Alex Makura is the founder and CEO of Your Digital Summit . A full funnel agency that supports online businesses in their digital growth.
No matter what stage of a certain sales journey you're at (and if you think about it, you're probably one of many), you've probably experienced omnichannel marketing from your favorite brands. This seamless channel integration is the link between the consumer and the retailer. A physical store, an e-commerce website, social media comments, a YouTube ad, a flyer in the mailbox, all strive to create a cohesive and compelling product experience that ultimately leads to the consumer's purchasing decision.
Whether your online presence brings people to your physical store or your store offers curated user experiences, in today's economy, retailers must take advantage of every opportunity to stand out among the noise. Omnichannel marketing is an effective way to transform retail marketing.
How is omnichannel different from multichannel?
I understand the confusion. There is some overlap between the two strategies.
First, let's understand what omnichannel marketing is. Simply put, omnichannel marketing follows the consumer across their devices, online channels and physical locations as much as possible.
In the past, stores were distribution centers and were linked to online shopping. Consumers can now shop directly from Instagram posts, and stores are designed to provide powerful and emotional customer experiences.
In this way, omnichannel marketing provides a consistent brand experience. Visualize it as a key touchpoint every time a consumer interacts with your brand, whether in-store or online.
Therefore, omnichannel is extremely user-centric when it comes to implementing your marketing strategies. Whether it's social media, a call center, a brick and mortar store, or a website, consumers see all channels as equally capable of buying, interacting with, complaining about, and reviewing your products and services.
But how does it differ from multi-channel marketing strategies? Although omnichannel marketing recognizes that marketing requires more than one channel, it typically maps the user journey across all channels. This method is important, make no mistake. However, it is not as effective as an omnichannel approach.
Why adopt an omnichannel approach?
While the complexity of creating this type of strategy can be overwhelming, the benefits and payoffs of an omnichannel strategy are simply greater.
Today's consumers are used to information overload and built-in filters and radars help them be more selective about which brands they choose to interact with, not to mention the artificial intelligence of their devices.
An omnichannel strategy may be just what you need to make your brand stand out from the crowd. This is what we get from a good multi-channel strategy.
• Better for the user: The focus is on the person rather than the channel or platform . This makes for a better UX for them, which leads to better sales overall. For example, a retailer sells products based on a user's in-store experience.
• When you create a better integrated strategy for your brand, your brand can be easily recognized across all channels. Creating an Omnichannel User Experience Everyone, every channel, every touchpoint is singing the same song.
• Better for the bottom line: Multiplying channels gives you more reach and reach. For example, Heinz recently hosted a pop-up event in Santa Monica, live-streaming the event on its website and making use of online omnichannel in a campaign that ran the live stream across multiple social channels. The results were extraordinary levels of engagement, high video views and great brand exposure.
How do you start your omnichannel marketing?
It's about focusing on the overall user experience, not on a specific channel. With this in mind, here are five important points to consider when planning your strategy.
1. Understand your customer.
It's number one. Always. If you can do this, your marketing campaigns will definitely be successful.
To do this, first examine your CRM platform, online reviews, and existing data to understand your customers' demographics, similarities, sentiments, and pain points. Understand what their problems are and how your product or service can solve that problem. So create customer personas and honor them in your messaging – in every channel, at every touch point, every time.
2. Collect and understand information.
Data is the best way to understand which channels, when and on which devices your consumers prefer to interact with you and your brand.
Even if you have Google Analytics for your website and built-in dashboards for your social networks, it's a good start. Frankly, we have more information than we know what to do with. The real challenge is making sense of the data and deriving actionable insights. Use your data analytics, business intelligence software or marketing resources to optimize live campaigns and connect with your consumers where they are.
3. Map the customer journey.
Consider the steps you can expect between first discovering your brand, searching for options, purchasing your brand, and building loyalty. Then define it for each customer segment.
4. Post the sign.
A physical store is also a media channel and digital media is a store. Use brand guidelines to keep your message and creative consistent so the customer recognizes you, regardless of channel or funnel platform.
5. Check and improve.
I've found that the only way to get the most out of an omnichannel approach is to test, test. Run AB tests with changes to your call to action, title, image, or product placement. See which one gets the best results for each channel.
That might sound like a lot. However, if you integrate your offline and online channels, putting the customer first and creating the best way to reach them, you can be effective in multi-channel marketing.
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