Just when you thought you had a handle on all the marketing terminology and ideas, you come across “omnichannel” marketing. What is it? Should you be doing it? How does it affect your marketing strategy? Relax! It’s not as hard as it sounds! Let’s unpack this idea and see how you can use it to get more sales! After all, that’s what marketing is for, isn’t it?
What is Omni Channel Marketing?
“Omni” is a prefix that quite literally means “everywhere.” Think of words like “omniscient,” “omnipresent,” and “omnipotent.” Can you aspire to be everywhere? When it comes to marketing channels, you can! There are some pretty eye-watering omni channel marketing definitions out there, but in practical terms, it simply means being where your customers are, no matter where that is.
So, we have a market. It’s active on Instagram. It uses Facebook. It likes to surf the web and might send a website enquiry or email. Maybe our preferred customers are younger and like Snapchat or TikTok. Or, they like to talk over the phone. Maybe some of them visit your business in person too! It’s not unheard-of, after all. Now, imagine a situation in which your business has mastered all these possible opportunities to market itself to potential customers. That’s omni channel marketing!
Omni Channel Marketing Examples
Disney, Virgin, Starbucks, Amazon: these are big names – and they’re using omnichannel marketing to get even bigger. Do you even stand a chance? The awesome thing is that you really do! It’s just a matter of getting your marketing message across on the platforms where you’re likely to find people who like what you do and are willing to buy it!
The only challenge you have is manning all these platforms. Although there are lots of opportunities to get your message across, anyone who responds is going to expect you to take note and get back to them fast. To add to your difficulties, they’re going to expect you to be aware of every way they’ve contacted you before – even if it isn’t on the same channel from which they’re currently interacting. Terrified? Don’t be! With the right software and people to help you, you can do this. You don’t have to be Amazon or Disney to use omnichannel marketing effectively.
An Omni Channel Marketing Strategy
You already have a marketing strategy, but applying it to different channels means a little tweaking in the way you present it. For instance, Pinterest and Instagram, are all about gorgeous images. LinkedIn is seriously B2B, and TikTok is for short videos featuring (usually young) influencers that will help you to build up the buzz.
Although your strategy may remain unchanged, the way you use a channel to boost sales depends on its audience’s expectations and preferences. It’s a case of giving them what they want, and being ready to respond to their interactions in a channel-appropriate way.
Benefits of Omni Channel Marketing
By now, you’ll already have formed an impression of the importance of omnichannel marketing. If you’re “everywhere,” you get exposure to a bigger audience. But to get the best out of your omnichannel marketing efforts, you need to decide where your audience is likely to take you seriously. That’s easy enough to determine. But apart from being where your customers are, what other benefits can you hope to realise?
The key lies in the “omni.” They commented on Facebook. They sent you an SMS, they emailed you, and every time, you knew who they were, what they said to you before, and how you responded in the past. This is startling to look like a relationship! Could it be love? They’ll certainly form a positive impression of your efficiency!
In a nutshell, we’re looking at a wider audience and better opportunities for relationship building if you can manage an omnichannel approach effectively.
How Am I Going to Manage All These Channels?
In this context, overcommitting is almost worse than undercommiting. You don’t want to be seen as a business that “talks at” consumers when “talking to” them is so much better. If someone contacts you on any one of the channels you’re using for promotion, you’d better respond appropriately and quickly! Fail to do so, and you get the image of yet another care-for-nobody corporate. The best way to get sales? Probably not!
A lot of the channels we want to be present on are social media channels. The key is the word “social.” If a user asked a specific question, responding with a “like” just isn’t enough. Answer it! But even outside of social media, you need to be alert. They sent you an SMS? Answer it! You received an email? Reply! What’s more, reply with reference to every communication you’ve received from that customer across all the channels they chose for communication!
How will you manage? You need the right people and the right software to make your omni channel marketing have meaning. The software can be expensive. Having professional people manning the many channels through which the public contacts you will add to your costs and give you yet another area to oversee. But there’s an easy solution, because where needs arise, there’s always a company that knows how to meet them.
RSVP It
Imagine having a team of communications experts that is available 24/7. You brief them. They run with it and report any anomalies to you. Sounds good so far?
According to our clients, it’s great! We represent them wherever they are, at any time of the day, and in their clients’ preferred language. We join the dots between emails, social media contacts, previous phone calls, SMSs and email enquiries. We offer our clients and their customers the very best of the omnichannel experience. Are you ready to be an omnichannel star? RSVP is ready for you!