With almost every country resorting to strict lockdowns for preventing the spread of coronavirus, brick-and-mortar stores had no option but to remain shut for several months. The e-commerce industry became the biggest beneficiary of the pandemic, with the likes of Amazon registering record sales and revenue.
Apart from digital experiences becoming a more common aspect of consumers’ everyday life, the pandemic also accelerated the evolution of online channels and customer expectations. Most consumers now use multiple channels and expect a seamless and consistent experience across channels.
Omnichannel marketing effectively targets this consumer behaviour, making it an essential tool in the marketing arsenal of every brand in the post-pandemic world.
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
In a nutshell, omnichannel marketing is a cross-channel strategy to improve customer experiences and drive improved relationships across digital and traditional touchpoints and channels. Every channel works in tandem with the overall marketing strategy to deliver a unified experience.
Whether a customer is shopping online from mobile or desktop or a physical store, the experience across the channels will be seamless and consistent. Some of the basic examples of omnichannel marketing are cart abandonment emails, retargeting ads from abandoned carts, and promotional SMS messages when a customer is shopping in-store.
Why Omnichannel Marketing in the Post-Pandemic World?
Here are some of the top reasons why brands should focus on building an omnichannel presence in the post-pandemic world-
1. Delivering Personalized Communication and Experiences
According to a Zendesk report, more than 50% of the customers in India agree that experience is now more important to them than it was a year ago. The report also suggests that 40% of the customers would prefer to shop from a different brand after just a single bad experience.
An omnichannel marketing strategy unifies all the online and offline channels to ensure that customer experiences are consistent across platforms and devices, making it easier for brands to engage with the customers on a more personal level.
2. Improved Engagement and Revenue
Customers also respond much better to omnichannel strategies. As per an Omnisend report that analysed more than 2 billion campaigns, marketers using 3 or more channels generated 18.96% engagement compared to 5.4% engagement earned by marketers only using a single channel.
Moreover, omnichannel customers also had a 250% higher purchase rate compared to single-channel customers. In other words, omnichannel marketing not only improves engagement but also encourages more purchasing, helping brands generate more revenue. As several brands were hit financially during the pandemic, an omnichannel strategy could help make an effective comeback.
3. Data Analytics at Its Best
Going omnichannel also extends to data analytics. Omnichannel attribution makes it possible for brands and marketers to track engagement across all the channels and touchpoints. This provides them a better understanding of the customer journey and preferred engagement channels and makes it easier for them to understand which channels/touchpoints/campaigns deliver the best results.
All this data can then be used for fine-tuning the marketing strategy for optimizing media spends and building targeted campaigns.
Futureproof Your Brand with Omnichannel Marketing
While omnichannel marketing has been around for some time, it was only during the pandemic that its importance shot up due to the changing consumer habits.
With customers getting used to the extensive range of channels and touchpoints that make their buying journey easier and more rewarding, omnichannel is all set to become a dominant marketing strategy for every successful business.
The expertise of a reliable digital marketing company could help brands make the most of this marketing trend that is expected to revolutionize the marketing landscape.
