When you think of the term omnichannel, or multichannel, with respect to marketing, you may imagine an intricate web of lines connecting social media to email to website content to banner ads to blogs, etc. However, no multichannel effort is complete without strong bridges between digital (including mobile) and offline marketing initiatives.
The key to an effective multichannel campaign is consistency. Research from Responsys found customers spend 30 seconds or less reading or viewing digital content. This means brands have a limited amount of time on each channel to engage a consumer and persuade them to seek more information or make a purchase. What’s more, 40% of consumers said it is very important to have purchasing options on multiple channels so as to buy stuff whenever it is most convenient.
When you meld together messaging, targeting, imagery, and reporting capabilities between one marketing effort to another, marketing teams enjoy ease-of-use when analyzing efficacy and making budgetary decisions on future campaigns. Furthermore, consistent and persistent language and imagery help keep a brand in the forefront of a consumer’s mind for stronger recall.
Therefore, marketing automation technology that is used to manage and analyze digital initiatives such as email and social media should work hand-in-hand with solutions tracking and reporting on non-digital channels such as phone calls, trade shows, and in-store visits.
Why Bother With Many Channels?
For smaller enterprises, startups, or companies targeting very niche audiences, it may seem like a hassle to take on every marketing channel with a strong presence, and then connect each effort seamlessly for effective reporting and messaging. There are three benefits, however, to deploying a multichannel approach to market communications that suit the needs of all businesses:
- You create a strong, supported brand presence across all channels
- You drive audiences offline from online channels, and vice versa
- You improve the customer experience and brand reputation
Even if the vast majority of target customers demonstrate familiarity and comfort using online channels, there are many opportunities to drive revenue through offline channels that may not be tracked and analyzed, including phone calls, direct mail, or outdoor displays.
- Seamless Branding
Consider your daily routines: you go to work, you run errands, you meet with friends, and you engage in hobbies or activities. While completing these tasks, we are exposed to branding all over the place. When one ad or message intrigues us but we are not able to explore it further at the time, seeing that message again on a different channel may leave a stronger imprint of the brand on our minds. Consumers may be more likely to recall a brand and associate it with specific products or services for future needs.To achieve this endpoint, consider the different ways to connect existing marketing channels through analytics and marketing automation. It is imperative to not only consolidate the channels into an overarching campaign, but also define the performance of each channel individually to determine ROI. When a customer calls a company, for example, after viewing a newspaper ad, the lead can be sourced to print media, whereas a phone call generated from a blog post should be attributed to content market. - Swapping Channels
Marketing teams conduct thorough research to identify the target audience and learn their preferences to enhance lead generation. There are many consumers, however, who review a brand, product, or service via several channels before making a purchasing decision. Therefore, companies must create bridges that guide the customer through the sales lifecycle from one channel to another.These bridges should cross between online and offline regularly. Each time an offline channel is effectively connected to online content, media, or social networks, the opportunity for conversion increases significantly. Offline advertisements can display social media information, hashtags, or URLs to guide consumers to digital content. Similarly, website content or social media posts can present unique trackable phone numbers to contact brand representatives directly. - Make A Difference
In modern marketing, teams have access to massive volumes of consumer data being generated from both online and offline interactions. This data provides deeper insight into consumer decision-making strategies and purchasing preferences. When marketing teams connect offline and online marketing channels, the data from all streams are consolidated to make a complete and organized profile of the target audience.A detailed customer profile can be used to improve sales conversion as well as the customer experience for increased brand loyalty. When a company presents information, support, and options to a customer based on previous interactions and selections, the shopper feels valued and the overall experience is easier to complete. Marketing automation solutions make it possible to update customer data in real time to ensure a representative is equipped with the most relevant information to provide a rewarding experience for shopper and brand.
Explore the technologies available to make multichannel campaigns more effective without increasing costs, including call tracking, advanced analytics, and other marketing automation solutions. Creating synergy across channels and personalizing campaigns for the customer will strengthen your brand’s presence and make better use of capital and asset allocation.
To learn more about the benefits voice-based marketing automation has to offer marketing departments, download our Buyer’s Guide to Call Tracking Software for Marketers.