The customer journey will only grow as technology continues to evolve. In response, businesses will need to offer a unified experience through apps, websites, social media, and face-to-face interactions.
Omnichannel marketing offers businesses the opportunity to develop a cohesive strategy across all channels for a more effective shopping experience and a higher ROI.
Let’s take a close look into the omnichannel approach that enables businesses to nurture leads, land sales, and retain customers. We’ll review its benefits, how it’s different from traditional multichannel marketing, and ways you can use it in your business.
Table of contents
- What is omnichannel marketing?
- Multichannel vs. omnichannel strategy: what’s the difference?
- Benefits of omnichannel marketing
- Step-by-step guide for creating an omnichannel marketing strategy
- Examples of brands using omnichannel marketing today
- Use omnichannel marketing for more effective strategies
What is omnichannel marketing?
Omnichannel marketing is a strategy that integrates all channels in coordination with one another, providing a seamless and cohesive customer experience at every touchpoint. It focuses on delivering an integrated, personalized, and branded experience. A personalized experience meets customers where they are in their journey for more targeted marketing. Integration ensures customers receive the same branded experience across all channels.
Above all, omnichannel marketing delivers a helpful, efficient customer experience. It finds the best ways to meet customer needs and provide valuable solutions.
Multichannel vs. omnichannel strategy: what’s the difference?
Multichannel marketing focuses on sharing information and expanding operations across numerous marketing channels. For instance, a brand might spread the word about a new product through as many ways as possible using multichannel marketing. In multichannel marketing, each way of reaching out operates on its own, without much connection to the others. This means customers might see the brand differently depending on where they interact with it.
Omnichannel marketing focuses on enhancing and unifying the customer experience across all channels, ensuring a seamless omnichannel experience. Messaging and other strategies are personalized for audience segments. Those strategies are then deployed across all channels in coordination with one another. Customers enjoy personalized messaging and a branded, cohesive experience across all channels and touchpoints.
Benefits of omnichannel marketing
Omnichannel marketing helps businesses achieve long-term success through a better user experience and a more targeted marketing strategy. Benefits of omnichannel marketing include:
- Higher customer lifetime value (CLV)
- Improved customer experience
- Lower customer churn
- Higher conversion rates
- Brand strategy and awareness
- Customer engagement, loyalty, and retention
- Increased sales and ROI
- Stronger customer data
Step-by-step guide for creating an omnichannel marketing strategy
Businesses of all sizes can create an omnichannel strategy by following the steps below. The guidelines below are general, allowing for each business to tailor its omnichannel marketing strategy for its capabilities, needs, and customers.
Collect customer data and insights
First, brands need to collect enough data to understand the customer’s needs, behaviors, and current experience. Data will help identify key pain points, where abandoned carts occur most often, any difficult processes or bumps in a customer’s experience with a brand, etc.
Businesses can collect this data through surveys, feedback forms, and MarTech tools like a CRM and a customer data platform (CDP). They can also interview their own teams to gain valuable insights. Marketers, UX professionals, customer service teams, and even in-store cashiers will have knowledge of what works for customers, what customers are saying, and where there is room for improvement.
Analyze data for actionable insights
After collecting the customer data, it’s time to analyze it. Data analysis allows businesses to understand their customers and anticipate their needs. This provides a seamless, intuitive experience for the customer – and more conversions for the brand.
There is a wide range of data analysis tools on the market today including AI-powered software and predictive analysis. MarTech tools like customer data platforms (CDP) also provide powerful data capabilities. A CDP collects omnichannel customer data in real time, matches disparate data sets to create unified customer profiles, and provides complete customer journey mapping across all touchpoints. It also integrates with other tools in a brand’s existing MarTech stack, supporting segmentation, analysis, and more.
Want to get the most ROI for your customer data – with little effort?
Check out our guide to customer data platforms to see how this software can optimize your customer data for analysis, targeted campaigns, and more revenue.
Segment your audience
Omnichannel marketing serves the customer based on their unique behavior, customer journey, and needs. Audience segmentation helps a brand do exactly that by identifying specific groups within its overall audience. Examples of audience segmentation include:
- Demographics
- Location
- Customer persona
- Where the customer shops
- Previous purchases
- Survey results
Once it has segmented its audience, a business can tailor the messaging, marketing strategy, and customer experience for each group – providing a targeted experience more likely to generate sales and conversions.
Customer journey mapping
After establishing audience segments, businesses can begin mapping the customer journey for each group. This will help brands understand exactly what customers need at each stage. Customer journey mapping should also identify any barriers that might hinder a customer’s journey forward.
Strategy development + content creation
Once a business has identified key areas in the journey, it can tailor a strategy to each segment. Strategies include targeted messaging, a personalized user experience, cohesive branding across all channels, and more. Businesses should also tailor the messaging based on each channel, and what is most likely to resonate with audiences on that specific channel. The goal here is to anticipate factors that can help or hinder a customer’s journey – and to create an experience that helps them stay on track.
Performance tracking and optimization
Omnichannel marketing is always evolving. After deploying its omnichannel strategy, a brand needs to regularly collect and analyze data to track performance. Routine checks will provide valuable insights about what is working – and what needs revising. By continuing to monitor data and adjust accordingly, a brand can ensure its strategy evolves with its customers.
Examples of brands using omnichannel marketing today
Omnichannel strategy isn’t limited to just retail or e-commerce brands – any business can benefit from a cohesive customer experience. Here are a few examples of popular business using omnichannel marketing to advance their brand:
Starbucks
Starbucks has long been a leader in omnichannel marketing. Today, its omnichannel strategy includes a Starbucks app, rewards program, mobile ordering, and preloaded cards. Its strategy makes interacting with Starbucks incredibly easy and accessible.
Customers can tie gift cards to their mobile app and pay for the order with their phones, part of Starbucks’ loyalty program that enriches the omnichannel experience. Customers can order online or through the app, then pick up their purchases in the store or in the drive-through. They also earn rewards on purchases that can later be redeemed for discounted or free items.
Target
The retail giant Target has also revolutionized the omnichannel marketing experience. The Target app allows customers to see what items are in stock at a specific store. They can then add those items to their shopping list for in-store shopping.
The app even provides a map of the specific store so customers know exactly where each item is located. Customers who prefer mobile or curbside orders can place orders for curbside pickup, in-store pickup, or home shipping.
Target further streamlines curbside orders by designating a number of parking spots for drive-up orders. In some locations that include an in-store Starbucks stand, customers can even place a Starbucks order through their Target app and have it delivered with their Target pickup order.
Bank of America
Bank of America is proof that omnichannel strategy can positively impact all industries – not just retailers and ecommerce. The company uses omnichannel marketing to provide a better customer experience across numerous platforms for its users. Customers can do their banking at the company’s physical locations, at an ATM, online, or through the Bank of America app.
Today’s banking occurs across multiple channels, and Bank of America is using omnichannel strategy to provide a unified, user-friendly experience for all its members.
Use omnichannel marketing for more effective strategies
Today’s customers will interact with a brand across multiple channels – and they’ll expect a uniform, streamlined experience every time. Brands that don’t provide a cohesive experience risk alienating customers or losing sales. Omnichannel marketing helps businesses deliver on customer expectations for better results.
Dialog Insight makes omnichannel marketing easy
Developing integrated strategies across multiple channels might seem difficult – but with us, it isn’t. At Dialog Insight, we provide everything from real-time customer data tracking to automations across SMS, email, and more. We’ll help you easily scale your marketing for better results.