What is Omnichannel Marketing?
Understanding the Basics
Here at Dear Charlie we deliver omnichannel marketing for independent retailers and ecommerce businesses. But you’re probably thinking what the heck is omnichannel marketing and how can I use omnichannel marketing in my business?
This article will explain the basics of omnichannel marketing and why it’s essential that you start to create marketing with an omnichannel marketing strategy and broad-picture focus.
To put it bluntly, we see too many businesses wasting time, effort and money by maintaining a single channel focus when they approach their marketing. For example, you’ve spent money on a social media marketing agency who focus solely on your instagram content without considering how this aligns with your on-site messaging or the emails that customers are also receiving from you at the same time.
Adopting an omnichannel marketing strategy will allow you to maximise the potential of your business’ marketing efforts, by ensuring all your marketing channels are working in perfect harmony.
What is omnichannel marketing?
Omnichannel marketing is a strategic, integrated approach to marketing that provides a seamless shopping experience across all channels and devices. If you have a physical store, this method of marketing also combines IRL and digital touchpoints.
It’s an approach that ensures you’re providing brand messaging and the same experience to your customers regardless of how they interact with you. Put simply, omnichannel marketing allows small and independent businesses to engage with consumers more effectively and consistently.
An Example of Omnichannel Marketing in Ecommerce
Picture this.
You’re browsing your favourite online store on your lunch break and you click into a dress that catches your eye. Later that day you are scrolling through Instagram on your phone whilst watching the TV. You see an ad for the same dress. You immediately remember you were going to buy the dress, but then another What’s App message in your group chat pops up and you leave Instagram to reply to your friends.
Later that week you receive the weekly newsletter email from the online retailer. In the product suggestions they include the same dress that you have been browsing on their website.
This is an example of multi-channel marketing. All your marketing channels are working in harmony and strategically using customer data to reach your audience where they are.
Guess what? You buy the dress. Ker-ching!
The Importance of Omnichannel Marketing for Small Businesses
For small businesses, adopting an omnichannel marketing strategy can improve your customer experience, engagement and satisfaction. By integrating multiple channels, think email marketing, social media marketing, paid ads and mobile apps, you’re able to create a unified brand experience.
Doing this can help ensure your customers always experience an 11/10 time with your brand and helps to drive increased customer loyalty. All of this helps drive more sales over their lifetime and drive an increase in customer lifetime value (CLV).
How small businesses can use omnichannel marketing to gain competitive advantage.
Real talk. Big businesses often end up with marketing teams that are working in silo. (Trust me, I’ve lived it at multiple organisations).
Their huge teams are working on independent projects without communicating to one another.
The result? Disconnected brand experiences across the different brand touchpoints – try as they may to overcome it.
As a small independent business you have a huge advantage over the big brand competition here that you should be leveraging to your advantage.
You’re able to more easily manage and oversee all your marketing touchpoints. Your omnichannel approach to marketing levels the playing field by leveraging each channel’s strengths to deliver a comprehensive, customer-focused experience
Often this multi-channel consistency is something that the big brands fail to do and where smaller companies can succeed.
Connecting with Customers: A Personalized Approach
We know that personalised interactions with customers are incredibly important in today’s marketing landscape. Specifically “82% of customers expect personalised interactions with brands” [Source]
Omnichannel marketing strategies allow small businesses to collect valuable customer data from various interactions and utilise their customer data to drive increased sales and improve customer retention.
Importantly, when you’re working with an omnichannel approach to marketing you dataflow is often captured in a way that allows you to view this holistically.
You’re able to be more granular with your data. For example, You’re not just looking at the conversion rate of email marketing, but you’re considering how people who find your business through Meta ads, sign up to email following the ad interaction are then more likely to spend X% more than other customers.
By connecting the dots between your marketing channels you can provide customers with product recommendations that follow them through their digital landscape and then even into the store.
Why should you implement omnichannel marketing strategy in your ecommerce business?
Incorporating omnichannel marketing is not just a trend; it’s a crucial element for success in today’s fragmented media landscape. With reports quoting anywhere from 8 to 15 interactions on average with a brand before the sale, it’s essential that your brand appears consistent. No matter the platform, channel or location.
I’d love to help your business adopt an omnichannel marketing strategy. Get in touch today to discover how I can help you out.