When you’re looking for a winning omnichannel marketing strategy, you’re sure to find plenty of options. There are multiple channels to choose from, each offering a unique advantage. Moreover, no two businesses are the same.

Nonetheless, there’s one marketing concept that can improve any business.

Introducing: omnichannel marketing!

What Is Omnichannel Marketing?

Beyond its status as a corporate buzzword, omnichannel marketing means a strategy of its own. It’s about continuous messaging and a seamless customer experience for all your channels.

Omnichannel marketing is bigger than email marketing; it’s bigger than any singular marketing channel. As you’ve probably guessed from its name, an omnichannel strategy is spread across all the channels through customers' multiple devices.

Advertisements will be available on televisions, webpages, and — in particularly ambitious omnichannel campaigns — through traditional printed media. It comes with marketing efforts to reach customers in a marketplace. However, I’ll focus on digital channels for this blog post.

Its goal is to connect with customers on multiple channels to improve their customer experiences. It’s about providing them with the right information in the right format and time. You must value the customer experience as it is how customers feel about your business and how they interact with it.

However, customer engagement happens when they are involved with your brands online and offline. This consistent experience includes purchasing and using your app again, sharing their experiences on social media, and more.

Omnichannel and Multichannel Marketing Differences

In contrast to multichannel techniques, which only provide a touch point, omnichannel marketing actually places the customer at the center to ensure a consistent and seamless experience at every touch point.

For a clearer explanation of how omnichannel and multichannel marketing differ, here are three vital differences between omnichannel and multichannel marketing.

Engagement in Comparison With Consistency

One of the key differences between the two approaches is consistency, which results from omnichannel marketing’s focus on messaging and user experience. 

An elevated level of comfort and stronger brand relationships are fostered by a consistent brand reputation and message. Marketing teams must ensure that all organizational units are on board with the messaging when building an omnichannel marketing strategy.

Customer in Comparison With Channel

Multichannel marketing aims to reach as many customers as possible and boost their engagement. Social media and email are among the most common channels businesses use with a multichannel strategy to interact with their customers.

The omnichannel strategy, on the other hand, unites and combines all channels to increase customer engagement holistically. Generally, the key to successful omnichannel marketing campaigns is to pay attention to the details of consumer behavior and purchase history and then use that knowledge to drive sales and personalization.

Effort in Comparison With Effortless

The multiple channels now accessible for connecting with customers tend to be seen as an extra tool to be used. When employing omnichannel, information is used to pinpoint areas of customer experience where effort is present and to determine how to reduce instead of increase the effort.

Omnichannel marketing aims to provide easy campaign distribution across numerous channels to many audiences and easy customer purchasing.

Why Do Omnichannel Marketing and Customer Experience Matter?

The benefit of omnichannel marketing includes lowering churn, fostering brand perception, and ensuring that customers have a seamless user experience across their whole customer journey.

What Are Marketing Channels?

Before I move on, I want to ensure everyone knows the multiple marketing channels! (You may already know this, but I’d be a poor teacher if I assumed everyone knew the same things.)

Paid

Paid marketing channels are a way of reaching your target audience. The paid omnichannel marketing strategy may cost more than free or organic search. Still, it can be worth it if your business is large enough to give your customers a consistent experience. These channels aim to reach a highly targeted audience based on their activities and interests.

When you use these multiple channels, you pay for access to a certain group of people who want your product or service but haven’t heard about it yet. There are many ways to advertise your products and services through paid channels.

Here are some of the most popular multichannel marketing:

• Online paid advertising (Facebook ads, Google AdWords)
• Email marketing (Sending out newsletters or emails)
• Direct mail (Sending out catalogs)

Free

There are many free omnichannel marketing channels that you can use to promote your business. The good news is that you don’t need much money to start. The bad news is that learning to use these channels takes time to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience to customers.

Many people think that all you need is a social media website, and then they can generate revenue. But this isn’t the case. You should have a good product and great branding before marketing with free channels.

There are several different types of various channels available today to meet customer expectations:

• Blogging Platforms
• Social Media Networks
• Content Creation Platforms

Traditional

Traditional omnichannel marketing is a broad advertising, promotion, and sales activities category. The methods have been used for decades to deliver the right message to future customers. They take place within the context of a company's everyday business operations.

The Internet is a new form of omnichannel marketing, changing how companies reach customers to increase customer engagement. The web has opened up a world of possibilities for companies, but it's also changed how brands communicate and attract new customers.

They have been around for decades but have changed over time. These traditional omnichannel marketing include:

• Direct mail
• Telephone calls
• Print ads and inserts

Digital

Digital marketing uses digital technology to gain customer loyalty and acquire new online purchases. They are referred to as distribution channels, as they are used to distribute information. Since digital marketing is a new and exciting field, it may continue to grow in the coming years through successful omnichannel marketing strategies.

This omnichannel marketing includes every method used to generate traffic and convert visitors into customers. These types vary based on your omnichannel approach and what works best for you. They allow you to reach customers on their desktop or mobile device, likely engaging them.

The most common digital omnichannel marketing includes:

• A/B testing
• Links and title tags
• Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques
• Display ads on digital properties like sites and videos

The Benefits of an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

Considering the many layers of an omnichannel approach, it’s evident that this is not an easy feat of market engineering. An effective omnichannel marketing strategy requires plenty of forethought, an excess of expertise, and a pinch of luck.

But that doesn’t mean you can ignore omnichannel marketing!

There are plenty of perks to implementing a behemoth project like this, and — as with most things in business — the final decision is yours.

So, consider these benefits for more sales before you discount this option.

More Data for Your Customer Journey Map

Being omnichannel should apply to your data analytics and how customers interact with your business. Brands may better recognize the customer journey, when and where customers want to engage, and which omnichannel campaigns have generated the most value by measuring engagements across various channels.

Your marketing strategy can use this customer data to develop better-targeted advertisements and maximize media expenditure.

Improve Your Brand Visibility

Establishing a recognizable brand image and tone is necessary to develop a cohesive omnichannel approach across channels. Companies should develop this reputation on the requirements and values of their audiences.

Your omnichannel marketing strategy will be more thorough if you concentrate on the customer experience and use your brand standards to approach each channel.

Boost Your Sales

Customers are encouraged to improve their customer journey across various channels and touchpoints using an omnichannel marketing strategy. Revenue may rise due to these expanded, varied engagements at every stage of the buyer's journey.

This specific messaging also fosters customer retention, increasing the likelihood that the customer would use your brand repeatedly.

The Omnichannel Marketing Checklist

Before you can reap the benefits, you must lay the foundation!

You’ll need more than one channel to pull off a successful omnichannel marketing strategy. In fact, you’ll need an omnichannel marketing approach, and this isn’t optional! Remember: A good omnichannel marketing campaign will work in online and offline channels, luring potential customers to your brand with consistent messaging and good marketing campaigns.

Data Experts

Implementing an omnichannel strategy requires quick and precise customer data collection. With this information, you can comprehend how and when your target market wants to contact companies.

You'll also know the device they prefer, the best messaging they respond to, the qualities and items they need, and more to attract new customers and improve their buying journey.

Data collection is just the beginning. Without a workforce and a system that can transform this huge data into actionable insights, it is pointless. To address customer requirements immediately, brands must implement advanced analytics that can compile all the data in almost real-time.

Generally, this allows teams to course-correct while an omnichannel campaign is running.

A Company Playbook

Ensure the messaging is accurate throughout, from coaching your marketing teams, sales teams, and customer care workers to tailoring the material at each step of the customer lifecycle.

Additionally, you must concentrate on providing a consistent service to increase customer lifetime value. Since there is no right way for customers to engage with your brand, ensure your staff is properly trained to give this customer experience.

Omnichannel Marketing Examples

Timberland

By implementing near-field communication software, Timberland is fusing the ease of online shopping with the benefits of shopping in-store. To provide customers with more details on their shoes, Timberland developed Touchwalls for its brick-and-mortar store. Then, buyers can buy items in-store or add them to their online shopping cart.

Additionally, based on customer tastes, timberland uses a customer feedback algorithm to promote less-known products.

Nike

Another company that successfully combines online and offline marketing is Nike. The Nike app shines as the actual success story for the sportswear company, even though its brick-and-mortar stores are becoming more digitally integrated.

Customers may explore and order products at their stores using their mobile apps. They can also scan QR codes to pull up products, receive product recommendations from a shopping history, and have access to the most recent products.

Starbucks

Starbucks combines mobile and in-store experiences through its digital reward program, putting the customer’s comfort first. Customers can recharge their cards using a desktop or mobile device. They receive points for using the app to purchase, which they can use toward a free coffee. Additionally, they can order ahead of time to avoid falling in line.

Nordstrom

Due to its excellent omnichannel marketing strategy, which integrates online and in-store purchases, Nordstrom surpassed all other retailers during the pandemic.

The business just introduced the ability to purchase the goods shown on their Instagram feed immediately. While this is happening, Nordstrom’s staff searches its Pinterest webpage for popular products to highlight more prominently on the shop.

Walgreens

Customers may pick up their renewed medications in-store due to a bespoke mobile app Walgreens developed. Additionally, their app displays unique merchandise in each store, making it simpler for customers to choose which site to visit before traveling.

Find Your Digital Omnichannel Marketing

Feeling overwhelmed?

That’s understandable. There’s a lot to learn about omnichannel marketing, and this is barely scraping the surface! As a small business owner, I understand that your time is valuable. Business owners and the marketing team have much to do in improving a successful omnichannel strategy, but we never have enough time. That’s why I founded The Email Marketers.

My team of experts is always available and ready to tackle any omnichannel marketing challenge. If you’ve struggled with your marketing strategy, now is the time to invest in your brand’s marketing automation tools.

Reach out to me and schedule a free strategy call! We’ll chat about your needs, how mail marketing can improve customer loyalty, and how customers interact with your business. I also have plenty of digital omnichannel marketing tips, tricks, and insights on my blog!