As consumers’ online behaviors evolve, the bar for frictionless brand interactions continues to rise. That’s due to the rapid technological advancements you see daily, and keeping up with them can be challenging for small businesses.
One way brands are staying ahead is through omnichannel marketing. This approach can be game-changing for brands and offers plenty of benefits. Once you understand its key advantages, you will feel compelled to adopt this marketing strategy with a well-thought-out plan for your business.
What Is Omnichannel Marketing?
Omnichannel marketing is an approach where a company provides customers with a fully integrated shopping experience. Whether shopping from a mobile device or in a physical store, the experience will be consistent and complementary.
For instance, a customer might see a product online and decide to check it out in the store. When they arrive, the sales staff can access their online activity and help them find the desired product. If they choose to shop online, they may receive targeted suggestions based on their in-store purchases.
This strategy is effective because every customer is unique, and omnichannel marketing keeps track of your brand’s interactions across different channels. Then, it uses that information to improve the shopping experience. It is a coordinated effort that ensures your messages and services are tailored to customers’ interests and needs.
Businesses that use omnichannel marketing are better at meeting customer expectations. They can engage with customers on various platforms — through email, social media and more — offering personalized content that feels relevant to the customer. In turn, brands build a stronger connection with their buyers, encouraging loyalty and repeat business.
The Key Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing
Knowing what omnichannel marketing is, it is clear that this strategy leads to better marketing outcomes. Yet, while implementing omnichannel marketing can be a large undertaking, the benefits are immense. Here are some of the top advantages your brand can receive from this strategy.
1. Personalizes the Customer Experience
Omnichannel marketing allows brands to track customer behavior across various channels. Whether your customer is in-store, online or using an app, you can receive data about your customers. In turn, this helps you personalize their experience through tailored messages and offerings to individual customers.
Personalization is essential through brand interactions because customers expect it. They want to feel like you are prioritizing them, especially if they are willing to spend. By creating a personalized and consistent experience across all marketing channels, customers are eager to return to your business.
A good, personalized experience will encourage customers to keep spending, and you benefit. In fact, a Deloitte survey found that half of consumers are willing to pay more for products and services tailored to their needs.
2. Streamlines the Customer Journey
When your brand is available across all channels, omnichannel marketing provides a seamless customer journey. This continuity means whether a customer engages with a business in person or online, they have a smooth interaction with the brand at all times. In turn, the interactions stay comfortable and familiar because the company delivers an experience regardless of where the customer is in their journey.
When customers have an experience like this, you increase your chances of receiving a sale from them next time. Research even shows that omnichannel customers buy 1.7 times more than single-channel shoppers.
3. Higher Customer Retention
When you make it easier for customers to sail throughout the sales funnel, customers are more likely to return. The customers you retain over time often have a higher lifetime value than those who only purchase from you once.
Customer retention is essential in business because they usually cost less to invest in than acquiring new ones. They save you money while helping you generate more sales.
4. Increased Revenue
Omnichannel marketing increases the frequency of conversions at higher speeds, increasing your business’s revenue in a shorter time. Simultaneously, the customer lifetime value grows with shoppers’ positive interaction with your business.
More revenue means you have more resources to invest in innovation, growth and customer satisfaction. It also helps your brand withstand challenging periods of uncertainty and unstable market conditions.
Plus, loyal customers who return repeatedly spread the word about your brand and provide valuable feedback. You spend less on customer acquisition and receive a higher ROI from your marketing efforts.
5. Enhanced Brand Recognition
Since omnichannel marketing provides a consistent shopping experience across all channels, customers will remember you. Omnichannel marketing increases brand recognition because seamless experiences enable customers to recall it more often.
When your strategy increases familiarity, you make your business stand out. In turn, you attract a larger customer base, giving you a competitive edge in the long run.
How to Get Started Implementing Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing provides numerous benefits. However, it takes the right strategy for this marketing method to work. To ensure you are reaping all the rewards from it, it helps to take the following steps below:
- Know your audience: Who are your ideal customers? Before you dive into strategy creation, ensure you understand who you are targeting. It is important that you know their challenges and preferences so you know how to personalize their experience because 62% say they stay loyal in return. Ensure you gather data and insights to create a customer persona to understand who you are marketing to in the end.
- Market your brand on the right channels: Every channel is different. With that in mind, certain channels will be more suitable than others. Consider which physical and digital channels your audience uses most. Whether it be social media, mobile apps or physical stores, choose the ones your customers engage with the most. Remember, the objective is to create a streamlined experience for shoppers.
- Use data and technology: Technology is the foundation of a good omnichannel strategy because it provides data integration across all channels. This seamless flow of customer information allows you to keep track of their interactions and behaviors. From here, this lets you provide personalized experiences and consistent messages.
- Ensure consistent messaging: Customers should be able to recognize your brand immediately. Ensure you use your data insights to craft marketing messages personalized for customers on every channel.
- Measure and optimize your strategy: Continue to watch the results of your omnichannel marketing efforts. Choose to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) like customer retention, conversions and customer lifetime value to guide your decisions. You could also try A/B testing to learn which approaches work best.
Implementing a Successful Omnichannel Marketing Strategy
Omnichannel marketing is about giving customers a unified and seamless experience across each channel. The key to providing this is using data and technology. Leverage it to bolster the customer experience and retain loyal shoppers to sustain business growth over the long term.
Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She was the creative director at a digital marketing agency before becoming a full-time freelance designer. Eleanor lives in Philly with her husband and pup, Bear.
