The process of purchasing physical products used to be quite straightforward. You wrote a shopping list, went to the store, picked up the products from the shelf, paid at the checkout and went home.
With advances in commerce technology, a variety of online and offline channels, and diverse customer preferences, no two customer journeys are the same today. Yet customers expect highly personalized marketing messages and shopping experiences wherever they shop.
Today, consumers can buy what they want, where they want, and when they want. Seamless omnichannel experiences are no longer a rarity – they are the norm.
Companies that offer these unified and integrated shopping experiences are winning over the competition. In fact, customers spend up to 1.5 times more money with companies that offer fluid, personalized and seamless experiences.
This guide will show you how to expand your omnichannel marketing – including examples of brands that have benefited from such a marketing strategy.
What is omnichannel marketing?
Omnichannel marketing is an integrated approach that uses many channels, such as social media, email, and SMS, poland email list to reach customers. The goal is to create a consistent brand experience no matter where someone interacts with the company. This includes offering customers the same product selection, pricing, and the ability to buy products online and pick them up in store everywhere.
How does omnichannel marketing work?
According to a report by SAB, website visitors these are the criteria you should look at customer touchpoints have more than doubled in the last five years. Today’s consumers expect seamless and connected shopping experiences no matter where or when they interact with your brand.
Omnichannel marketing relies heavily on data. Only when you know your customers inside and out can you be proactive with marketing messages that resonate best on the channels they use.
Think of a large retailer that sells through its online store, marketplaces, brick-and-mortar stores, and social media stores. In the omnichannel approach, cyprus business directory all of these channels are seamlessly connected.
For example, potential customers might see your social media posts and subscribe. The brand can then send push notifications via mobile apps when they are near a physical store, cross-sell related products via Facebook ads , or send targeted email campaigns to those who abandoned their cart without completing the purchase.
What is the difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing?
Personalized omnichannel marketing strategies are fundamentally different from multichannel marketing. Omnichannel marketing is highly personalized, consistent, and regularly updated based on customer needs—not channel requirements.
It puts the customer at the center, offers a seamless experience across all sales channels used and delivers the right information at the right time.
Paige Arnof-Fenn, founder and CEO of Mavens & Moguls, explains:
“The difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing is integration and customer experience. In multichannel marketing, each channel offers different services and is operated separately.”
“Omnichannel marketing is customer-centric. It delivers a personalized message in a seamless, unified experience. This allows customers to easily access information from any channel because all channels are connected.”
Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing
Increased visibility and brand awareness
More and more customers are shopping both in physical stores and through online channels. Merging these experiences can be challenging for brands.
For retailers with brick-and-mortar and online stores, omnichannel marketing offers the opportunity to create integrated experiences that ensure consistency and increase brand awareness. Through highly personalized, consistent, and regularly updated marketing , you can meet the needs of today’s tech-savvy consumers and differentiate yourself from competitors who have not yet made this investment.
Reach customers where they shop
A major benefit of omnichannel marketing is that it ensures that your marketing doesn’t seem disjointed across platforms – something that can have a positive impact on your business in the long run.
Omnichannel customers don’t just shop on one platform, and they don’t buy linearly either. Instead, they jump from one channel to another before making a purchase decision. According to a report by Salsify, consumers in the US, UK, Germany and France use an average of at least 11 different touchpoints on their path to purchase.
Additionally, 80% of consumers say convenience, knowledge and friendly service are the most important elements of a positive customer experience. The same report shows that 43% of shoppers would be willing to pay a higher price for more convenience. In short, consumer shopping habits have changed, and convenience is more important now than ever.
improving customer loyalty
The first purchase is the first hurdle retailers have to overcome. But after that success, don’t neglect your existing customers. Use your omnichannel marketing campaigns to turn one-time buyers into loyal repeat customers. Although this customer group only makes up 21% of a brand’s total customer base, they generate an average of 44% of total annual sales.
According to a McKinsey study, omnichannel customers are 1.7 times more likely to make purchases than those who use only one channel and spend more money than other customers. These numbers justify investing in omnichannel marketing that reaches customers on the channels they already use – not just the ones that are easiest for you to use.
