Omnichannel marketing concept is built around reaching the consumers on all channels that provide a touchpoint to your brand and personalizing that experience. Consumers engage with different channels in different ways and at different times. Their level and quality of engagement is dependent on the context of their surrounding. Priority of your products for consumers changes with time. It is important to account for all socio-economic factors as you work towards devising a strategy for omnichannel marketing.
Let us first try to understand the conversion funnel...
Conversion Funnel
Conversion funnel are the steps a consumer goes through before they become a customer. Consumer expectations change for stage-to-stage as their maturity about your brand and your products/services change.
Research | Lead Generation
Consumers are trying to identify what to buy and what providers are currently in the market. In this phase they are in the Lead Generation phase for your organization. They are most likely to be influenced by more information about products and services. Visual content and videos will be the most influential. Leverage social media and display networks, as well as search for retargeting. As an outcome of this phase, visitors has made up their mind about what product, of its variations they are looking to buy. They will potentially engage and fill out some lead forms with various providers to better understand their options.
In-Market | Lead Nurture
Consumers have indicated their interest in the product they would like to buy and are now considering various providers. They are still visiting the sites to compare costs, features and benefits, and are filling out some lead forms to learn more. Comparison charts for your services vs competitors and providing a reason why your brand, and potentially enticing them with some offer will be most impactful. Leverage experience orchestration platform to drive personalized experiences. As an outcome of this phase, visitors will potentially have made their choice of provider indicating intent with you organization.
Ready To Buy | Sales
Consumers have indicated their intent to purchase the product or services from the chosen provider, in this case that is your organization. They will now be exploring the product/service more to ensure they have chosen the best option and potentially are waiting for some offer unless its an emergency. Continued retargeting of prioritized product will increase the chances of conversion. Encourage call and email communication to drive sales process and ensure the engagement impacts communication across other channels.
Customer | Sales
Consumers have made up their mind and are ready to make a purchase. They will visit your site or store to make the final purchase depending on the product. It is vital to ensure abandon cart emails, in-store assistance and checkout procedure is as smooth as possible. Leverage coupons on in-store POS if necessary. As an outcome of this phase, your organization will have acquired a customer.
Transition
Transition to an Omnichannel approach requires leadership that has a solid grasp of the concept and understand the benefits of the approach. This requires a strong collaboration between all teams.
Before Omnichannel marketing, all campaigns are focused on a product or a service and potentially the offers surrounding it.
Omnichannel marketing is consumer centric approach where the consumer's previous actions dictate their future experience. This approach urges marketers to understand the role different channels play in their consumers life and leverage them accordingly.
