Why Omnichannel Marketing Is the Best Approach for Digital Advertisers and Marketers
Key Takeaways
- Customers want to be recognized across channels
- The top 5 channels are:
- Website
- Voice call
- Live person
- SMS text
- Tips to improve omnichannel engagement:
- Think about experiences
- Get rid of the silo mentality
- Recognize which channels go together
- Use the right tools
Consumers are now used to being flooded with ads and content from brands of all kinds. Whether browsing the web or interacting on social media, ads are everywhere and are a regular part of going online.
It’s thus no surprise that consumers are more discerning about the brands they support. They expect more from brands and prioritize trust and honesty. These are important components of building better online relationships, but shifting priorities can also mean that consumers are quicker to write you off for one mistake.
An important trend right now is omnichannel marketing. Recent research found that 87% of consumers are frustrated when they have to repeat themselves in every new channel when interacting with a brand. They want companies to work a little harder to be able to recognize them, and they want to see personalized messaging that is relevant to what they’re experiencing.
Let’s dive deeper into what this means for your omnichannel marketing strategy.
What channels should your omnichannel marketing focus on?
The report found that the top five engagement channels are:
- Website
- Voice call
- Live person
- SMS text
These are the places consumers expect you to be. While digital outlets are important, 65% of consumers say that digital engagements have not exceeded their expectations during the pandemic. And, half of them still want to be able to talk to a live person about their issue.
Implement a marketing plan that allows you to track your customers and prospects across these important channels, so you’ll be able to recognize them without asking for their information each time. It also helps your online presence when customers can recognize you on all the different outlets they’re using every day. For example, if they see your ad content on YouTube or Facebook, they’re more likely to conduct a search for your brand name or click through to your website.
Tips for omnichannel marketing
Now, let’s walk through some general guidance about making your marketing omnichannel.
1. Think about experiences
Data is driving marketing these days, but make sure you’re thinking about the person behind that data. Consider the actual customer experience they will encounter. How can you make it more interesting? How can you deliver hyper-personalized messages? While some customers prefer talking to a live person, for quick issues, they may prefer self-service tools.
The research above also showed that younger generations were more willing to provide their personal information in exchange for faster and more personalized service, so think about who you’re targeting and what they want when interacting with you.
2. Get rid of the silo mentality
For effective omnichannel campaigns, you need to ditch the mentality that marketing channels should be siloed or separate. Your approach should be more integrated, so you can learn from customer behaviors on each of their channels. Think of their customer journey as moving from channel to channel until they finally convert on their computer or phone.
3. Recognize which channels go together
Some of your marketing channels will work especially well together. For example, think about how today’s consumers interact with television: They may be watching a show on Netflix while also browsing Instagram on their mobile device or texting with friends. Integrating these two channels means you can pair TV advertising with mobile or social.
4. Use the right tools
Advertising platforms like Google Ads can help you create a more effective omnichannel marketing strategy. Google Ads can connect information for you, associating a phone number with PPC ads so you can see what people clicked on or what coupons they used from their mobile device when visiting a store in person.
An email marketing tool like MailChimp can also help you with omnichannel marketing. The platform helps you send out content on multiple channels like social and integrate your email campaigns with CRM tools.
Getting omnichannel customer data
Now that you know just how important omnichannel experiences are, focus on the data you’ll use to help you along. BDEX provides a Data as a Service (DaaS) subscription that keeps track of billions of real-time data signals, helping you get only the latest information about your target audience. BDEX empowers you to make better, more meaningful connections and understand your customers based on their behavior across these many channels.
Our data platform has more than 5,500 data categories and over 800 million mobile ID-to-email matches. We also have over a trillion data signals. We help you improve your real-time targeting efforts based on quality data.
Contact the BDEX team to learn more about how our data solutions can help with your omnichannel marketing efforts.
