Semalt: What Is Omnichannel Marketing And How To Apply It In An Online Store?
In online trading, changes are very dynamic. Thus, if you want to constantly achieve good sales results, you should be up to date with solutions that are currently expected by customers, and preferably be one of the companies that chose them first. Omnichannel marketing is an activity worth getting interested in. What is it about? How to apply it in the online store?
What is omnichannel marketing?
Omnichannel means in other words omnichannel sales, and more precisely a strategy that assumes the integration of all sales channels for the company to interact with its recipients. This means that the consumer will gain a similar experience with your brand, regardless of whether he / she will be in contact with it via a website, or smartphone application, but also a stationary store.
So this strategy is not just about online channels - it is about all of them. You may have noticed that many online stores offer customers to buy their product online and pick it up at a physical branch. This is one of the elements of omnichannel marketing.
This is an idea that companies around the world have been using for years. On the one hand, the customer conveniently looks for a product on the web, and on the other, when he / she finds the right one, he / she collects it in the store without paying for the shipment or waiting for delivery. Of course, before the purchase, you can check whether the product is available where the customer wants it.
What is multichannel?
You may also have come across the term multichannel. This is largely the opposite of omnichannel because in this case, customers can reach your offer through several channels, but they are not consistent. This means that the message that reaches the audience is not the same. In such a case, different groups of recipients are identified and an appropriate message is directed to them, depending on the used channel. Most often, there are several such channels, but they are not coherent - the message differs from one to another.
Example: Suppose you run an online and physical store. An online customer can see that when ordering on the site, he or she receives a discount of 10% for subsequent purchases. However, he or she prefers to buy the product stationary, so he or she goes to your store, and there, it turns out that such a promotion is not available.
An example of omnichannel marketing: Suppose a customer clicks on your ad on a social media site. It leads to your website where he or she orders a product. At the same time, he or she uses the possibility of its collection in a stationary store. Before ordering goods, he or she calls the hotline and receives information there that he or she can actually order the product on the basis that interests him.
Why is it worth betting on the implementation of omnichannel for e-commerce?
The omnichannel strategy is the future of e-commerce. By linking various sales channels, it is possible to achieve better results, as well as to reach a group of different customers. First of all, such a strategy has a positive effect on relations with consumers. This is one factor that can help improve your return on business.
The fact that the message is consistent across all channels builds brand credibility. If the customer finds your product on a social networking site and clicks on an advertisement, and the website displays a different price from that advertisement, he or she is unlikely to be encouraged to take up the offer. The biggest benefits of implementing omnichannel in e-commerce are:
More sales
It is possible for many reasons. For example, a customer ordered a product online and chose to pick it up at a stationary branch. Then, while in your shop, he or she noticed other goods that he or she needed. This is just an example of many possible scenarios.
Increasing the effectiveness of marketing activities
If the client encounters an advertising creation in various channels, such as social media, advertising posters, and e-mails, there is a greater chance of drawing attention to the intended message.
Building credibility
This effect is achieved through various activities. One of them is the consistency of the message. Another option is by establishing contact with the store - it can be done not only by phone, using the chat on the website, but also by coming to the stationary branch and consulting an advisor there.
Greater brand reach
The fact that the company is available through various channels means that it reaches a larger number of recipients. Thus, it becomes even more known and recognizable.
Meeting customer expectations
Consumers have increasing expectations. The fact that they can buy the product online and pick it up within an hour in a physical shop allows them to solve problems that have just happened, such as the need to quickly replace damaged equipment that they need on the spot.
Implementing omnichannel means meeting customers' expectations. But what do you need to do to successfully implement this strategy in your online shop?
How to implement omnichannel marketing in an online store?
Determine who your customers are as well as what they need
The effectiveness of marketing activities largely depends on getting to know your customers. You should know who belongs to your target group and design all messages with their needs in mind. If you have not preceded your actions with such an analysis, you run the risk of ineffective efforts, which means that the investment in the actions will not pay off.
Customers currently expect an individual approach. Therefore, you should know who your client is, what he or she does and what he or she likes. This is essential knowledge that you will use when making your next decisions.
And if you are just wondering how to set up an online store and need SEO consultancy, you can take advantage of a free assessment with the Semalt SEO tool: the Dedicated SEO Dashboard, or even with a consultant.
Choose marketing channels
Knowing who the target group is, you can take action on the implemented marketing activities. For example, if the clients are young people, websites that target such people are a good place to run a campaign. Individual social networking sites vary in terms of recipients, but, for example, teenagers dominate TikTok.
Be sure to take a look at the data on the most popular channels using the Dedicated SEO Dashboard or Google Analytics. From the menu, select «Acquisition», then «Overview» and see which channel is getting you the most visits while having the lowest bounce rate. Based on this, select the channels in which you will strengthen your actions.
Take care of the consistency of messages in different channels
First, analyze the activities you conduct in those channels in which you already operate. Are you sure they are consistent? If not, then introduce new rules for subsequent activities: rules for transmitting messages - the customer cannot meet a different message on the Facebook fan page, and another message in the online store.
Once you go through this stage, you can launch new channels that, according to the analysis carried out, will be effective for your business: other social networks, Email campaigns, sponsored links in the search engine, and more. Communication must be fully consistent - this is what the client expects from you and you should provide him / her with it if you care about the effectiveness of actions and building a positive image.
You don't have to act quickly - it's better to implement subsequent channels gradually. Thanks to this, you will reduce the risk of making mistakes.
Analyze the recipient's purchasing path
Think about the journey the customers will take to complete their purchase. Think about when they first deal with the company, through which channel, and what happens next. This allows you to identify errors and problems that could prevent your sales from happening. If you see a problem in the form of a high rate of abandoned shopping carts, it may turn out that the problem is the inability to order products without registering an account or the lack of the form of delivery the customer expects.
It is worthwhile for such a path to be analyzed by many people and for everyone to share their observations. This is valuable knowledge with which you can optimize your store's performance.
Synchronization on all devices used by the client
Make it easy for the recipient to make the purchase. Let's assume that he / she was looking for products on a mobile device, and added them to the basket, but he / she wants to fulfill the order on the computer because it is more convenient for him / her or because he has some doubts. If he / she uses this equipment, he / she should see these products in the basket after logging in to the account, and not have to look for them again.
Of course, the website must be responsive: it must display correctly on different devices.
Optimize customer service performance
Let internet users contact you via various channels - by phone, chat, e-mail, Messenger and others, - as long as they are a good solution for your target group. Customer service should be thoroughly trained so that, above all, they can provide help and the messages conveyed are consistent. There are few things that irritate customers more than different information on the same topics obtained from different consultants.
Remember that the number of consultants should be adequate to the scale of orders. The customer cannot wait many days for an answer or hear that there are 32 in the queue and the waiting time is 70 minutes when calling. This is an effective way to lose him.
Implementation of omnichannel in the online store - summary
Are you still wondering if omnichannel in the online store is a good idea? This is definitely the right choice. Thanks to such solutions, you meet the customer's expectations and the activities carried out as part of your business are consistent. You can increase sales, you will build a positive image, and perhaps will you beat the competition.
Other companies in the industry have not implemented omnichannel? You already know how to implement omnichannel marketing in your online store, so be the first - it can only do you good!
If you need to learn more about the subject of SEO and website promotion, we invite you to visit our Semalt blog.
