketing is all about providing clients with one coherent ecosystem.
In fact, omnichannel engagement is preferred by nearly 78% of customers, which speaks volumes about brand expectations these days.
Setting suitable objectives and identifying strategies or opportunities are vital to growing a business. Nevertheless, you must turn your ideas into actions to achieve your end goals. Read about tactical planning in this related piece.
Omnichannel vs. Multichannel Marketing
To better understand the omnichannel marketing concept, let’s begin by looking at a multichannel approach. As you know, most businesses use online and offline marketing channels to engage their target audience and vice versa…
The leading digital marketing channels that clients use to interact with companies include:
- Websites
- Social media platforms
- Affiliate marketing
- Blog posts
- Chatbots
- Display ads
- Online interaction with a service representative
The primary offline marketing channels that companies use to create a buzz about their products or services include:
- TV and radio advertisements
- Physical banners
- Events
- Business cards
- Direct mail
- Magazines and press media
- In-person interaction with a customer service representative
Multichannel marketing alludes to the many channels a company uses to sell its products and services. However, this doesn’t guarantee a prospective customer has the same experience with the brand in a physical store as in an online store. Clearly, the experience might be different to a degree, but particular aspects should be identical.
This is where omnichannel marketing comes into play. Omnichannel marketing happens when all digital and offline channels integrate with one another to deliver a seamless experience.
It’s a marketing strategy that involves interacting with potential clients by pushing updates and data throughout their journey.
For instance, clients receive an email with a specific offer in most digital marketing campaigns. If a company uses omnichannel marketing, the client’s next message will be updated based on their earlier behavior.
At this stage, it should be noted that for omnichannel marketing to be effective, you should use at least four marketing channels.
Are you tired of launching bad digital marketing campaigns that fall flat? Read more about creating an effective marketing campaign (and fixing any mistakes you might have).
Why is Implementing an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy Important to Your Company?
According to a recent study, 87% of customers say they want a personalized and consistent experience across all shopping channels. In other words, they don’t want to settle for anything less than an omnichannel experience from their favorite brands.
The significance of this marketing experience is that clients remember how they feel after encountering a brand at different touchpoints. Irrespective of place, time, channel, or the number of engagements and interactions, the point of omnichannel marketing is to leave prospective clients with a positive feeling about your brand.
This feeling is what drives people to take action and buy a product, use your service, and tell their friends about it.
Consequently, companies that use omnichannel strategies and deliver first-class experiences see the positive effects.
Below are the top benefits that come along with omnichannel marketing and key reasons you should implement it within your organization.
1. Superior Synergy Throughout All Departments and Channels
Omnichannel marketing is responsible for creating better synergy by engaging with customers on any channel they prefer. For instance, a customer can purchase a sweater on your online shop and visit your brick-and-mortar store to return it.
Because of your seamlessly integrated process, you can extract the customer data in seconds and complete the return in no time. This way, you acknowledge your customer’s individuality with personalized online and on-site experiences.
2. Brand Visibility
It can help you place your brand’s message across all channels in a uniform and timely manner, whether online, on mobile, or in-store. Each time a prospective customer encounters your brand, they get a consistent and highly personalized customer experience. This leads to better brand visibility and greater customer loyalty.
3. Data Collection and Analysis
If you implement an omnichannel strategy, you can gather and integrate customer data from separate channels and systems, such as cookies, shopping carts, social media, device IDs, mailing lists, POS systems, referral and loyalty programs, and more.
With the help of this obtained information, you can get a 360-degree view of each customer who engages with your brand. Using the collected data, you can examine your customers’ behaviors, interests, and intent… Create better marketing campaigns… And ultimately achieve higher conversion rates.
4. Better Customer Segmentation, Better Campaign Designs, and Better Targeting
Accurate analysis of your customers’ data helps you find your ideal customers and segment them according to their intent. This information enables you to create better marketing campaigns.
For example, if a customer purchases a sweater from your online store, an ad about the identical product on their screen will probably annoy them. For this reason, you can proceed to upselling or cross-selling with advertisements for leather jackets, pants, or shoes that perfectly match the sweater.
Aside from the usual channels, take time to check out a few other alternative digital marketing networks that could boost your advertising campaigns (while costing you a lot less.)
5. Omnichannel Marketing is Cost Effective
Thanks to the insights acquired from the collected data, you can create marketing campaigns and use your resources more efficiently. By interpreting the omnichannel data, you can acknowledge when and where to focus on particular channels for higher returns on investment.
For instance, your Instagram ads may be doing better than your Google ads when you analyze each platform’s cost-per-click, click-through rate, and call-to-action. It makes sense for your business to reduce spending money on Google ads and focus more on Instagram.
Final Thoughts on Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing is an effective way to increase conversions, build a strong and memorable brand, and create unforgettable experiences for your customers. At the end of the day, marketing is about people… And in essence, omnichannel marketing is all about building trust, increasing engagement, and driving sales.
Not too long ago, brands had few options for interacting with clients. Nowadays, channels are abundant, which is why omnichannel marketing is a natural next step for your company’s marketing efforts.
So, put yourself in your clients’ shoes and start creating an omnichannel experience that pushes your company to new levels.
