What Is Omnichannel Marketing? Why You Need It And How to Build It

In this article ( What Is Omnichannel Marketing? Why You Need It And How to Build It ) we shall discussed the following topics;

What Is Omnichannel Marketing?

Why You Need Omnichannel Marketing

How to Build An Effective Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

Omnichannel marketing is an increasingly popular topic in digital marketing today. And it is easy to see why: Customers expect to reach brands across different channels, both online and offline and receive a consistent experience.

An omnichannel strategy makes a brand fit-for-purpose for today’s world, ready to delight customers.

Omnichannel marketing refers to creating your brand’s presence across multiple online (website, app, social media, email, SMS, WhatsApp) and offline (retail store, events, call-center) channels while ensuring a positive and seamless experience throughout the customer journey.

This seamless integration allows for the creation of holistic customer profiles. This gives marketers both better visibility as to how customers are engaging as they move from one channel to the next AND allows marketers to create unified (or integrated) shopping experiences.

Each channel works together to create a unified experience – customers can be shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, via phone, or in a brick-and-mortar store, and the experience will be seamless and consistent.

Recent research shows that companies using an omnichannel business communication strategy have year-to-year customer retention rates that are 91% greater than companies not using omnichannel solutions.

Omnichannel platforms allow customers to communicate on the channel they prefer, prevent them from having to repeat themselves, decrease hold times, and increase first call resolution rates (more on that in a minute.)

Today’s consumers expect a digital-first customer service experience, especially given that more than 60% of shoppers rely on chat messaging, social media, and self-service options before making a phone call to the customer service department.

Omnichannel contact centers also provide a consistent cross-platform experience, which helps increase brand recognition and makes it easy for customers to find the help they need faster.

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.

Without wasting much time, let’s now find out What Is Omnichannel Marketing? Why You Need It And How to Build It.

What Is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is 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.

With this article ( What Is Omnichannel Marketing? Why You Need It And How to Build It ), am sure you have gained a lot.

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