“Omnichannel strategies drive an 80% higher rate of incremental store visits”. This Google statistic illustrates the potential that omnichannel marketing presents to businesses. In this case, an increase in-store visits correlates to higher purchases and greater profits.
Omnichannel strategies have the potential to grow store visits, awareness of your brand, and customer loyalty. This article will discuss how omnichannel marketing can create customer loyalty.
What Is Omnichannel Marketing?
Omni-channel marketing is a term used to describe connected multichannel platforms for marketing and customer service. The distinct difference between multichannel and omnichannel marketing is that the latter connects different platforms, forming a web of digital and physical touchpoints within which customers can interact with your business.
Think about a simple e-commerce store link shared via email. Customers can access that link from all their digital devices. That is multichannel. However, if the e-commerce store allows you to log in and update your cart from multiple different devices and updates this information across all your touchpoints, including the company website, for example, then it is omnichannel.
Thus, an omnichannel customer experience creates a unified and integrated digital infrastructure that serves the consumer wherever they are and however they make contact.
The Importance of Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty has a direct impact on many facets of your business or brand. It’s synonymous with customer satisfaction, vital for customer retention, and without all three of these qualities, your business will fail to survive.
Although you can focus your marketing strategy on customer acquisition, it’s a more costly option. Keeping the customers you have loyal and happy is better for your bottom line than trying to win new supporters.
Customer loyalty can:
- Encourage repeat visits and business.
- Boost profits.
- Help grow your brand recognition.
- Nurture constructive feedback.
- Help expand your business (good reviews, referrals, etc.).
- Protect you from competitors.
- Cultivate trust.
7 Ways Your Omnichannel Marketing Strategy Can Create Customer Loyalty
1. Personalization
According to Forbes, 71% of shoppers get frustrated by customer experiences that aren’t personalized. Accenture statistics state that 83% of consumers are happy to share their personal information if they gain a more personalized experience. Furthermore, Statista found that nine out of ten customers found personalization appealing.
These stats point to an increased demand for personalized experiences by consumers. Buyers and shoppers want recommendations, customized discounts, and offers through personal channels like SMS. They demand a consistently thoughtful service and communication.
Omnichannel marketing’s connected convenience is the right tool to make customers feel like their experience is tailored to them and well-equipped to fit their needs.
2. Segmentation
Customer segmentation is a wonderful way to drive your marketing towards personalization. With segmentation, you can identify different customers within your general pool and target specific campaigns to particular customers. Running relevant marketing campaigns across specialized channels can boost customer loyalty and retention.
3. Multi-device and multichannel service
In understanding what each respective customer needs for a brilliant omnichannel experience, you need to understand the devices commonly used by your target audience. Going omnichannel doesn’t mean targeting all platforms. Instead, conduct research on those your clients use most and focus on ensuring that all your channels function smoothly on those platforms.
For example, you need to ensure that your website or online store works well on laptops, PCs, and mobile phones. Things like inventory availability, SKU codes, order management must work smoothly from all touchpoints. Also, make sure software solutions like those for inventory management- like LIFO vs FIFO– are compatible with all your channels, too. Frustratingly slow sites can deter customers quickly, so they’ll just move on to a competitor that does make sure everything is convenient for them.
Also, don’t forget that your physical store is a vital point of contact for your customer.
4. Be data-focused
To learn more about the best platforms, channels, and devices to include in your omnichannel network, you need to keep an eye on your data. Almost all digital platforms have in-app analytics that you can use to monitor engagement and other metrics. You can also use third-party marketing automation software to help you keep track of your data.
Metrics like engagement on social media, conversion rates on your website, and clicks across the digital sphere can guide you on what attracts your customers. This can help you improve on things that work and change those that don’t to build a better experience.
5. Educate employees
Your employees represent an essential contact point for customers. If a customer is confused about your omnichannel experience, they will have to engage with an assistant at your company.
Everybody in your organization should remain informed about your omnichannel strategy, how it affects steps like the order fulfillment process, and how it improves the customer experience. That way, they can provide the best customer service, leading to increased customer satisfaction.
6. Be aware of the customer journey
All your customers may be at different points in their purchasing journey. You want to set up various communication ports across channels to remind them of your business and encourage them to visit you for the first time or return again. This can be a simple display ad on a relevant website or a social media ad targeted at your ideal customer.
7. Create an omnichannel loyalty program
It can be easy to forget about your physical store with all this digital talk. Don’t! Brick-and-mortar still matters!
An excellent way to integrate your storefront into your omnichannel approach is by establishing a loyalty program. Allow buyers to collect loyalty points through a loyalty app linked to their digital store account. Be sure to use manual software testing to make sure the app functions smoothly across your network.
Conclusion
Everybody knows the saying, ‘The customer is always right!’ Well, the modern customer wants convenience, cohesive experiences, and mindful personalization. This is what it takes to keep them shopping with you for longer, and omnichannel marketing can help you provide this to them.
Author Bio:
Nick Shaw – Brightpearl. Nick Shaw has been Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Brightpearl, the number one retail-focused digital operations platform which encompasses sales and inventory management software, accounting, logistics, CRM and more, since July 2019 and is responsible for EMEA Sales, Global Marketing and Alliances. Before joining Brightpearl, Nick was GM and Vice President of the EMEA Consumer business at Symantec and was responsible for a $500m revenue business.Nick has written for sites such as Hubspot and G2. Here is Nick Shaw’s LinkedIn.
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