Is omnichannel marketing suitable for startups? As the customer journey changes with time and technology, this type of marketing are necessary not only for huge corporations but with startups, too. In this article, we’ll explore its attributes and how startups can execute it to meet customers’ growing demands.

The apparel store Zara launched its digital store in 2018, continuously raising the bar of excellence in terms of leveraging technology. It flaunts its capability to develop its omnichannel marketing strategy.

Zara addresses the needs of modern customers with a data-driven marketing strategy. It focuses on pulling the customers in and not pushing the product out. For instance, sales managers and agents lead intelligence gathering of customer inputs and feedback.

This bold move from Zara introduces hesitations and resistance amongst startup owners. As a result, startups failed to leverage the huge potential of this marketing paradigm.

However, startup owners must realize that it is important to deliver a unified brand experience to an existing customer or potential buyer. Although omnichannel marketing is a fancy strategy, there are means to implement it cost-effectively.

What is Omnichannel Marketing?

Digital technology changes business marketing dramatically. But what is omnichannel marketing by the way?

Let’s take this example.

You were browsing your Facebook feed, and an ad caught your attention. You click the ad and land on its website. In there, you see the details of the product, ratings, reviews, etc.

You like the product, the reviews are great, and the price is fair.

So, you click on the Buy Now button and enter your details. Unfortunately, you lost your Internet connection. And, you set it aside.

A few days later, you received an email asking you to complete the purchase. And you were amazed to receive a discount. Also, they offered free shipping as part of their campaign.

Thus, you bought the product as they made you an offer you couldn’t refuse. Subsequently, you noticed similar products on your social media feeds a few weeks later.

This is omnichannel marketing in action.

In short, omnichannel marketing aligns content delivery across various marketing channels to provide seamless and consistent brand experience.

The Difference Between Multichannel and Omnichannel Marketing

There is a fine line of difference between these two types of marketing. The omnichannel marketing definition does not appear to have much of a difference from multichannel.

Let’s start with multichannel marketing. It refers to the ability to interact with potential customers on various platforms. These platforms include print ads, a retail location, a website, a promotional event, a product’s package, or even word-of-mouth. It puts the decision of how to engage with a brand in the consumer’s hand.

On the other hand, omnichannel is also called multichannel marketing simply because it uses a multichannel sales approach. However, the former provides the customer with an integrated shopping experience.

It leverages online shopping from a personal computer or mobile device, physical store with augmented reality features, and others. Omnichannel ensures that no matter which channel consumers choose, it provides a seamless experience.

Omnichannel Marketing: Why it matters for Startups

To adopt omnichannel marketing, startups need to distinguish the difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing. The key difference is that omnichannel marketing prioritizes the customer over the brand.

Startup owners should realize that technology allows customers to participate actively in marketing communications. It is not a passive market anymore. Thus, startups must delve further into the ways of implementing an omnichannel marketing approach.

Omnichannel marketing for startups matters because of the data-driven market. To grow, startups must focus on providing a consistent and relevant shopping experience across different marketing avenues.

For instance, a startup that engages its customers using multiple mediums—such as text, chat, voice, video, email, and social media—can create a seamless user experience that builds customer loyalty.

Omnichannel Marketing: How to Execute it

Startup owners need a great marketing automation platform to simplify technology use. Here are some omnichannel marketing strategies to consider:

Build a Customer-Centric Marketing Culture

Learn and feel your buyer’s journey. For instance, evaluate all the touchpoints a prospect goes through before buying your product and services. And make sure that you provide consistent and top-notch customer service.

Understand Your Customers

Define your target market and customer personas. Gain an in-depth understanding of your customers. For example, start by identifying their wants, needs, behavior patterns, demographics, habits, preferences, motivators, goals, etc.

Implement the Right Tools in Your Marketing Strategy

Omnichannel marketing is not effective without the right tools and applications. Here are some of the tools you will need:

• Content Management System (CMS) and SEO tools
• Marketing Automation Platform (MAP)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
• Social Media Management tools
• Other quantitative and qualitative analytical tools

Segment Your Target Audience

Segment your audience based on their demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics. Similarly, identify the target audience characteristics that are highly relevant to your business goals and use them to define your audience segmentation process.

Customer Personalization

Customers want to feel valued all the time; personalization is the most critical aspect of omnichannel marketing. Assess your target audience and analyze its preferences.

For example, if your target audience consists of chic and sophisticated career women, make sure to craft your ads, emails, landing pages, etc. in a way that they relate to it.

Be Proactive Across All Platforms

Don’t make customers wait and work to reach out to you. Instead, engage with them first, using the medium of their choice. Also, be active on multiple mediums that they prefer for different stages of their buyer’s journey.

In addition, be consistent across all channels so as not to confuse your customers. There should be a common brand voice or design that establishes campaign consistency.

Track the Right Metrics

Choosing the right tools for your omnichannel marketing strategy makes it easier to collaborate and report accurate data. Also, when you combine different tools, you get a consolidated view of your metrics. As a result, it prevents confusion, identifies data inconsistencies, and helps you derive actionable insights.

We will help you with your Omnichannel Marketing Campaign

If you want to leverage omnichannel marketing, we will help you start laying the foundation right now. Of course, it requires a significant undertaking, but the efforts are bound to yield optimum results.

At Full Scale, we will help you understand the customer journey. Let’s identify all the possibilities to convert traffic into revenues. And evaluate various tools required in your day-to-day workflow to build a reliable marketing strategy.

Talk to us, and together with our marketing and software development team, we will start strategizing your business processes to have that customer-centric strategic edge.