An omnichannel approach to marketing and sales is essential.
The three core business priorities of customer experience, technology, and increased consumer awareness have converged, and customer behavior has transformed to demand full integration between in-store and online.
An omnichannel solution is a system where the customer experience is the same no matter which medium is used.
Target discovered that customers who shopped using a combination of online and in-store strategies spent up to ten times more than those who only shopped in store or online.
If brands use three or more channels, they see a 90% higher customer retention rate and 250% higher engagement and purchase rates, according to a report from Omnisend.
In this article, we will look at what omnichannel is, how companies use it and how you can use it to your advantage.
What Does Omnichannel Mean?
The challenge with omnichannel is that it’s difficult to track how customers move between all of the channels, which makes it tough to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Omnichannel is the integration of all the channels a business uses to interact with clients, including physical locations and digital channels like social media, email, websites, and apps.
The convenience factor is one of the main things that affects profitability in today’s market. In a 2020 survey done by the NRF, 97% of shoppers said they have chosen not to buy something because it was inconvenient, and 83% said that convenience is more important to them now than it was 5 years ago.
Omnichannel retail and marketing make it easier for shoppers to purchase products or services by providing multiple purchasing options. For example, shoppers can buy online and have the product delivered to their home, buy online and pick up the product in person, or buy the product in a brick-and-mortar store.
And omnichannel isn’t only for retail and ecommerce. It’s also valuable for:
- Healthcare
- Automotive
- Finance
- Tech
Omnichannel provides consumers with more choices and access to real-time information. It also allows them to interact with brands on their terms. An omnichannel strategy can provide both convenience and personalization.
Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing involves creating a cohesive brand identity and message that is carried across all of a company’s online and offline channels with the goal of providing a seamless, intuitive, and rewarding experience for consumers.
Core elements of omnichannel marketing include:
- Smart content that remembers past interactions and recognizes the current stage of the customer journey
- Consistent brand imagery, voice, vision and messaging
- Personalized interactions based on user profiles
Omnichannel Retail
Omnichannel retail is a type of customer buying journey that aims to provide a smooth and cohesive experience across all channels, including brick-and-mortar stores, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and IoT (Internet of Things) devices.
Many shoppers do extensive research before they make any purchases, including watching videos, reading forums, and looking up reviews. Some shoppers even use their devices in the store to make sure they are making the best decision. A business that employs an omnichannel strategy can better guide their potential customers to a purchase through content and support on every channel.
An omnichannel operation creates a cohesive customer experience across all channels instead of a separate experience on each channel.
Single Channel vs. Multi-Channel vs. Omnichannel
If you’re only selling through one channel, you’re not taking advantage of all the potential sales opportunities out there. You could be missing out on a lot of business by only using one sales channel.
Multichannel commerce is the term for selling goods and services across multiple digital and physical locations. While it is possible to make some money with this approach, there are much better growth opportunities available if you use an omnichannel strategy instead. This includes things like lead conversion, customer loyalty, and upselling, which can all be improved with an omnichannel approach.
Multichannel marketing puts up walls between channels, while omnichannel marketing is built around providing a cohesive customer experience. Multichannel marketing focuses on using multiple channels to reach customers, while omnichannel marketing focuses on providing a cohesive customer experience across all channels.
Multi-channel marketing:
- Your brand defines and informs your marketing strategy
- Each channel operates separately
- Marketing channels aren’t personalized for consumers
- Communication is primarily static and uniform across channels
- Channels aren’t automated to update based on user preferences
Omnichannel marketing:
- The customer is the central focus of your marketing strategy
- Messaging changes according to how a consumer interacts with your brand
- Channels can work together and share information
- Each platform automatically updates based on consumer behavior
- Each channel is highly personalized for each potential customer
Different Avenues of Omnichannel
There are many different platforms and channels that companies can use to reach their customers, including digital marketplaces and social media platforms.
Marketplaces.
Omnichannel can be successful in different online marketplaces.
Businesses can get ahead of the competition by using existing markets and successful companies, which can save them time and money.
Amazon
It offers more than 12 million products, operates a global fulfillment network, provides customer support in 11 languages, and processes more than 2.5 million customer orders per day. The most well-known example of a marketplace that has been able to successfully enable an omnichannel strategy is Amazon. Amazon started out as a basic online bookstore and has since grown into the largest online marketplace in the world. It offers over 12 million products, operates a global fulfillment network, provides customer support in 11 languages, and processes more than 2.5 million customer orders per day.
By using Amazon as another channel, businesses can gain access to:
- Approximately 2.45 billion monthly visitors, nearly three times as many as the next company.
- Amazon’s fast, reliable fulfillment center, regardless of where you sell.
- More than 200 million Amazon Prime members.
- One of the largest data gathering centers in the world.
Walmart
Walmart is a very popular store and by incorporating it into your omnichannel strategy businesses can broaden their reach.
- Massive scale: Walmart.com has 120 million unique monthly visitors.
- Fast delivery & returns: In-store pickup, free next-day and 2-day delivery options, easy return policy.
- Seller tools: Huge investment in advertising, reporting and analytics.
There are thirteen times more visitors to Walmart.com each month compared to Amazon, making Walmart a far less saturated marketplace for sellers. Walmart Marketplace sellers receive around 27,000 visitors each month, while Amazon sellers receive around 2,100.
Mercado Libre
It is predicted that ecommerce sales will surpass $100 billion in Latin America by the end of 2022. This region is growing rapidly and should be a key consideration in your global ecommerce strategy.
Mercado Libre, known as the “Amazon of Latin America,” can help businesses take advantage of the omnichannel opportunity across borders.
- Latin America’s No. 1 ecommerce marketplace.
- Operating in 18 countries and reaching 65 million shoppers.
Wish
The Wish App is a global shopping app with over 120 active countries and account management support for BigCommerce merchants.
If you sign up for this service, you will have your own account manager to help you with everything from getting started to increasing your sales.
Social commerce.
Organizations that use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to advertise can reach new markets that they weren’t able to before. By placing advertisements on these platforms and mobile apps, companies can expand their customer base.
Facebook, for example, operates its own marketplace system. Once used primarily by individual users, Facebook Marketplace has expanded to include larger businesses.
Organizations that are based on omnichannel marketing will be affected by Facebook’s recent rebranding of Meta. This is because Meta will now also be known as the channel metaverse. According to the latest data, Meta brands are used by 3.6 billion people each month.
A social media site like TikTok doesn’t have a built-in ecommerce solution like some other platforms. This means that businesses can’t sell products directly on TikTok. However, businesses can use a platform like BigCommerce to sync their inventory with TikTok. This way, when a person clicks on a product they see on TikTok, they’ll be taken directly to that product’s page on the business’ website.
TikTok has 1 billion active users as of September 2021, which could be good news for businesses that are interested in using the platform.
Organizations have a real opportunity with social commerce, and those that aren’t participating stand to miss out on a significant revenue stream, especially when considering that:
- 73% of shoppers across markets made a purchase in-store after finding or discovering the item on social media.
- 66% of Gen Z Shoppers use social media to research a product before purchasing it.
Search.
By advertising on Google, you can reach millions of potential customers who are already searching for what you have to offer. This is the perfect opportunity to showcase your brand and products to the right people at the right time.
- 75% of global shoppers used a Google product in the past week to help with shopping.
- 59% of shoppers surveyed say they use Google to research a purchase they plan to make in-store or online.
- 76% of consumers enjoy making unexpected discoveries when shopping.
Why is Omnichannel Commerce Valuable for Retailers?
In other words, the changes in consumer behavior in 2022 have made it more important than ever to have an omnichannel strategy.
Retail executives are increasing their investment in commerce retailing, with 46% saying they plan to increase their investment compared to their plans prior to COVID-19.
As Andrew Lipsman noted in a report on Frictionless Commerce from May 2020, the key needs that consumers have always had are for better prices, selection, and convenience. The internet has already made significant progress in addressing the first two of these needs, and now attention is turning to convenience.
An eMarketer report found that streamlined digital experiences, curbside pickup and touchless checkout resulted in increased shopping frequency and incremental sales.
There are many benefits to using an omnichannel approach. It allows businesses to provide a consistent experience to customers no matter how they choose to engage, and can result in increased sales and customer loyalty.
Meet customers where they are.
While consumers have always engaged in transactional activities, COVID-19 has caused many of those activities to be redirected to different channels.
As ecommerce became more commonplace, social media platforms began to use their large user base to roll out new features related to buying and selling. This led to a significant increase in the amount of traffic to online marketplaces.
Today, customer journeys are no longer linear. People can find new brands and products through ads on social media, online shopping platforms, product reviews, and word of mouth. They may encounter brands on different types of devices, such as computers, TVs, or phones.
By appearing in locations that are most convenient for your customers, you make their shopping journey more effortless. This is especially crucial in our current climate, which has been drastically affected by COVID-19. However, even before the pandemic, convenience was always a top priority for shoppers. In fact, a survey done by NRF reveals that 83% of shoppers stated that convenience was more important to them than it was five years ago.
According to Sharon Gee, General Manager of Omnichannel at BigCommerce, people want shopping to be simple and efficient. She states that a good omnichannel strategy is one that is responsive to changes in customer behavior and has the technological and practical means to allow customers to shop in the ways that they want.
Stand out in a crowded playing field.
To be successful online, retailers need to have a strong brand, a good shopping experience, and excellent customer service.
If a business is able to change to an omnichannel way of online shopping, it will be better than other brands, especially those who don’t want to stop using the old way of shopping in stores.
There are many reasons why companies would want to adopt an omnichannel strategy. It can help them stand out from their competitors, appeal to a wider range of customers, and boost their existing customer base.
To truly stand out, you’ll need to adapt to new consumer needs and behaviors, and recalibrate your understanding of your target consumer. Some of what you’ve always known about your customers may have changed — use data to understand if you’ll need to rethink any of the following:
- Product assortment
- Sales channels
- Advertising channels
- Messaging
If you do this well and are consistent with it, you will have a better chance of being able to handle any changes that come up unexpectedly.
Optimize your business with data and analytics.
Some retailers may need to adjust the sales and marketing channel mix to fit the new reality of consumer behavior. Data will help identify where to focus energy.
You can improve your marketing efforts by controlling the data stream for your brand. This will give you a better view of how customers interact with your brand across different platforms, such as your website, social media, retail stores, or customer engagement. It is important to know why customers make the decisions they do in order to be successful.
Whilst moving to an omnichannel platform presents many challenges, one way of overcoming these is by ensuring that data is optimised. This will in turn streamline the process and reduce the chances of mistakes being made.
A good omnichannel strategy lets you use data from all your sources and channels to figure out the best ways to keep your inventory balanced, meet customers where they are, and give great service no matter where they shop.
Enhanced Personalization
According to a 2021 study, customization helps consumers fulfill their need for autonomy. You can empower customers by offering personalized experiences, prompting an emotional connection between them and your business.
Omnichannel marketing that is customized to each shopper’s buying journey results in improved brand perception, increased engagement, higher spends, and more repeat customers.
The Final Word
Customers expect to be able to shop using whichever channel they prefer without any issues. Today’s retailers are having to adjust to new consumer needs and behaviors, and rethink their understanding of who their target consumer is.
An omnichannel strategy is one that takes all aspects of a customer’s journey into account. It relies on a strong foundation in all four areas of sales channels, marketing and advertising, operations, and shipping and fulfillment.
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