Are you aware of the fact that 86% of shoppers often switch between two channels?
Yes, they not only hop from one store to the next, but they also hop across multiple channels when shopping.
They frequently make online purchases while waiting in line at a physical store or using their smartphones as shopping assistants.
As a result, 87 percent of retailers consider an omnichannel marketing strategy to be essential for success. They realized that if they want to be at the top of their game, they had to work hard. They must provide customers with a consistent experience across all touchpoints.
As a retailer, it’s time to recognize the importance of omnichannel marketing in your business and use it to provide a unique experience for your customers while maximizing ROI.
We’ve put together a comprehensive overview of omnichannel marketing and its significance for brands and businesses.
What is omnichannel marketing?
The practice of establishing your brand’s presence across different online (website, app, social media, email, SMS, WhatsApp) and offline (retail shop, events, call center) channels while maintaining a positive and seamless consumer experience throughout the customer journey is referred to as omnichannel marketing.
The terms ‘positive’ and ‘seamless’ are significant because 67 percent of customers cited poor experience as a reason for churn. As a result, if you want to gain and keep customers, you must take your omnichannel marketing strategy seriously and strengthen it so that your customers have a great experience throughout their journey.
Why do you need omnichannel marketing?
The Harvard Business Review, in collaboration with a major US retailer, conducted 14-month research to better understand customer behavior. They polled 46,000 shoppers and discovered the following:
- 7% of customers were solely online shoppers.
- 20% of them are solely store shoppers.
- A phenomenal 73% of them utilize multiple channels throughout their customer journey
According to the study, the more channels customers used, the more valuable they were to retailers. For example, the study discovered that customers who utilized four or more channels spent 9% more in the store than those who used only one. The message is clear that providing an omnichannel customer experience was no longer an option. Customers must be gathered, engaged, and retained through great experiences across various touchpoints, thus retailers must reassess their customer journeys. With the introduction of new marketing channels, retailers must move their attention from traditional marketing to omnichannel marketing tactics.
How to build an effective omnichannel marketing strategy?
Consider how Disney implemented an efficient omnichannel marketing strategy to improve visitors’ experiences at their theme parks. Disney has made it easier for visitors to plan their accommodation, check ride timings, book tickets, and more without having to wait in a large line thanks to its website, smartphone applications, and magic bands and cards. To create such an omnichannel experience, you’ll require a well-thought-out omnichannel marketing strategy.
You can follow these steps :
Strategize the experience of customers:
Understand their channels, their behavior across all channels, and create a clear plan for how you want the experience to flow across all touchpoints.
Utilize data as a base while planning:
With the use of CRM data, social listening data, and consumer internet search behavior, you’ll be able to understand how your customers behave and, as a result, provide a solution to their problems. By utilizing data effectively, you may even reduce churn.
Segment the users and personalize the journey:
You may quickly split users into multiple categories based on common behavior patterns after you’ve analyzed the data. This will let you develop customized experiences for different types of customers.
Get context right:
In this context, it is the most important aspect of an omnichannel marketing strategy. Sending the wrong message to the wrong audience at the wrong time could turn off your customers. Make sure your message’s context is relevant to the user at the time when they are most engaged and, on the channel, where they engage with you the most.
Pick the right marketing automation tools:
From concept to implementation, use the best marketing tools to execute your strategy. Before deciding on the best one, conduct a thorough analysis.
Make your organization customer-centric:
It is a necessary step since no plan or marketing tool will be effective unless your personnel are trained to provide a consistent experience to clients.
Conclusion:
After reading, you’ll have a better understanding of what omnichannel marketing is and why it matters to brands and enterprises throughout the world. Every company nowadays has its own set of goals and objectives. They do have a distinct method for capturing the attention of customers and ultimately generating income. However, because client retention in a single channel is currently relatively limited, adopting an omnichannel approach would undoubtedly help the retailer gain more market share and responsibility.
