Omnichannel marketing — what is it, and how does it work? The term “omnichannel” first came about in the retail world, but it has quickly become relevant to nearly every industry. Omnichannel marketing is the practice of providing a seamless customer experience across all channels.

This means that whether a customer is interacting with your business online, through social media, or through ads or other digital channels, they should have the same positive experience. Creating an omnichannel marketing strategy can be challenging, but it’s important to consider if you want to stay ahead of the competition.

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The typical business includes marketing strategy by rote or as an afterthought. It usually goes something like this: someone in upper management decides the company needs to focus on “digital marketing,” so they hire a couple of college kids and give them free rein to do whatever they want. The result is a hodgepodge of digital tactics with no clear connection to each other or the company’s overall goals.

The other scenario we see quite often is a limited marketing team being asked to take on specialty tasks, including SEO, PPC ads, website design, long-form content writing and copywriting, and social media management. The team is so bogged down in executing these tactics that there’s no time left to step back and consider whether they’re working together cohesively.

The Forum has ample experience with either scenario.

“It’s pretty commonplace — and unfair — to place complicated marketing strategies on the shoulders of inexperienced or overworked employees.”

Luckily, there is a better and smarter way to work. It does require input from the experts . . . but that’s exactly what we are here for!

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The Omnichannel Marketing Approach Is the Smart, Strategic Approach

Omnichannel marketing requires a different way of thinking about marketing altogether. It starts with a strategic approach that puts the customer first. What are your customers trying to achieve? What do they need from you? How can you reach them where they are, with the right message, at the right time?

From there, you can develop a plan for creating a seamless customer experience across all channels — one that meets your customers’ needs and helps you achieve your business goals.

Omnichannel marketing starts with a strategic foundation. What are your business goals? What does your ideal customer look like? What channels are they using? Only then should you start thinking about tactics.

In this article, we’ll explore:

What is omnichannel marketing?
How does omnichannel marketing work?
Why is omnichannel marketing important?
What is the difference between multichannel and omnichannel marketing?
What is the difference between an integrated marketing plan and an omnichannel plan?
How to kick off an omnichannel marketing plan

Once you have your strategy in place, you can start thinking about how to create a seamless customer experience across all channels. This means creating consistent messaging and branding across all platforms, making it easy for customers to purchase your products or services online or in-store, and providing customer service that is consistent regardless of how or where they reach out.

It’s also important to consider how you can use data to improve the customer experience. Omnichannel marketing gives you the ability to track customer interactions across all channels and touchpoints. This data can be used to improve your omnichannel marketing strategy by understanding what’s working, what isn’t, and where there are opportunities for improvement.

So, What Exactly Is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is the practice of creating a seamless customer experience across all channels.

BigCommerce describes it as "a strategy that aims to create a seamless shopping experience from the first touchpoint to the last, regardless of the channel your customer is using."

Hubspot goes into more detail, noting that it is a "lead nurturing and user engagement approach in which a company gives access to their products, offers, and support services to customers or prospects on all channels, platforms, and devices."

Amazon Ads is the most comprehensive, writing that an omnichannel marketing strategy “encompasses the entire customer journey, from brand discovery at the beginning of the marketing funnel, all the way through to purchase, customer loyalty, and beyond. A good omnichannel strategy makes the buying journey smooth and frictionless because audiences are having the same experience with your brand, across channels.”

Whichever definition you prefer, the key takeaway is that omnichannel marketing is all about creating a consistent, cohesive customer experience across all channels.

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This means that, as a business, you need to be present on the channels your customers are using — and you need to make it easy for them to move between channels without losing any progress or having to start from scratch.

Think about the last time you made a major purchase, like a new car or a piece of furniture. What was your journey like?

You might have started by doing some initial research online. But then you probably went to the dealership or store to take a closer look at what you were interested in. And once you made your purchase, you might have interacted with a customer service representative.

Ideally, your experience would have been consistent regardless of the channel you were using. The same applies to omnichannel marketing — businesses need to provide a cohesive customer experience across all channels.

Let’s take a closer look at how omnichannel marketing works and why it’s so important for businesses.

How Does Omnichannel Marketing Work?

Omnichannel marketing works only when your marketing team or agency is working cohesively. Every team member needs to be aware of the customer journey and how their actions fit into the bigger picture.

Your website, for example, should be designed with your omnichannel strategy in mind. If a customer starts their journey on your website, it should be easy for them to find the information they need and move on to the next step — whether that’s visiting a store, calling customer service, or making a purchase.

The goal is to create a seamless experience for customers regardless of the channel they’re using. This can be challenging, but there are some key things you can do to make sure your omnichannel marketing strategy is successful:

Define Your Customer Journey

The first step is to map out the customer journey from start to finish. What are the different steps involved? What channels do your customers use at each stage? By understanding the customer journey, you’ll be able to create a more seamless experience.

Integrate Your Channels

Once you know which channels your customers are using, you need to make sure they’re integrated. This means having consistent messaging and branding across all platforms, making it easy for customers to purchase your products or services online or in-store, and providing customer service that is consistent regardless of how or where they reach out.

Use Data to Improve the Customer Experience

Omnichannel marketing gives you the ability to track customer interactions across all channels and touchpoints.

Why Is Omnichannel Marketing Important?

This is likely beginning to sound like a lot of work. So why is omnichannel marketing so important?

The answer is simple: because it works.

In retail, omnichannel shoppers spend 4 percent more than single-channel shoppers, and they’re more loyal, too — only 27 percent of omnichannel shoppers say they would definitely switch brands, compared to 40 percent of single-channel shoppers.

What’s more, businesses that have implemented an omnichannel strategy have seen a 9.5 percent year-over-year increase in revenue, on average.

In other words, if you want to stay ahead of the competition and keep your customers happy, you need to be using an omnichannel marketing strategy.

What Is the Difference Between Multichannel and Omnichannel Marketing?

You might be wondering what the difference is between omnichannel marketing and multichannel marketing.

The answer is simple: while both strategies involve using multiple channels to reach customers, omnichannel marketing takes it a step further by creating a seamless experience across all channels.

With multichannel marketing, businesses might use various channels — such as email, social media, and paid advertising — but they’re not necessarily integrated. This can lead to inconsistency in messaging, branding, and customer service, which can confuse customers and make it difficult for them to do business with you.

Omnichannel marketing avoids this issue by creating a cohesive experience that meets customers where they are and makes it easy for them. Keep in mind: a non-cohesive, non-omnichannel marketing approach is also plenty of work. But it won't get you the positive results — or the leads — you're seeking.

What Is the Difference Between An Integrated Marketing Plan and An Omnichannel Plan?

As with multichannel marketing, there is often confusion about the difference between an omnichannel marketing strategy and an integrated marketing strategy.

The two are similar in that they both involve using multiple channels to reach customers. However, an integrated marketing plan takes a holistic approach, looking at the big picture and all of the moving parts involved. This includes everything from market research to sales and advertising.

An omnichannel marketing strategy, on the other hand, focuses specifically on creating a seamless customer experience across all channels. It’s important to have both an omnichannel strategy and an integrated marketing strategy in place in order to be successful.

Let's Kick Off An Omnichannel Marketing Plan

It's time to put what we've learned into action.

Creating a seamless customer experience is no easy feat. But with a little planning and effort, you can make it happen. So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!

Omnichannel marketing is the practice of using multiple channels to reach customers. This includes online channels such as websites, social media, and email.

Audit Your Existing Digital Marketing Efforts

The first step is to evaluate your current marketing channels and identify which ones are most effective. You'll want to compile data on things like website traffic, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. This will give you a good starting point for knowing where to focus your omnichannel marketing efforts.

Once you have a good understanding of your existing channels, you can begin planning how to best integrate them into an omnichannel strategy.

There are a few key things to keep in mind as you're planning:

Keep your target audience in mind at all times. What channels are they using? What type of content do they respond to?
Make sure your channels are integrated. This means having consistent branding, messaging, and tone across all channels.
Pay attention to the customer journey. What type of experience do you want them to have? How can you make it easy for them to do business with you?
Use data to guide your decisions. What's working well? What needs improvement?

Auditing your existing digital marketing efforts is a crucial first step in creating a successful omnichannel strategy.

Define Your Omnichannel Marketing Goals

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The next step is to define your goals. What do you hope to achieve with your omnichannel marketing strategy?

Some common goals include:

Increasing brand awareness
Generating leads
Nurturing prospects
Converting customers
Retaining customers
Upselling and cross-selling

Once you've defined your goals, you can begin planning how to best use your channels to achieve them. Defining your goals is an important step in creating a successful omnichannel marketing strategy.

The goal is to create a cohesive experience that meets customers where they are and makes it easy for them to do business with you.

Generating leads tends to be the biggest goal for most of the brands and businesses that approach The Forum for assistance with an omnichannel marketing strategy.

Ask yourselves these questions: What are some common pain points? What type of content or offers would be most helpful at each stage of the journey?

Answering these questions will help you develop a strategy for using your channels to generate leads.

Converting customers is another common goal of omnichannel marketing. The goal is to create a cohesive experience that meets customers where they are and makes it easy for them to do business with you.

Create Customer Personas

Step three is to create customer personas. Customer personas are fictional representations of your ideal customer. These are the people you are trying to reach with every expression of your brand. They help you understand your customers' needs, wants, and pain points.

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When creating customer personas, be sure to include:

Basic demographics such as age, gender, location, etc.
Psychographics like interests, values, and lifestyle
Their exact needs
Their pain points
Their goals
The types of content they respond to
The channels they use most often

Customer personas help you to understand the target client or customer and speak to them with fluency and ease. What are their needs? What type of content or offers would be most helpful at each stage of the journey?

Answering these questions will help you develop a strategy for using your channels to convert customers.

Create Brand Advocates

Step four is to create brand advocates. A brand advocate is a customer who loves your brand and talks about it to their friends, family, and social media followers. They are a powerful marketing tool because they help you reach new people without spending any money on advertising.

The best way to create brand advocates is to give them a great experience with your brand. This means providing excellent customer service, creating valuable content, and making it easy for them to do business with you.

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And we cannot emphasize this enough: creating brand advocates is, in essence, FREE!

You can also create brand advocates by giving them exclusive access to new products, content, or offers. This makes them feel valued and appreciated, and more likely to talk about your brand to their friends and followers.

Brand advocates are a powerful marketing tool because they help you reach new people without spending any money on advertising. Creating brand advocates should be a key goal of your omnichannel marketing strategy.

By providing excellent customer service, creating valuable content, and making it easy for customers to do business with you, you can create brand advocates who will help you reach new people without spending any money on advertising.

Use Data to Guide Your Decisions

Omnichannel marketing is data-driven. This means that you should be constantly collecting data and using it to guide your decisions. What's working well? What needs improvement? What do your customers want?

You can collect data in a number of ways, including:

Website analytics
Social media analytics
Customer surveys
Focus groups
Interviews

Data is the key to success in omnichannel marketing. Use it to understand what's working, what's not, and how you can improve your strategy. Take advantage of analytics experts on multiple platforms including Google Analytics, Omniture, and Webtrends. Make sure you're using data to track the performance of your omnichannel marketing strategy. What's working well? What needs improvement? Use this information to fine-tune your efforts and continue growing your business.

Omnichannel marketing is a complex and ever-evolving field. But by following these steps, you can create a strong foundation for your omnichannel marketing strategy.

And remember, the goal is to create a cohesive experience that meets customers where they are and makes it easy for them to do business with you.

Omnichannel marketing is a complex but powerful way to reach your target audience. By following these five steps, you can create a successful strategy that will help you grow your business.

1. Define Your Goals

2. Understand Your Customer's Journey

3. Create Customer Personas

4. Create Brand Advocates

5. Use Data to Guide Your Decisions

While these steps do not fully encompass all that goes into an omnichannel marketing plan, they are a great way to get started.

Omnichannel Marketing with The Forum

San Diego digital marketing firm The Forum can help you to create an omnichannel marketing plan with the help of a global team of professionals. In fact, we are currently offering a free marketing audit to kick-start the process. If we do not identify quick wins to improve your ROI within the first 30 days, there is no cost to you!

Whether you are looking for a brand messaging hierarchy or a social media overhaul, The Forum can assist. Contact our digital marketing agency here in San Diego today — we work with small to medium-sized businesses across the country and know what it takes to generate more leads for you.

We’re ready to get started — are you?

What is Omnichannel Marketing, and How Does It Work?