Alex Makura is the founder and CEO of Your Digital Assembly . A complete transformation agency helping online businesses with their digital growth.
No matter where you are in this sales journey (and you're probably part of many if you think about it), chances are you've experienced multi-channel marketing for your favorite brands. This seamless integration of channels is how consumers and marketers interact with each other. This is a physical store, an e-commerce site, a social media comment, a YouTube ad, a mailbox pop-up; They all aim to create a consistent and compelling brand experience and ultimately help the consumer make a purchase decision.
Whether your online presence draws people to your physical store or your store offers a curated user experience, in today's economy, retailers need to find every possible advantage to gain attention. Multi-channel marketing is an effective method that is changing the approach to retail marketing.
How is omnichannel different from omnichannel?
I understand the confusion. There is some overlap between these two strategies.
First, let's understand what multi-channel marketing is. Simply put, multichannel marketing follows the consumer through their devices, online channels and, where possible, a physical space.
In the past, stores were a distribution channel and the Internet was marketing. Consumers can now shop directly from Instagram posts, and embedded stores provide a powerful and emotional customer experience.
In this way, multi-channel marketing ensures constant engagement with the brand. View every time a consumer interacts with your brand, whether in-store or online, as a critical conversion point.
As such, omnichannel is very user-friendly when it comes to how you implement your marketing tactics. Consumers believe that all channels, whether it's social media, your call center, your physical store or your website, are equally important for buying, sharing, complaining and providing feedback about your brand and products.
So how are they different from multi-target marketing methods? Well, while multi-channel marketing understands that marketing requires multiple channels, it typically maps the user journey through each channel, not across channels. This method is important, make no mistake. But it's not as effective as an omnichannel approach.
Why use an omnichannel approach?
While the complexity of creating this type of strategy can be overwhelming, it is easily outweighed by the benefits and returns of an omnichannel strategy.
The modern consumer is so used to information overload that built-in filters and radars, not to mention the artificial intelligence of their devices, help them be more selective in choosing the brands they prefer to interact with.
A broad strategy may be just what your brand needs to stand out from the crowd. This is what a good multi-channel strategy is all about.
• Better for the user. Focus on the person, not the channel or platform. This leads to a better user experience for them, which usually leads to better sales. For example, a retailer sells products based on user experience anywhere in the store.
• Better for your brand. your brand will be easier to recognize across all channels if you create a unified strategy. Creating an omnichannel user experience means everyone, every channel, every touchpoint is singing the same song.
• Increase your bottom line. channel diversification gives you greater reach and engagement. For example, Heinz recently had success using omnichannel in a campaign that included a pop-up in Santa Monica, streaming the event directly to the website and broadcasting live across multiple social and online channels. The result has been unprecedented levels of engagement, massive videos and widespread brand adoption.
How do you get started with multi-channel marketing?
It's not about focusing on a specific channel, but the overall user experience. With that in mind, here are five important points to consider when planning a strategy.
1. Understand your customer.
This number. At the same time, if you do everything right, you can be sure that your marketing campaigns will be successful.
To do this, first review your CRM platform, your online reviews, and existing data to understand your customers' demographics, similarities, passions, and pain points. Understand what their problem is and how your product or service solves that problem. So create customer personas and incorporate them into your messaging, across all channels, at every touchpoint, every time.
2. Data collection and analysis.
Data is the best way to understand which channels, times and devices your customers prefer to interact with you and your brand.
Even if all you have are integrated Google Analytics dashboards for your website and social media, this is a good start. Frankly, we have more data than we know what to do with. The real challenge is making sense of the data and getting actionable information. Use data analysts, business intelligence software, or marketing resources to make sense of data so you can improve direct campaigns and meet your customers wherever they are.
3. Map the customer journey.
Analyze the steps your customers take when they first discover your brand, considering alternatives, buying from your brand, and loyalty. Then select each customer segment.
4. Stick to the brand.
A physical store is also a media channel, and digital media is also a store. Use your brand guidelines to align your messaging and creative so customers recognize you, regardless of sales channel or stage.
5. Testing and Optimization.
I've found that the only way to get the most out of the broadest approach is to test and test and test. Run AB tests with changes to your call to action, headline, image, or product placement. Find out what gives you the best results for each channel.
It seems like a lot. However, if you combine your offline and online channels, retain the customer first, and create the best way to reach them, you can be effective in multi-channel marketing.
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