Those who are familiar with digital marketing have probably heard about omnichannel strategies as this is something that has been gaining popularity over the last couple of years. With this in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to dig a little deeper into this topic to explain how you can use it to your business’ advantage.
#1 What is Omnichannel Communication?
A good omnichannel communication strategy contemplates both online and offline platforms. It consists of creating on-brand communications across different mediums regardless of where the brand’s audience is on the customer journey. How so? When creating a strategy you should focus on creating content that is consistent with your branding and personality, and share it across all your different communication channels.
To do this, you should also consider the customer experience you want your clients to have to create all your supports. This means you should have a clear strategy that goes from your store design,look and feel, to what your social media posts look like.
A good example of a good omnichannel communication strategy is McDonald’s. Whether you visit a restaurant, see a street billboard or scroll through your social media apps, you can immediately recognise the brand and identify it as McDonald’s. Why? Because all their restaurants have the same character and all their posters, website and social media use the same aesthetics.
To help you check if all your platforms communicate similarly, here are some online and offline supports where you can use this tactic.
Online examples:
- Social media
- Apps
- Reviews and Ratings
- Website
- Email Marketing
Offline examples:
- In-store communication
- Store design
- Salespeople
- Billboards/Outdoors
#2 Omnichannel vs Multichannel
With so many different strategies and names, sometimes it’s easy to mistake one for the other, so let’s check out the differences between them.
We consider that a strategy is multichannel when a business or brand communicates on different channels using different strategies. Let’s say you own a physical clothing store and that you also have a few social media accounts and a website. If you use different types of communication according to the platforms and audiences, then you have a multichannel approach.
If, on the other hand, you unite all communication touchpoints into a seamless strategy that doesn’t account for where your audience is on the customer journey, then you have an omnichannel approach.
When in doubt, think about processes. Is your customer experience consistent and unified, no matter which path they choose? For example, can your customers buy online and pick their purchase up at your store? Can they purchase online via your social media accounts? Or can they choose to buy items they saw online at the store? If so, then you have a truly omnichannel experience.
#3 Why you should use it
Having an omnichannel approach isn’t always easy because it requires a lot of time to integrate, can be somewhat expensive and, sometimes, it just isn’t a top priority for a brand. However, if you are considering tackling this, there are a lot of good reasons to do so.
Firstly, when you use this tactic, you become more easily recognisable across all customer touchpoints, whether online or offline. This means that your potential customers will identify your brand quicker, which will ultimately create a stronger connection between you. .
Another advantage is that by using the same aesthetics and communication style, you’ll look more professional and in charge of your brand. This plays a big role when it comes to potential customers trusting your brand, as they will more likely pick you over competitors that don’t have the same approach. Not only that, but doing this also provides a better customer experience since your clients will know what to expect from each experience with you , making them come back instead of trying a different brand.
Lastly, when you create a good experience, you can also expect your customers to recommend your brand to their friends and family, which will allow you to generate more interest and leads.
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