Today, a consumer has a lot of options available to shop at their disposal. They might visit the offline store or purchase it via an app, website, or even social media. So, how do you ensure that you have a holistic approach to interact with them throughout their sales funnel journey? The Answer is —- Omnichannel Marketing!
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
Omnichannel Marketing is a holistic marketing approach used by an organization to interact with their potential customers through every possible medium, be it a website, mobile application, social media, brick & mortar stores, etc. It enables seamless interaction with customers across their online & offline touchpoints with the brand.
Imagine, just when you are walking past a bakery, you receive a discount offer on your mobile device for their confectioneries; you decide to avail of the offer & when you’re done, you receive an email for the feedback, which redirects you to their website. Later that day, while surfing social media, you see their sponsored story of a new product they are about to launch with a special discount code. Now, since you loved their confectioneries, you decided to give their new product a try & ordered it online through their website.
Wasn’t it a cool approach to lure the customers without being intrusive?
Of course, it was!
In the above example, the advertisers successfully grabbed their customer’s attention throughout the sales funnel. The customer was perfectly pitched to take the required action in each stage without being intrusive or pushy.
This is Omnichannel Marketing!
Multichannel Marketing vs. Omnichannel Marketing
A multichannel marketing approach is one where you promote your business over multiple channels. Still, they aren’t necessarily synchronized, meaning, if it’s just a multichannel & not an omnichannel approach, then you won’t be able to track your customers throughout their multi-touchpoints’ journey. Thus, you’re unable to serve a seamless experience with consistent branding. All you’re doing is just using different platforms/channels to reach a broad audience.
On the other hand, an omnichannel marketing approach offers your audience a seamless experience across multiple devices and channels. For instance, you can run a remarketing campaign for your website visitors & lure them to your social media platforms & provide them with great deals while they are at or near your store. It’s like you’re continuing a story where you left off.
Note:- An omni-channel marketing can always be referred to as multi-channel marketing, but multi-channel marketing is not necessarily omni-channel marketing.
Omni Channel Marketing Strategies & Best Practices
Having the best omnichannel marketing strategy in place is crucial to make it a huge success. However, it is not easy to create an omni-channel strategy without years of expertise & hard work. So, let us help you acquire some of the best strategies essential for success.
Ace Your Multichannel Marketing
First Things First – you need to enhance your existing channels of promotion or create new ones (if you haven’t already) & make sure you are consistently & creatively utilizing all the available channels at your disposal.
You must leverage everything from a website to social media to email marketing; to ensure you are taking advantage of every significant opportunity that could help you reach and engage your target audience.
You should also persistently work around A/B testing for your ad campaigns on multiple channels. You should analyze what kind of audience is engaging on each platform & accordingly strategize to suit their needs perfectly.
To ace your multichannel marketing efforts, you must develop a comprehensive strategy that effectively integrates various channels to engage your audience.
Seamlessly Integrate All Your Channels
Only setting up multi-channels is not enough; you need to seamlessly integrate all your channels to make it convenient for your users to reach you through any medium.
No matter which channels or platforms they use, they can smoothly move from device to device & channel to channel to connect with your brand if the integration is flawless.
Avoid treating each channel as a separate entity. Instead, strive for a coordinated approach where channels complement and reinforce each other. For example, a customer who visited your site on a desktop received a message from your brand on a social media platform while surfing on a mobile device.
Make Your Website Responsive
To make your omni-channel strategy successful, you must ensure that your website is responsive on all devices, be it mobile, desktop, tablet, laptop, etc. A responsive website is one which automatically adjusts & resizes itself to all devices to make it convenient for users to access it through any device.
As omnichannel marketing involves cross-device targeting, ensuring that your website’s UI/UX is in sync with the marketing efforts is crucial.
Segment Your Target Audience
You should thoroughly analyze your target audience to gain a deeper understanding and segregate them based on various permutations & combinations.
Let’s say you sell menstrual products. So, you can segment your target audience into different groups, which are as follows –
- Rural women using sanitary napkins.
- Urban women using sanitary napkins.
- Rural women using tampons & menstrual cups.
- Urban women using tampons & menstrual cups.
- People who abandoned their carts on your site.
- Customers who previously purchased sanitary napkins from a particular brand.
- People who searched for different menstrual products (other than what you are offering) on your site’s search box.
- And many more.
Now you need to approach people in each segment differently based on their needs. For example, your team can visit those rural areas & sell the products in person & offer them special discounts to make the product affordable to them, and you can email those who have abandoned your cart & remind them to complete their purchase with a buy one get one deal.
Leverage Google Dashboards
Google Dashboard is a very handy tool that lets you create & visualize reports from numerous data sources in a centralized dashboard. It summarizes different reports & makes it easier to strategize based on the accurate interpretation of data.
You can leverage this tool to visualize all your important data & metrics from all the channels & mediums you use, including the audience segmentation referred to in the above section. It will make it easier for you to make important decisions for your business & will boost your omni channel marketing strategies.
Map Customer Journey
Now that you have every granular detail about your customers visualized in the form of comprehensive reports, you can easily track your customers’ journey throughout their online & offline touchpoints & push them further down in the sales funnel with a personalized approach for every customer.
You should trace their journey starting from the very first interaction & find out:- How did they reach your business. What channel did they prefer? What are their pain points? Are their pain points addressed satisfactorily? Are they returning users or just one-time visitors?
And based on the answers you received, make a plan to ensure they are completely satisfied.
Beacon Marketing
Beacon is a Bluetooth-connected device that integrates the online & offline world of users based on their device’s web history & location data, thereby providing them with a seamless experience across all mediums.
Beacons let you reach out to people who previously engaged with your brand through any possible point of contact, like they might have interacted through your website or social media, filled out a contact form, responded to a survey questionnaire, visited your store in person and many more; you can ping them with offers whenever they are in a specific proximity with your business location.
Four C’s of Omnichannel
- Customer
- Content
- Collaboration
- Context
Set Clear Objectives
Define your goals and objectives for all your omni-channel marketing campaigns. Whether for branding, driving website traffic, or boosting conversions, having pre-defined goals will help you create a well-planned strategy for each campaign.
Maintain Consistent Branding
Ensure consistent branding across all channels to establish a strong and recognizable brand identity. Consistency in messaging, visuals, and tone of voice helps reinforce your brand’s image and enhances brand recall.
Create Compelling Content
Develop high-quality content customized for each channel. Adapt your content according to each platform’s format and requirements, whether it is social media posts or longer-form blog articles. Provide valuable information, solve problems and engage your audience to build trust and loyalty.
Measure and Analyze Results
Track and measure the performance of your omni-channel marketing efforts regularly to find out the loopholes & optimize your campaigns effectively.
Test and Experiment
Feel free to experiment and test different approaches within your omnichannel strategy. A/B testing, trying new platforms, and exploring emerging trends can help you discover new opportunities and optimize your marketing efforts.
Stay Agile and Adapt
The marketing landscape is constantly evolving. So, always stay updated & ready to adapt as needed to ensure your omni-channel marketing stays effective and relevant.
Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing
The omnichannel approach is the best way of marketing in this digital age, as it enables businesses to reach their potential customers through multi-touch points of communication.
Let’s have a look at the host of benefits it offers:
Better Reach
An Omnichannel approach enables advertisers to reach their customers beyond any communication barrier. Thereby, offering a broader reach.
Better User Experience
As Omnichannel Advertising is a very targeted & user-centric approach, it provides a pleasant experience to customers who get exactly what they are looking for and that too at the right time.
Better Retention
As the customers are satisfied with their omnichannel experience, they ought to stick longer with the brand than they would have for any other intrusive approach.
Better Attribution Data
An Omnichannel Campaign utilizes a holistic marketing approach, which allows businesses to track the data of their customers through online & offline data sources in a centralized report. Thus, it is easier for advertisers to get better attribution data & in turn, enhance their decision-making power.
Better ROI
Advertisers have seen up to 90% conversion rates after switching to omni-channel marketing, which speaks volumes about the pivotal role it plays & the ROI it offers.
Do you want to Leverage Omnichannel Marketing for your Business?
How to Build an Omni-Channel Marketing Campaign | Case Study
Here’s a case study of one of our clients that will depict the success of our omni-channel marketing solutions. Through a comprehensive analysis of our approach, this case study highlights the key components of our omni-channel marketing strategy, the challenges faced, and the remarkable results achieved.
Understanding the Needs
We first had a one-on-one session with our client to understand the requirements. We learned that the client had been in the business for the last 10 years and now they wanted to bring their business online to enjoy a greater reach. They aimed to enhance customer engagement, drive sales, and create a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels.
We recognized the need to evolve their marketing strategy to meet the changing expectations of their customers. We made them understand that today’s consumers are not limited to a single channel but expect a consistent and personalized experience across all touchpoints. Switching to digital media alone is not enough; they need more. To achieve this, we embarked on a comprehensive omni-channel strategy development process.
Challenge
The biggest challenge was to start their digital transformation journey from scratch, as it was going to take a while to reach the omnichannel strategizing stage & give them the desired result.
Strategy Development
First and foremost, we focused on building their online presence & then integrating their offline & online world, i.e., their physical stores, e-commerce website, mobile app, and social media platforms. Thanks to our Global Database, we were able to leverage our data to help them reach their audience faster & on a larger scale.
We ensured that their customers could seamlessly transition between these channels without experiencing any disruption in their shopping journey. For instance, customers could browse products on the website, add items to their cart, or visit a physical store to try them on (if they want to) to make the purchase. The inventory was synchronized across all channels, providing accurate and real-time product availability information.
We invested in developing a unified brand strategy to maintain consistent brand identity and messaging. We carefully crafted their brand voice, visual elements, and messaging guidelines to ensure consistency across all customer touchpoints. So that customers who interacted with their brand through any channel would experience a cohesive and recognizable brand presence.
We leveraged their customer data to gain valuable insights about their customers. We segmented the data into different groups based on different attributes, which helped us to create targeted and personalized marketing campaigns. For example, if a customer had recently purchased a pair of running shoes, we would send personalized recommendations for running accessories or offer discounts on related products.
Furthermore, we implemented measures to create a seamless customer journey from browsing to purchase and beyond. We focused on providing a frictionless experience, allowing customers to pick up where they left off, regardless of the channel they were using.
For instance, if a customer added products to their cart on the mobile app but didn’t complete the purchase, they would receive a reminder email with a link to continue their purchase seamlessly on the website or visit a nearby store to complete the transaction.
Result
They witnessed over a 90% increase in traffic acquisition through online & offline mediums combined.
Main Pillars of Omni Channel Strategy
- Seamless Integration
- Personalization
- Comprehensive Reporting
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Implementing Omnichannel Marketing Strategies
Inefficient Data Utilization
Though data plays a pivotal role in any marketing campaign, people sometimes ignore its importance. Whether you are new to the digital business world or already have an established database (acquired through google analytics or similar tools), acquiring new data of potential leads (apart from the existing ones) is extremely crucial to tap the untapped opportunities. Get in touch to buy a database tailored to your business needs.
Poor Analysis
If you don’t analyze how different customers behave, you won’t be able to meet their needs. Thus, it is extremely crucial to visualize all your important data in a centralized reporting interface to get a clear picture of your users’ journey & accordingly create a marketing plan to grab their attention.
Overlooking Customer Preferences
Advertisers generally focus on what they want to sell while overlooking what their target audience wants. A blanket approach is generally not good for any marketing strategy as that means treating every customer in the same manner. Every individual has different needs & you need to treat them differently. Not everyone wants to buy your product; some might be in the consideration stage, while others might search for information. Understand their needs & then approach them with a personalized pitch.
No Follow-ups!
Onboarding a customer alone is insufficient; you need timely follow-ups to retain them for the long term, but you don’t need to overdo anything; just a friendly reminder would do.
What is Omnichannel Retailing/Omnichannel Ecommerce?
Omnichannel Retailing or Omnichannel Ecommerce is a sales approach retailers use to provide customers with a seamless and integrated shopping experience across multiple channels and touchpoints.
In today’s digital world, Consumers engage with retailers through various channels, such as websites, mobile apps, social media platforms, brick & mortar stores, etc. Thus, the main aim of omnichannel retailing is to create a consistent and cohesive experience for customers, irrespective of the channel they choose to interact with.
Omnichannel Retail Strategy
An advertiser deploying a successful omnichannel retail strategy would have yes as an answer to all the below-mentioned questions:
- Can a buyer purchase through your website, online marketplaces & your brick and mortar store?
- Can they track their online orders?
- Can you retarget users who abandoned their carts?
- Can they smoothly move from device to device to access your website?
- Can they receive offers while they are in the proximity of your store/shop?
- Do you have a unified reporting interface to track your customer’s journey?
- Do you have customized data of your potential leads apart from the existing users’ data?
Be honest! Is your answer a yes to all of them?
Well, if it is yes, then congratulations, you are on the right track. If not, then you should really get started.
Omni Channel Retailing Examples
Let’s have a look at some successful omni channel retailing examples of popular brands:
Apple
Apple is known for its omni-channel approach, providing a seamless experience across its physical stores, website & mobile app. Users can browse products online, reserve items for in-store pickup, or receive personalized assistance from Apple experts at any stage of the purchasing process.
Nike
Nike has also embraced omni-channel retailing quite efficiently by empowering its customers to use the website & app to browse and customize products, check inventory availability in nearby stores, and even use the Nike app to scan products in-store for additional information.
Starbucks
Starbucks is a prime example of omni-channel retailing in the food and beverage industry. Customers can order their favorite drinks through the Starbucks mobile app, pay with the app, and pick up their orders in-store. The app also offers rewards and personalized recommendations based on past purchases.
Walmart
Walmart has successfully implemented omni-channel retailing by leveraging its extensive physical store network and online presence. Customers can order products online and choose to have them delivered to their homes or pick them up in-store. Walmart also offers services like grocery pickup and same-day delivery to provide convenience and flexibility to customers.
These are just a few examples of companies that have successfully implemented omni-channel retailing to provide a seamless shopping experience to their customers across multiple channels.
What is B2B Omni Channel Marketing?
Omnichannel marketing is not only limited to retailers; it can also be used by B2B businesses to maximize their ROI. The goal is to create a cohesive and interconnected ecosystem where customers can interact with a company’s brand and offerings across different channels. This approach enables B2B buyers to engage with multiple channels and devices during their decision-making process, and aims to deliver a unified message and experience across all touchpoints.
B2B Omnichannel Strategy
B2B omnichannel strategy is a comprehensive approach that focuses on creating a seamless and integrated experience for business-to-business (B2B) customers across multiple channels and touchpoints. It involves aligning all marketing, sales, and customer service efforts to provide a cohesive and personalized journey for B2B buyers throughout their interactions with a company.
Here are key elements of a B2B omnichannel strategy:
Customer-Centric Approach: Placing the B2B customer at the center of the strategy by understanding their needs, preferences, and behaviors. It involves conducting market research, gathering customer insights, and developing buyer personas to create targeted messaging and experiences.
Channel Integration: Ensuring smooth integration and consistency across various channels used by B2B customers, such as websites, social media platforms, email, mobile apps, offline interactions, etc. The goal is to provide a unified brand experience and seamless transitions as customers move between channels.
Data and Analytics: Leveraging customer data and analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and purchase patterns. It allows for personalized messaging, targeted marketing campaigns, and customized experiences based on individual needs.
Content Strategy: Developing a cohesive content strategy that caters to different stages of the B2B buyer’s journey. It includes creating valuable and relevant content that educates, informs & guides customers at each touchpoint. The content should be consistent across channels & address the specific pain points and challenges faced by B2B buyers.
Measurement & Optimization: Establishing metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the omnichannel marketing strategy. Regularly analyzing data and performance results allows for ongoing optimization and continuous improvement of the strategy.
B2B Omnichannel Examples
Here are some successfully implemented B2B Omnichannel examples of popular brands:
Salesforce
Salesforce, a leading provider of cloud-based CRM solutions, has successfully implemented B2B omnichannel strategy wherein customers can access product information, request demos, engage with customer support & purchase across different touchpoints, ensuring a consistent and seamless experience.
Cisco
Cisco, a global technology company, has embraced an omnichannel marketing approach in its B2B marketing efforts, providing a unified experience to customers throughout their sales journey. They can access resources, engage with experts, and make informed purchasing decisions regardless of their chosen channel.
General Electric
GE, a multinational conglomerate, is also successfully offering its customers a consistent experience across their online and offline interactions. They can access product information, view case studies, connect with sales representatives & manage their accounts seamlessly across multiple channels.
IBM
IBM, a global technology company, has developed an omnichannel approach to engage with its B2B customers effectively. They have integrated everything that online & offline marketing encompasses to deliver a cohesive brand experience. Its customers can access resources, participate in webinars, interact with subject matter experts, and explore IBM’s solutions across channels.
These examples demonstrate how these popular B2B companies have implemented omnichannel strategies to provide customers with a seamless and integrated experience across various channels. By doing so, they enhance customer engagement, improve satisfaction, and drive business growth in the B2B space.
Key Takeaways
- Omnichannel Marketing empowers an advertiser to interact with customers across their online & offline touchpoints seamlessly.
- An omni-channel marketing approach is an advanced form of multichannel marketing.
- Brands have observed up to 90% conversion rates after switching to omni-channel marketing.
- It has entirely revolutionized the marketing landscape for businesses & customers.
- Omnichannel Advertising is going to stay & play a pivotal role in marketing in the near & distant future.
- Both Retailers & B2B businesses can leverage omnichannel-strategies to maximize the efficiency of their marketing campaigns.