Today, businesses have many different ways of interacting with their audiences. At first glance, it might seem like for digital marketing, you have your website and social media to worry about. However, it quickly becomes much more than just that. There are multiple social media platforms, various paid ads, email marketing, chatbots, and more. The chances that your business engages with people in your target audience through only one channel are very slim. This makes omnichannel marketing essential for all modern businesses, but it’s an area that many are unfamiliar with or don’t prioritize enough.
Omnichannel marketing is the method of creating a consistent brand experience across multiple channels. As many businesses utilize at least eight different channels, this can take a huge amount of time, effort, and coordination to create a seamless experience across your business’s various touchpoints.
Omnichannel Marketing vs. Multichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing and multichannel marketing both involve interacting with your audience through various channels. These can seem like different words that mean the same thing. However, there are key differences between omnichannel marketing and multichannel marketing. Just because omnichannel marketing uses multiple channels doesn’t make it multichannel marketing.
While multichannel marketing may involve the same touchpoints as omnichannel marketing, it goes about this with a different approach. Multichannel marketing is less cohesive than omnichannel marketing. People might interact with a business that uses this method on different channels, but they can have very different experiences on each one. Each individual channel might be effective in its own rights, but they’re not working together to achieve something bigger and more effective.
Omnichannel marketing is based on giving people the best experience as they engage with different channels. This means ensuring channels are consistent. As you can be sure that people will end up interacting with more than one of your business’s channels, you want them to have the same positive experience on each one. No one should go to one channel and be thrown off when it doesn’t match up to the impression they had of your business somewhere else. Channels shouldn’t work independently, but rather, as a cohesive unit that represents your business and serves your audience. If you’re going to have more than one channel, which you’ll need to, omnichannel marketing helps ensure you’re staying on-brand and providing the same messaging.
Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing
While some businesses don’t focus on omnichannel marketing as much as they should, it’s extremely valuable. This is not only a nice thing to have that can give you some extra edge against your competitors, but it’s something that many people have grown to expect. Around 90% of customers expect consistency across all of a brand’s channels. Here are some of the specific benefits that omnichannel marketing has.
Enhanced User Experience
Of course, if something is going to give your audience a better impression of your brand, you want to utilize it. When you know that people in your audience are likely to interact with your business through multiple touchpoints, you want to ensure that their experiences are consistent no matter what channel they’re using. As a person who has likely engaged with businesses on multiple channels before, this is something you may be able to understand through your own experiences.
If you found a business through one channel and had a pleasant experience, you want this to continue. When you interact with them on a different channel and it feels completely disconnected from the first, it’s understandable that you might feel a little frustrated.
When channels are consistent, it also allows users to interact with your business on their preferred channel. Everyone has their preferences, and omnichannel marketing helps you ensure that people get the same experience wherever they are. All of this helps to provide a better user experience.
Better Brand Recognition
Naturally, consistency across different channels will help improve brand recognition for your business. This is opposed to multichannel marketing, where channels can feel disconnected from one another. People may come across your business on different channels, but if they aren’t cohesive, they may not recognize it.
When your business’s channels are consistent, people will have the same experience regardless of which one they’re interacting with. Your business won’t seem like several different businesses depending on the channel. The more people interact with your channels, the more they’ll begin to remember your business. You might not see the effect of this right away, but brand recognition will pay off later on when people need a business like yours and you’re at the top of their minds.
Target a Wider Audience
Being active on different channels is essential for expanding your business’s reach. However, if these channels aren’t working together, it might not have as big of an impact as you might have expected. Omnichannel marketing helps you reach as many people as possible and send them the right messaging at the right time.
When people need your business, it shouldn’t be difficult to find. Omnichannel marketing helps make your business more accessible to your audience, which could open you up to more people. This helps put your business out there and gets your name in front of more people.
Create a Cohesive Marketing Plan with ENX2 Marketing
Balancing all the different marketing channels a business needs today can be a huge challenge. However, no one expects you to juggle all of these moving parts alone. A digital marketing agency is essential for ensuring that all of your channels are aligned and help create a seamless experience. At ENX2 Marketing, we provide all the digital marketing services your business needs to appeal to your audience.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business!
