As consumers become more sophisticated, brands have learned that connecting with their customers means meeting them where they are.
Enter ‘Omnichannel Marketing,’ an approach that focuses on the customer’s “journey.”
This marketing strategy acknowledges that brand engagement can begin in an online channel, continue in a different digital frequency, but finish their conversion at a traditional offline network–or any combination of the possible ways a customer can engage with them.
Thomas Ligor of New York discusses what experts have to say about omnichannel marketing and how it’s reshaping the consumer landscape.
An Explanation of Seamless Commerce
In a word, it means “seamless.”
Omnichannel Marketing acknowledges that customers are now sophisticated, and can choose any of the available touchpoints that the brand has provided, making them all work together as a cohesive unit.
Gone are the days that customers only use one or two touchpoints during their entire customer experience. According to Forbes, touchpoints have now tripled, and providing a seamless experience as the customer moves across them can mean an 18.96% engagement rate for marketing campaigns.
Imagine a customer engaging with Starbucks. They see an ad while working on their desktop, decide their mid-afternoon infusion of caffeine is due, so they reload their Starbucks card just before getting up from their desk. While walking to the store, they open the app, order their coffee in advance, and skip the line to pick it up.
That is seamless commerce in a nutshell.
Despite the multiple channels used, as far as the customer was concerned, it was just one long conversation with Starbucks.
Personalization and Data-Driven Insights
In a successful omnichannel marketing strategy, the customer is in one continuous conversation with the brand.
There are no awkward silences or need to repeat themselves as they transition from one channel to the next. The channel the customer uses is no longer important, the brand strives to meet them wherever they are, while also remembering where they’ve been.
McKinsey & Company states that one-third of Americans have integrated omnichannel features into their buying habits since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that these habits are likely to persist.
For brands, this means that proper analysis of their data can show which touchpoints specific customers choose to use, and tailor their message to reflect that insight.
On a macro level, knowing which touchpoints are contributing the most to a sale, the brand can adjust their marketing spend accordingly.
Omnichannel Success Hinges on Flexibility and Adaptability
There’s no longer a one-size-fits all approach to marketing. Taking customer data and updating strategies real-time to reflect this data is vital to ensure a successful campaign.
The internet has made the world seem smaller than ever.
As new channels emerge and trends affect markets half-way across the world, staying ahead of competitors means brands should always be on their toes.
Knowing what message each demographic resonates with, which touchpoints they use, what aspects of the experience they value most, and making adjustments along the way is what’s needed to deliver in an omnichannel world.
