You have a product or service to sell, and you need a marketing plan. You know you can’t put all your efforts into just one marketing tool. Instead, you need a multichannel marketing strategy that will allow you to reach out to your customers in a manner of their choosing.
Today’s consumers are savvier than ever. You no longer compete with only the shop around the corner or your competitor a few streets over. Instead, you’re competing with shops from all over. One click opens up a world of opportunity.
Research by Upland BlueVenn shows today’s “Hybrid Consumers” interact with brands across a mix of an average of 20 channels. They expect that experience to be consistent every step of the way.
There is a difference between understanding multichannel marketing and piecemealing a strategy together. If you’ve been reaching out and grabbing one channel at a time without considering how it fits into your overall plan, you may be leaving valuable information by the wayside. A better understanding of multichannel marketing can make your marketing more effective, ultimately increasing ROI.
A Deeper Understanding of Multichannel Marketing
Multichannel marketing is about reaching out to customers in many different ways. You can use both online and offline strategies. It’s like using various doors to enter a room instead of just one. Each brings a new experience yet solidifies the same brand message.
It’s essential to realize that the customer is always at the center of multichannel marketing. It’s about what they like and where they are. Your branding will stay consistent, but your approach should adapt appropriately for wherever a customer will view your advertising.
Multichannel marketing requires you to learn more about what customers like and how they behave, and while this process isn’t always easy, it does have its benefits. It helps you reach more people, secure more long-term customers, and spend your marketing budget more effectively.
How Data Automation Plays a Role
At the center of all this is the need for data—lots of data. Luckily, in today’s technologically driven world, we have an overabundance of data. Data automation, along with advanced analytics and AI, can do amazing things for multichannel marketing.
First, it makes handling data much easier. Instead of spending lots of time collecting and organizing data from different places, automation does it quickly and accurately. As a marketer, this means you can focus more on making smart decisions. (Reducing the guesswork is always wise.)
Next, advanced analytics tools help find meaningful patterns and trends in all that data. Imagine having the brightest assistant who can spot things most of us would miss. This means it’s easier for us to understand what customers like and what they’re likely to do next.
Then comes personalization. With so much data collected and analyzed, it’s easier to create personalized experiences for each customer. Send individuals—your customers—emails or ads that feel like they were customer-made just for them.
This isn’t about looking at data after the fact. Automation allows us to analyze and adjust strategies in real-time based on what’s happening. This means each individualized campaign can be more effective and responsive to changes in the market or customer behavior.
Plus, all this data can be used to ensure the marketing message is consistent across different channels. If a customer sees you on Instagram, then notices you while shopping at their favorite online store, and finally visits your website, they get the same experience.
All of this can grow and adapt as your business does. A multichannel marketing strategy is flexible enough to handle more data or new channels as needed. Thanks to automation, it learns more about your customers as time goes on. It keeps getting better at delivering what they want.
Building Multiple Channels Into Your Marketing Plan
A successful multichannel marketing plan starts with integrating it into your established digital marketing plan. Instead of building one channel in isolation, carry the ideas across multiple channels. Buying processes are always consumer-driven, meaning you meet customers where they choose to be rather than leading them to the channel of your choice.
We often suggest doing this with a series of questions to lead the way:
- Where are we currently marketing?
- Who are we reaching?
- Are we measuring results to know where we’re coming from?
- Where do we want to be?
- How do we choose to get there?
- What positioning will we choose?
- Who will we be targeting?
- What’s our best approach?
- Which channels should we focus our media investments on?
- How will we support this growth?
Don’t feel overwhelmed by the process. One question leads to another.
Stay With Your Plan
You start by raising awareness and visibility for your brand. As you become more solid in your approach, you’ll find ways to interact with users along the way. This builds a stronger customer journey, which ultimately leads to a sale.
But strong brands are more than just a sale. They’re also about continuous customer engagement. Long-term customers buy repeatedly. Customer loyalty shows up in referrals. See it as:
- Clear goals you can confidently hit
- Tactics and action steps to move you along your journey
- A robust strategy to achieve these goals
- Checks to keep you on track
Rinse and repeat. This streamlined approach ensures your digital multichannel marketing plan brings in desire for your brand and the results you want. And it keeps you moving forward for a long time in the future.
You can do all this with a bit of planning and a lot of action. Have questions? We’re here to help. All you have to do is ask.
