Building profitable customer relationships requires marketing managers to be innovative in how their companies grow their influence and often that means new initiatives. These initiatives should focus on enabling customers to convert on any platform or channel. This allows a business to effectively reach more people because each customer (and potential customer) has his or her preferences. Omni-channel marketing embraces personalized messages to the consumer which builds longer-term loyalty and value. Without omni-channel marketing consumers notice a disconnect in their path to purchase which can, in turn, dissuade them from purchasing at all. Customers don’t evaluate a brand with the idea of “channels” in mind. If they can get free shipping through a brand’s Facebook shop but not from the same brand’s website, it just doesn’t make sense to them.
But omni-channel marketing isn’t just a priority for retail business, the need for cohesive customer experience is important in all industries. When marketers were asked how important omni-channel marketing was in their industry, only 6% said it wasn’t important while 34% said it was very important. In fact, more than 80% of marketers in the healthcare, travel & hospitality, IT, and financial service industries agree that omni-channel marketing is important. One respondent explained that “today’s customers…want the ‘Amazon’ experience” which is a great way to think of what an omni-channel marketing experience should look like.
Last week we discussed what omni-channel marketing is, now we’ll dive into why it is important to begin developing an omni-channel marketing plan.
As our cross-device, cross-platform and cross-channel world continues to expand, the benefits of employing omni-channel messaging as a part of a 360 marketing plan becomes evident. When implemented correctly, omni-channel messaging increases brand visibility and customer satisfaction. It can also create new pathways for a company to positively interact with prospective customers. One of the most notable reasons that omni-channel marketing is important for consumer-facing businesses is because 70% of consumers use three or more platforms to do research before making a purchase. Research by the Aberdeen Group shows that companies with a strong omni-channel marketing strategy retained, on average, 89% of customers and saw a 9.5% year-on-year increase in annual revenue.
Besides that, omni-channel marketing is about new ways to reach customers and how to stay consistent across all those mediums. Email messaging was once the king of customer communication, but that just isn’t the case anymore. Mobile use, and in-turn, mobile marketing has skyrocketed in the past decade. This means businesses need to start looking at including options like push notifications and in-app messaging as viable options in the marketing mix. One of the hurdles to ensuring a consistent message across these platforms is the segmentation that occurs between the departments that handle email marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing and more.
It is not news that utilizing multiple messaging channels is important in marketing, but we are going to dig into how much a company can boost engagement by including additional integrated channels into their marketing with an omni-channel approach. One of the most staggering statistics is that users who have received messaging across multiple channels engaged with those brands up to 844% more than those who received no messages.
Like all strategic marketing plans, building an omni-channel plan requires research and commitment however according to research by Worldpay, omni-channel shoppers spend between 50 – 300% more. To achieve these results, it takes a strong understanding of who the target customer is, where they spend their time, and what kind of devices they are using. Then, by taking this information to personalize the user experience, a company can engage shoppers longer and develop more long term relationships.
One of the key factors in ensuring a solid omni-channel marketing plan is to address the transition to mobile. Smartphones have surpassed desktops for e-commerce shopping traffic, which means embracing mobile optimization and making sure to invest in a flawless payment system. One study has shown that more than half of online customers abandon their purchases if they run into difficulty finding information or a seemingly long checkout process.
With all that in mind it is difficult to argue that any company shouldn’t be moving to an omni-channel marketing plan. What’s the best way to begin implementing? Check back next week for Part 3 of this series when we discuss how to begin and perfect the implementation process!