How to create the perfect omnichannel strategy – Part 2

Good Content is not Enough: Now that you’ve got to know your customers and choose the channels wisely, it is time to match the content with the context, because you may already hear that the content is the king, but take care with this “law” because it means nothing without the right context. Yes, you heard me right it is more accurate today to say as the social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk quoted “Content is king” but Context is God. Indeed, Nowadays it is no longer enough to provide insightful information, yet you must give the right information at the right moment in time. A good example to illustrate this point is the one shared by Gary Vaynerchuk. He was on ESPN on mobile and trying to click out of a pop-up ad but it end up clicking through to acura’s website instead. His experience was actually sold back to acura as an impression and a click-through which for non-marketers means intent or interest and yet nothing could be further from the truth. He had no intent or interest whatsoever. Acura stole his most precious asset, time. He was not mad at ESPN. It’s not their fault why he never buy an acura. Why? Because ESPN brings him value. He likes them he wanted to go there for a quick score or to read a headline so he is willing to be annoyed for a second because they are bringing him value. Acura on the other hand is bothering his experience with an ad and is not bringing him any value whatsoever. Obviously they are bringing someone else value somewhere in the world and that’s okay but if they are trying to bring him in as a new customer they are failing. And by knowing that you must match the content with the context, you can conclude that it is a must for your company to be agile. Think about it. That means that none of your departments should operate independently of each other. Marketing, sales, customer experience and others, they should all work as one. Imagine the beautiful and interesting messages being sent to the wrong channels at the wrong moments. This is lost effort, at least, if not boring or extenuating for your client. Good communication and integration between teams can solve that. Yet many companies still don’t understand the importance of this perfect match, this perfect timing, and it is the main roadblock on their way to developing a successful omnichannel strategy. Indeed countless companies still experience a misalignment of their teams because of their old-fashioned siloed internal organization. This siloed organization leads to a fragmented and dispersed customer experience across companies departments. Choose the right tools: In a sea of technology, marketers today find themselves in a problem. How so the broad spectrum of tools is more than confusing and it is a must for a company to identify the right tools for their work. The sales, marketing, data technology stack may differ based on the preferences and culture of a company. With the right set of tools, companies make their marketing efforts more efficient and cost efficient. Research form Aberdeen indicates that the most used are:

1. CRM – Customer relationship management
2. Video/ Web conferencing solution
3. Email service provider
4. Marketing automation platform
5. Print materials and solutions.
6. Analytics and data visualization solution
7. CMS, content management system

The most important by far is the crm tool which allows the company to track and record buyers’ journey from start to finish. Even though it is a crucial tool it would mean little without analytics. Without analytics you can’t make informed decisions and develop a strategy. Once you have those two you can build a stack around it with tools that will help you get in touch with your customers exactly how bank of america disney and sephora are doing at this very moment. CONCLUSION After learning the effort, it takes to do omnichannel right, you’re probably asking yourself if it’s really worth it. According to several studies, the answer is a confident “yes.” According to a study from IDC, users who shop across channels have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who do not. Another study of 46,000 shoppers from Harvard Business Review reinforces that, showing customers not only enjoy using multiple channels but that they also spent… an average of 4% more on each shopping occasion in-store. 10% more online those who use only one channel. 13% more when doing prior research before buying. The more channels they use, the more valuable they become. Note this study was before the Covid pandemic. With the new business landscape drawn by the pandemic, the digital competition will become even fiercer leaving little to none alternative to brands. Omnichannel marketing initiatives must be part of their strategy. It cannot be stressed enough that creating an omnichannel customer experience does not imply re-investing in new technologies. It simply means that you are using the digital channels that you have already invested in, such as the applications, the web and mobile site, the CRM, etc, and joining them together in a centralized ecosystem that helps to provide a seamless pathway. An omnichannel strategy should seek to maximize the value of existing assets and prime them towards facilitating complete service. This is the stream of the future, and those who get on board immediately will have a distinct market advantage. If you or your company haven’t already begun to consider omnichannel strategy, the best time was a few years ago. The second better moment is now. Are you happy with your omni-channel marketing initiatives? What challenges your organization is facing on its path to seamless cross-channel coordination? We will be more than happy to hear from you in the comments. Feel free to click on the link to book a time with us to see how we can help with your company’s omnichannel initiatives. And if you want to receive future content like this, feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel and LinkedIn company profile and you’ll be notified when we publish new content.