"A multi-channel approach to marketing, selling, and serving customers in a way that creates an integrated and cohesive customer experience, no matter how or where a customer reaches out." - Aaron Agius
Omnichannel marketing is a customer-focused strategy for B2B digital marketing that has gained traction lately. If you are still getting familiar with the omnichannel approach, we suggest you read this introductory guide to catch up.
Recent research indicates that omnichannel is quickly becoming the new norm for B2B. If your business still needs to adopt this approach, the data reveals that you must do so.
Let's explore how we can integrate experiential marketing with omnichannel strategies.
Strategies for Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel marketing is a strategic approach that emphasises delivering a unified and seamless brand experience across multiple channels. Omnichannel marketing provides customers with a personalised experience across channels.
B2B customers have long sought an omnichannel buying experience. They want flexible shopping, quick responses from sales reps, and easy access to brands via social media. They expect a journey that starts with virtual demos and leads to in-person meetings with product specialists to explore customised solutions.
B2B buyers want integrated channels with intuitive interfaces and smooth transitions to avoid constant repetition.
B2B sales and marketing needed to be faster to adapt to customers' omnichannel demands. The traditional in-person sales model was considered superior despite the gradual shift to multichannel marketing. However, there has been a recent digital transformation, and companies are beginning to understand the importance of meeting customers where they are.
Maintain brand consistency across all channels. Align with business goals. Form a personal connection with users for loyal followers. Target audience accurately. Analyse the market and tailor strategies accordingly.
To reach your audience effectively, it is crucial first to identify who they are. Once you have determined your target audience, dig deeper to understand their behaviour, consumption habits, and preferred methods of communication. Customise messaging strategies for each active channel to boost engagement.
Businesses need to analyse customer data and create personalised messaging for each customer using modern technologies. Continuously tracking marketing campaign performance is crucial, and omnichannel strategies can help teams analyse every aspect of
movement in real-time. This can help businesses better understand the customer and refine their strategies as needed to improve outcomes.
What is an Omnichannel Customer Experience (CX)?
An omnichannel customer experience is a seamless and integrated multi-channel experience that enables customers to continue their journey across different touchpoints, devices, and channels.
Multi-channel and omnichannel experiences can be distinguished by their use of chatbots. An omnichannel chatbot is a single bot deployed across all channels, providing a seamless experience for customers. In contrast, a multichannel experience has different chatbots on each channel, leading to a disjointed experience for the customer.
What are Omnichannel Attributes?
With multiple touchpoints across channels, it takes a lot of work for marketers to credit a single touchpoint for conversion. Marketers use multi-touch attribution and media mix modelling (MMM) to understand what led to a transformation, but these models are imperfect.
MMM: Media Mix Modelling (MMM) uses long-term aggregated data and cannot provide person-level insights or real-time campaign optimisation. While MMM enables marketers to identify the impact of a campaign on conversions and historical trends, it does not reveal individual preferences.
MTA: Multi-touch attribution delivers real-time data at the individual level across all touchpoints. However, the challenge is assigning credit to each touchpoint for a conversion. It is difficult to determine which marketing campaigns are most effective in driving conversions.
Omnichannel attribution combines online and offline channels to provide a comprehensive view of the marketing funnel. It removes silos between campaign measurements and helps brands gain visibility into person-level insights and historical shopper trends.
What are the Benefits of Delivering a B2B Omnichannel Experience?
Implementing a consistent B2B omnichannel experience can help you increase customer retention and grow revenue for your brand. According to McKinsey's 2021 B2B Pulse survey, 82 per cent of B2B suppliers will seek out a new supplier if you can't offer them a performance guarantee (e.g., a refund or a risk-free trial).
The same survey found that B2B buyers were willing to spend more through online or remote sales channels, and a staggering 94 per cent of respondents consider today's omnichannel reality just as effective, or more so, than before the global pandemic.
To sum it all up to achieve a seamless omnichannel experience, a business must adopt a data-driven, customer strategy.