Omnichannel Marketing – The Secret to Achieving Omnichannel Success is Unraveled

Looking at how consumer behaviors have drastically changed, there is no doubt the marketing landscape will continue to create a revolutionary formula to jive with it. Any legitimate digital marketing company would agree that increasing digital footprints is the answer to winning in this era. Hence, the birth of omnichannel marketing—a powerful tool to champion a holistic customer perception and loyalty.

In this article, you will learn the value of omnichannel and the perfect approach to achieving such a form of digitalization. If you find it essential to create solid brand recognition and identity, then you will find more reasons to move forward after reading this manuscript.

To better understand omnichannel marketing, here is a comparative analysis of its concept to the already existing marketing approach.

What is omnichannel marketing vs. multichannel marketing?

In layman’s terms, omnichannel is a marketing strategy that focuses on one consistent brand image across multiple media. The approach’s effectiveness leans towards an increasing sense of familiarity and relationship with your brand and not the channels.

Multichannel highlights various touchpoints according to the appropriation required by a specific channel. So unlike omnichannel, it dives into multiple facets of delivering brand image as it fits the context.

Although both of these approaches effectively make it easier for consumers to engage with your brand, the central idea they radiate is different by a long way. The former is customer-centric, meaning the messaging focuses on the value a customer may receive from the brand. And, the latter is product-centric which dealings emphasize product promotion with little consideration for customers’ current needs.

Now that you’ve learned critical insights on omnichannel, you can now proceed to understand the proper steps to achieve a successful approach to building such.

Formula #1: Profound mastery of customer pain points.

The starting point of constructing a perfect omnichannel is understanding and knowing your customers. Deep insights and empirical data are crucial before starting the launch.  Your omnichannel will fail if you fail to create an ideal plan based on customer pain points.

Questions you should answer are as follows:

• What kind of platforms do your customers frequently use to shop?
• What are their purchasing behaviors based on previous footprints?
• What are the challenges they face during purchasing cycle?
• How do the customers interact in different channels?
• What are the devices they use to shop?

The data you can get from answering those questions above will correctly identify touchpoints across multiple channels. However, remember that your media is yet to be integrated. Thus, an omnichannel must have a tailor-made experience that propagates a solid connection across your previously disconnected channels.

Going Through Empirical Facts

Harvard Business Review and significant retail industry players conducted a 14-month study to understand consumer behavior during shopping. The results revealed that 73% of shoppers use both online and physical stores to shop. As such, only 7% are shopping only-online stores, and 20% are shopping exclusively in physical stores.

Notably, the study also highlighted that customers feel more valued by the stores if they can access the brand in any channel they prefer. As added, they also like the accessibility more if not disjointed or disconnected but relatively seamless.

Should you find it difficult to kick start this campaign without previous experience, any digital marketing company can help you at ground zero. Getting this formula is critical. Hence, asking for help would not hurt to address such a crucial start. However, your overall input is still the top priority. So never leave the room during brainstorming.

Formula #2: Revisit the information technology landscape of your business.

Do you already achieve real-time data access granted to your customers? If so, you need these systems of engagement and records to be unified. That’s because if it’s the other way round, how can you achieve the tailored experience?

Remember that omnichannel aims to make your customers feel like their journey is smooth and undisrupted. For this to happen, your point-of-sale, Enterprise Resource System (ERP), e-commerce, and CRM should be present and ready for integration. Once these systems are intermixed, you can now have a self-service model which allows your customers to be in control of their interactions either online or offline.

Formula #3: Adjust the supply chain to achieve unity with the omnichannel digital platform.

Both small business marketing and corporate companies agree that for the omnichannel to work, it should be empowered by the supply chain. Therefore, your business supply chain model is the physical backbone of your omnichannel’s effectiveness. If you fail to make a holistic improvement with the supply chain, the omnichannel will be useless.

Things to install, improve, and develop to achieve a robust supply chain are as follows:

• Decentralized Distribution. Providing warehouses across different localities will help you cater to the need of your customers faster. Consumers feel more valued if the delivery takes no longer than one day, allowing you to create a better relationship with them. Later, this will transform into the added value of loyalty and frequency of repurchasing cycle.
• Warehouse Automation. Automation like decentralization helps your delivery cycle and recording process faster. Replenishing inventory records will also be more effective with automation tools to oversee it in real-time without much staff supervision.
• Integrated Business Planning. Integration is the focal point of omnichannel marketing. Hence, IBP allows you to use existing touchpoints generated by the omnichannel to determine the accuracy of customer demands, supply planning, and replenishment rate.
• Real-time Inventory Tracking. This supply chain tool will allow you to help customers choose alternate locations if your local warehouses cannot provide the demand. In addition, this tracking will spare your customers the time of expecting their needs to be supplied in their desired location.

As you can see, automation is significant for omnichannel marketing. Hence, if you think your supply chain is not automated, it’s time to start planning to deliver it from what the omnichannel requires.

Again, the overall goal of omnichannel is for customers to achieve a seamless, uninterrupted purchasing journey. Unfortunately, if you have a weak and outdated supply chain, all your investment in omnichannel will be a complete waste.

Formula #4: Implement a unified process model.

From revisiting your IT landscape to adjusting your supply chain, the end goal of such preparatory approaches is implementing a unified process model.

Implementing omnichannel marketing is more complicated than you thought. The formulas, as mentioned earlier, are drafted as pre-implementation practices. However, this time you will make a transitional plan to achieve a holistic model as the finality of carrying out the official flow of your integrated channels.

In this regard, you will now finalize things such as:

• Organizational governance
• Information discharge
• Product flow
• Financial flow
• Bureaucratic cycle
• Source procedure
• Delivery system
• Supply chain
• Customer retention, and many more!

The end goal of your UPM is to officially transition from your old model and ensure that every aspect of your business operations is already competent enough to push through.

Formula #5: Prepare a post-UPM roadmap as a continuing development program.

The most critical consideration in this roadmap is to ensure it is feasible. Remember that your investment in omnichannel is a considerable risk. Hence, an insurance policy should be enveloped in it to achieve consistency in its effectiveness for years to come. That said, the insurance approach you can make is a CDP roadmap.

Taking track of its effectiveness is a valuable effort to make. However, even if you successfully launch omnichannel marketing, it doesn’t mean sustainability is guaranteed.

Most companies fail to recognize this part. Sometimes they get too excited or confident in the success of implementation. As a result, the UPM depreciates more and more each year from its initial execution.

What are the benefits of omnichannel marketing?

If you are a keen observer, you probably know that omnichannel requires a radical change in the overall aspect of your business. It is a tall order and a massive investment of finances and energy to carry it out properly. Hence, it’s only fair to say it offers many benefits. More so since, according to Multichannel Merchant, 62% of businesses are expected to transition to it for years to come.

As such, following are the key benefits of entering omnichannel marketing.

• Excellent customer experience
• Increased brand recognition
• Great brand reputation
• Increased brand loyalty
• Increase in customer retention and lifetime value
• Worthwhile return on investment
• Increased profitability and more!

Omnichannel is a significant appeal and edge to most companies. To achieve such a position is a guaranteed success for your business.

Whether you want a flawless entrance into business or to improve your existing position, omnichannel marketing is a perfect route. The only thing that it requires from you is to be methodical and careful in carrying out its powerful ability.

Asking for assistance is viable and sometimes can be a practical choice. There are small business marketing companies to try. They have mastered the craft and are ready to guide you with measurable plans.

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