Use Omnichannel Marketing and Your Brand to have a greater customer impact at the least cost. Here we make it easy for you.
What is Omni Channel marketing?
Every time a new word pops up in the marketing world, I wonder who sits around dreaming them up?
However, we have been doing this for awhile so, let's dive in the deep end.
Wikipedia describes Omnichannel as an all in media, but then it gets a bit weird.
The difference between Omnichannel and Multichannel is like firing a shotgun or a rifle. One splatters everywhere, one is more direct.
I have long preached the need to concentrate on your marketing to better effect and cost. In a large corporation, there are departments to handle this stuff, but in small business, there is only you.
We recently had a plumber in. We have a faulty faucet, and it was leaking all the time.
My telephone booking was confirmed by SMS. He duly arrived with jelly beans and a fridge magnet to hand over.
Once the job was completed, I received a Facebook request to follow up and comment.
Surely they have been to marketing school and channelled the activity into gaining a repeat customer. I was impressed.
Multichannel v Omnichannel
Multichannel marketing is different from omnichannel in that you use mixed media to varying effect.
Most small businesses use a few different media to send the message. facebook, linkedIn, Instagram, emails, newsletters all with a different angle.
Omnichannel picks the most effective media and ties them together to present a seamless presentation.
An Omni example
My god daughter runs a bustling ladies hair studio. The salon is in an upmarket location with top-end pricing, so it is not a walk-in business as it will typically have bookings for a month in advance.
Her marketing comprises just two identities: Instagram and SMS.
The target is women 20-55 years old, a perfect Instagram market. Every day she does a few posts on the current styles of actual customers and compliments them with SMS.
I don't think she knows about Omnimarketing, but she has it working to perfection.
What does Omnimarketing have to do with your brand
When you target your market, your brand is the hero. You are selling your business destination over all others and quietly escorting people to the till.
The most significant difference between multichannel and omnichannel marketing is that multichannel puts the brand at the centre of the strategy and sends the same message out to customers on all channels. This makes multichannel marketing utterly different from the omnichannel meaning.
Multichannel marketing also uses all resources to send the same message and not amplify the signal.
How do you do Omnichannel Marketing
Align your messages to the customer experience and use a multi-pronged attack.
A customer signs up for your mailing list and opts to receive SMS messages
- You can send a welcome message with their first-time discount via SMS and follow up with email
- When the customer comes back and browses, sign up for push notifications, but ultimately not purchasing
- If the customer clicks on a re-targeting ad and comes back, adding products to their cart
- The customer receives a cart abandonment message via email and revisits their cart
- Finally, the customer finishes their purchase and signs up for Facebook Messenger updates
- Order and shipping confirmation updates are sent via Facebook Messenger
From there, any of those used channels could be used again to bring the customer back in for a repeat purchase.
Omnisend.com
Increase your customer interactions with omnichannel marketing.
I market to small business areas principally retail focused companies. They don't seek my product, but they can all use it.
I use Cold calling and email marketing with a business newsletter to support my activities.
My marketing is all focussed around the need for my product.
It is also brand-centric as we are in a competitive world and when the time is right I want to be remembered by brand.
So using several methods with a similar message and a consistent approach is my Omnichannel approach.
Should you change your marketing?
Yes, in the right areas, we have experienced evidence that this approach increases sales volume, sales value and customer retention. In fact, in one study, the retention rate was 90% higher than a single-channel campaign.
Mainline Menswear's omnichannel results
On Boxing Day (December 26) 2013, Mainline Menswear decided to send a sales campaign via SMS, instead of the usual email campaigns they often do.
They began to see results immediately.
For their Winter 2013 Sales campaign, Mainline Menswear saw:
- a 45% increase in direct traffic
- a 27% rise in overall traffic
- an incredible 93% boost in their mobile traffic
Their sales also increased significantly, with their campaign achieving one of the busiest days in Mainline Menswear's entire history.
Mainline was a US study, but the same can apply to any market.
They would have used a catalogue, email, point of sale material and added SMS to the mix to get a total channel operation.
Ways to use the Omnichannel approach.
A local wholesaler of air conditioning and electrical goods provides a regular sales breakfast for his clients. It is a morning meeting and includes representation from various manufacturers.
The traditional method of the email was not working, and attendance was poor.
We put in place a dual SMS message. One a week prior and the second one an hour before breakfast.
Attendances increased to nearly 90%. The method has been shared among the group and continued for several years.
If it ain't broke then don't fix it.
In the above example, Jeff tried to go one better and went back to an extensive email campaign explaining what they wanted to achieve. I believe you can guess what happened, yes, it bombed.
The reason is that the target customers are busy people, mostly outbound and have no time to read long emails.
A short SMS was enough to build great enthusiasm.
Was this a single media approach?
The objective of the exercise was to establish a more loyal customer base that had potentially a massive spend over the year. Again, in a competitive environment.
They get emails along with SMS and often a personal invite. They received show bags and gifts and were entered into a free raffle to be drawn time into the future. The material was all focused around a single event that would bond with long-term partnerships.
Jeff now operates out of three stores and is a senior exec on the national industry panel. He has introduced this to many other state outlets who have followed his lead.
Can you use this method of marketing?
You can design this to achieve excellent results.
Indeed, I have just added an SMS service to my email marketing so we shall see the results.
I sell an SMS service and am failing to utilise the great benefits it can deliver.
Omnichannel is focussing on all your facilities in one direction to increase conversions and retain customers.
That is the desire of small businesses.
Omnichannel Marketing and Your Brand
Maximising your brand is the greatest part of marketing. People want to know and like you before there is enough trust to buy from you. Therefore push your brand at any opportunity,
Furthermore, ensure your brand is consistent at all times in colour and style.
The results of Omnichannel marketing for you
Because it is important let's look at a few ideas.
The benefits are many the Cons are few so let's look at some
| Lower Churn Rate | This will support customer longevity |
| Smoother customer journey | A seamless experience |
| Brand Loyalty | A must-have |
| Security enhanced | Important when browsing |
| Increased sales | What we all want |
| Potentially lower cost base | Saving marketing funds |
Conclusion
I have not spent a lot of time dissecting my marketing in this fashion. However, I have been doing it anyway.
There are so many channels; it is only prudent to focus your energies and target the client.
Labelling it Omnichannel or inclusive marketing brings the same dimensions into play.
It is the word of 2020
Finally
Last year was the year of the Chatbots. It's that little conversation pop that will drive customers to a solution. They form part of the Omnichannel and complement your strategy during the year.
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