What Is Omnichannel Marketing?
Data-driven personalization has changed the customer experience. Today's consumers want companies to understand their preferences and make informed suggestions. They expect in-store representatives to access their online profiles and offer digital rewards.
In other words, they want omnichannel marketing. This data-driven approach developed relatively recently, but it's quickly becoming a clear pathway to better results.
In this article, we'll explain what omnichannel marketing is and how it differs from other forms of marketing.
What Is Omnichannel Marketing?
Omnichannel marketing creates a seamless brand experience across the customer journey, from first encounter to post-purchase follow-up. Using consumer data and analytics, it "follows" a customer and remembers what they've looked at, what they like, and how they've interacted.
An omnichannel approach considers all possible touchpoints. For example, a customer might shop online from a desktop or mobile device, through which they create an account or sign up for an email list. The next day, they might walk into the business's brick-and-mortar store and use a coupon they received via email.
Consider it a personal shopping experience for everyone, not just luxury consumers.
How Is It Different From Multichannel Marketing?
Omnichannel and multichannel marketing are related strategies, but multichannel marketing is simpler and more broadly defined. Multichannel marketing allows customers to interact with a business across multiple platforms, whereas omnichannel marketing accounts for every possible touchpoint and allows those touchpoints to work together.
Omnichannel Marketing
The main difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing is that multichannel marketing focuses on the interaction, whereas omnichannel marketing focuses on the customer.
An omnichannel approach integrates the customer journey from start to finish. It creates pathways between channels so the company's systems remember individual customers, no matter which channels they bounce between. The result is a smooth customer journey along which every shopper feels uniquely valued.
Multichannel Marketing
Multichannel marketing uses multiple channels to reach and engage customers but doesn't necessarily aim for a beginning-to-end journey. A multichannel strategy focuses on a single channel at a time, optimizing those touchpoints to strengthen the customer experience.
Consider it the precursor to omnichannel marketing, through which customers can interact with a business on multiple platforms but those platforms don't talk to one another.
Why Is Omnichannel Marketing Important?
A basic multichannel approach is a good starting point, but omnichannel marketing can take your business to the next level.
Better Personalization
Omnichannel marketing improves personalization at every stage of the buying journey, and those personalized experiences are key to customer retention.
According to research from Deloitte Digital, only 43% of customers feel like they're getting a personalized experience. Providing that personalization puts businesses at an advantage. In the Deloitte study, companies that successfully delivered a personalized experience were 71% more likely to report improved customer loyalty.
Optimized Marketing Spend
An omnichannel approach also allows your business to learn from customers' responses to your marketing campaigns. A customer's browsing behavior speaks volumes about what they need and the types of messaging they respond to.
You can use that information to reach people with the right offer or invitation at the right time in their buying journey. By spending less money on the wrong messages, you maximize your budget and increase your return on investment.
More Satisfying Interactions
A consistent experience strengthens the customer relationship long past the initial purchase. Omnichannel strategies reduce friction for shoppers who reach out for customer service, and those scenarios are crucial for customer retention.
In a 2023 Gartner survey, 93% of consumers reported high satisfaction when they could smoothly transition between channels. The ease of transition strengthened customers' trust in automated touchpoints and made interactions with the business more appealing.
Examples of Omnichannel Marketing
Any business can use omnichannel marketing strategies. The key is to understand where and how your customers engage so you can make the process smoother.
Email List Promotions
Picture an auto parts store launching a big sale before the summer travel season. The company publicizes the sale by sending a message to its email list, inviting customers to shop in-store and online.
One customer clicks a link to a category page for windshield-wiper blades. They buy the model that matches their car and are happy to see that the system stores their purchase so they can refer to it the next time their blades need to be replaced.
Another customer reads the email and notices a featured product they want. They go to a nearby store and gratefully notice the price is the same as it was in the email.
These customers both have a seamless experience, despite a different set of touchpoints.
Content Marketing
A business makes a how-to YouTube video featuring one of its flagship products. The content encourages users to sign up for the company's email list, which offers insider information about products and sales.
The company promotes the video on its blog and social media pages, increasing its reach and inviting more people to move deeper down the buyer funnel. Interested customers sign up and get a welcome message, which includes a link to a product the business featured in the video.
This seemingly simple campaign now covers multiple channels: YouTube, blog, social media, email, and website.
Mobile App Launch
A local service business has developed a mobile app to help customers browse their options and schedule appointments on the go. The business promotes the app by sending an email to its list, inviting customers to use the app for a better mobile experience.
The business also promotes the app on its social media pages and website, while in-store employees invite customers to download it and get a coupon as a reward. The app allows users to access their account on multiple platforms and enjoy a more integrated experience.
Enhance Your Digital Marketing With Optimize
An omnichannel strategy can take your marketing campaigns to the next level while delivering a seamless customer experience. You don't need advanced technology or a Fortune 500 marketing budget, but it does help to have a knowledgeable marketing team on your side.
At Optimize, we can help you develop an integrated digital marketing approach. We integrate customer relationship management technology with an in-depth understanding of how various marketing channels work together so that you can provide your customers with an integrated experience.
To learn more about what Optimize can do for you, schedule your free consultation today!