What is Omnichannel Marketing?

You might have heard of omnichannel marketing, whether you’re in the marketing industry or own your own business, but it can be difficult to understand exactly what it is, why it benefits you and how you can implement an omnichannel marketing strategy yourself. But one thing to remember is that it’s not the same as multi-channel marketing, so we’ll get onto that as well. However, for now, let’s focus on omnichannel marketing.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is a customer-centric marketing technique that delivers meaningful experiences to customers, whilst also being helpful and informative. Multiple channels will be used for omnichannel marketing, but each channel will be used for the purpose of communicating with their customers. 

There’s also no preference to one particular channel, making it a rather agnostic marketing strategy in comparison to other marketing techniques. You might think that omnichannel marketing is the same as multi-channel marketing, but you’d be mistaken. Let’s take a closer look:

What is the difference between omnichannel and multi-channel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing and multi-channel marketing might sound like one in the same thing. But they’re actually very different. Multichannel marketing refers to offering a customer a different experience depending on the channel that’s being used. Think of each channel as working in a silo rather than having a focus on the channel. 

Omnichannel marketing, on the other hand, is an integration of communication channels that are used solely for the purpose of connecting with customers, as already touched upon. It’s quite different from multi-channel marketing in that sense. 

Omnichannel marketing is more consumer-focused, whereas multi-channel marketing is more for the benefit of business exposure, making it more of a one-way approach. Not everyone will appreciate that tactic, which is why most businesses prefer omnichannel marketing techniques.

What are the benefits of adopting an omnichannel marketing approach?

Omnichannel marketing might seem like a hassle, especially if you’ve found success from only using one or two different platforms, techniques and strategies. However, there are many different ways in which you can benefit from using an omnichannel marketing strategy to propel your business forward, and some of those advantages include the following:

1. Increased leads & profits

If you’re adopting omnichannel marketing, then you’ll likely be reaching those who are relevant to the products and/or services you offer and the type of business you are. Omnichannel, as we’ve already discussed, involves using multiple channels and platforms to gain exposure and to advertise your company. That, together with knowing your audience, will start you on the right track when it comes to leads and sales. 

If you’re doing it right, you’ll be able to see your leads jump and, as such, your profits will follow. However, it’s important to note that this can take some time as it’s not an overnight development. But with some research, patience and a bit of specialist knowledge, you’ll reap the rewards of omnichannel marketing in more ways than one.

2. Improved customer satisfaction

By carrying out omnichannel marketing, you’ll have more time to focus on your customers. This is because omnichannel campaigns are generally very successful, but it does take some level of commitment. This is why most organisations and businesses will look to a marketing agency to help them. 

However, that aside, the more omnichannel marketing you do, the more relevant people you will target. This means that meaningful leads are captured and reeled in by your seamless marketing. They will be aware of what you offer, and they won’t be disappointed when they finally receive your product or uptake your services. Happy customers are key to a successful business.

3. Operational efficiency is enhanced

Omnichannel marketing makes the entire experience a lot more straightforward when it comes to running your business and ensuring success. This is because you’re hitting every aspect of marketing that you can, enabling you to target the entirety of your target audience with, seemingly, minimal effort. I say “seeingly”, because although it looks effortless, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to ensure everything pulls off, which isn’t always the case. 

Much of omnichannel marketing is about trial and error, but when it does pay off, you’ll have more time to be able to focus on other aspects of your business. If you really want to distance yourself from the marketing side of things whilst you manage other parts of your company, then look to a marketing agency, such as us here at Kumo, to manage it all for you. We offer SEO, PPC, content writing and website design services, so you can count on Kumo to help take some of the pressure off.

How to adopt an omnichannel marketing strategy

Seeing as we’ve now been through what omnichannel marketing is and how it can benefit you and your business, you’re probably wondering how you can pull off an omnichannel marketing strategy yourself. As such, we are on hand to tell you how you can pull of an omnichannel marketing strategy that will reap you all of the regards and benefits that’s we’ve already discussed:

Know your customersThis is key for any marketing strategy, but it’s even more important when you’re looking at using several different channels at once to advertise your business and your goods and/or services. You need to make sure that you know their demographic before drumming up a campaign. This ensures that you’re hitting the right people at the right times. There’s no point in targeting Millennials between 8am and 5pm on a weekday because they’ll likely be at work, for example. Know who your audience is and then make your decision regarding your campaign from there.

Ensure customer service & customer support is in place

We live in a world where customer service is the key to business success. If a customer has a bad experience, they’ll likely notify everyone via social media or on other online platforms, like Google Reviews and even Trustpilot. With there being more ways to vent their concerns now than ever before, you need to make excellent customer service an absolute priority, and that’s not just something you should be doing if you’re looking at omnichannel marketing techniques. It’s simply a bonus to have happy customers because they will be more likely than anyone to sit up and pay attention to you and your marketing campaigns.

Create valuable, useful content

Content helps to make the online world go round. Without content, there wouldn’t be much to read or look at on the internet. What makes content even more valuable is how much depth is behind it. How useful is it to your customers and audience as a whole? Is it useful and informative? Is it purely meant to look seamless rather than be packed with text? 

You need to know your audience to be able to find what works for you content-wise. You should also look at making different types of content, because you’ll then have various pieces that are aligned to posting on different platforms. Infographics, for example, would work better on platforms like Instagram or Twitter, whereas articles are better placed on Facebook and LinkedIn, for instance.

Offer memorable & meaningful experiences

The “experiences” we’re referencing here could be anything, from an article to a pop-up shop in the heart of the city centre. Marketing campaigns are about more than just an online presence, so make the effort and think outside of the box. Omnichannel marketing often comes hand-in-hand with other things. For example, if you want to open a one-off pop-up shop in your local town, you need to advertise your plans online to those who will be interested. Therefore, you need to most of the things on this list:

• Know your audience
• Create useful content and post it on relevant platforms 
• Deliver unforgettable customer services whilst people are at your pop-up shop
• Do something at your pop-up shop that the consumer won’t forget, such as inviting a celebrity or an influencer along to help you

If you would like further information about the SEO, PPC, content writing and website design services we have available, then get in touch with a member of our friendly, professional team today – we’re always pleased to hear from you.