Multichannel marketing is defined in numerous ways, yet at its most basic level it’ll break down as follows:
Multi-channel marketing involves the integration of one strategy around several platforms or channels, thereby maximizing opportunities to engage with potential clients. A platform may be a print advertisement, email, website, retail location, mobile app,promotional event, product’s package, word-of-mouth, or SMS messaging.
The aim of multichannel includes giving buyers a choice, and permits them to purchase where and when they want.
Multichannel Marketing Benefits
There are a variety of multi-channel marketing benefits:
- An increase in data. More touch points will mean more data. But, since a multichannel strategy simply has the goal of getting the word out through the maximum potential amount of platforms, the data offers more details about the platform itself than the actual consumer (think customer behavior across platforms versus email subject lines).
- Platform Preference. You can reach your target customers on their preferred platform. Sounds ideal, right? Well, yes and no. For brands that have a longer buying cycle, you must hit prospects more than one time, and this means targeting them with the proper messaging, in the proper place, at the proper time in their journey. Multichannel marketing might enable you to reach prospects on the platform of their preference, yet it does not necessarily move them along to buy.
- Consistent Brand Messaging. A benefit of multichannel marketing includes the allure of a consistent message. It is a challenge that faces all businesses, and one most are still attempting to figure out. While multichannel plans may help ensure your business offers consistent messaging, multichannel marketing on its own typically results in siloed departments that push their own messages on their own platforms.
- An increase in awareness. A multichannel strategy concerns casting the broadest net to obtain the maximum buyer engagement. But, the multichannel strategy just accounts for a number of touch points versus attempting to give consumers the best holistic experience all throughout the touch points.
Creating a Successful Strategy
Crafting a successful multichannel approach isn’t any easy task; however, there are specific considerations which come into play and some methods of getting started:
- Develop a Unified Experience. Multichannel marketing cannot simply be about getting your messaging out there within as many places as you can. Give buyers a personalized and unified experience around your numerous marketing platforms.
- Set Up a Multichannel Platform. The aim of the program inevitably should be to develop one customer view which frequently evolves based upon campaign testing and data. To do it, you’ll have to have a platform which consolidates data and permits you to craft 1-to1 marketing plans based upon said data.
- Understand the Consumer. To make a multichannel plan, you must first understand the consumer. Craft personas, speak with actual buyers, and make tests on the numerous channels, testing sequences, timing, messaging, etc.
- Integrate Marketing Departments. As aforementioned, to operate a really successful multichannel plan, departments have to be aligned. Break down current silos in order to craft an integrated marketing team.
We know it’ll take work; however, it will be well worth it in the end.
