Today’s consumers are bombarded with marketing messages from a multitude of channels. In order to reach customers and build loyalty, businesses need to adopt an omnichannel marketing strategy.
Omnichannel marketing aims to provide a seamless, cohesive customer experience across all channels. This means that customers should be able to move freely between channels without having to start their journey from scratch each time.
Below, we’ve outlined three tips and some tactics to help businesses create an omnichannel marketing strategy that will reach and engage customers on multiple channels.
Understand Your Customers
The first step to creating an omnichannel marketing strategy is to understand your target audience. This means taking the time to research who your ideal customers are, what their needs and wants are, and what channels they use to consume information.
This research will be critical in helping you determine which channels to use as part of your omnichannel marketing strategy. Here are some ways to gather data about your target audience:
- Conduct surveys and interviews
- Analyze customer data from your CRM system
- Use Google Analytics to track website visitors
- Look at social media analytics
Create Customer Personas
The data you collect about your target audience should be used to create customer personas. These are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on real data. For instance, if you sell women’s clothing, you might create a customer persona for a woman in her 30s who is fashion-conscious and has a moderate income.
You will want to ask the following questions:
- What channels do they use?
- What type of content do they engage with?
- What are their buying habits?
- What are their pain points?
For the customer persona we described above, your omnichannel marketing strategy might look like this:
- Online, you can target her with display ads on fashion websites and blogs that feature your clothing. On social media, you can target her with sponsored posts on Instagram featuring influencers who wear your clothes.
- Offline, you might hold special events or trunk shows that would be of interest to her. You may also want to consider print advertising in fashion-related magazines.
Develop a Consistent Brand Message
Developing a consistent brand message means creating content that is aligned with your brand identity and resonates with your target audience. Below are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when developing your brand message:
Dos:
- Create a style guide for your team that outlines your brand’s identity, including the overall tone and voice of your message.
- Use similar colors, fonts, and imagery in your marketing materials.
- Tailor your content to each individual platform.
- Publish high-quality, relevant content.
Don’ts:
- Don’t try to be everything to everyone. It’s important to stay true to your brand identity.
- Don’t post content for the sake of posting it. Every piece of content you create should have a purpose and align with your overall marketing goals.
- Don’t copy and paste your content across platforms. Customize your content accordingly.
Omnichannel Marketing Tactics
These tactics can be used to reach and engage customers on multiple channels as part of your omnichannel marketing strategy:
- Developing a responsive website
- Creating social media profiles
- Developing targeted email campaigns
- Using retargeting ads
- Deploying SMS marketing campaigns
- Creating loyalty programs
- Utilizing geo-targeting
- Offering click-and-collect services
Final Thoughts
There are so many ways to reach your target audience these days, which is why it’s important to have an omnichannel marketing strategy. This approach allows you to connect with your customers on multiple levels, increasing the chances that you’ll reach them where they are.
If you are looking to create an omnichannel marketing strategy for your business and don’t know where to start, contact us today. We can help you develop a plan that meets your specific goals and needs.