Communication is everything, and this rings particularly true when put in the context of relationships between businesses and their customers. With so many communication channels, including phone calls, emails, and social media messages becoming common practice for attracting and retaining clients, it’s only fair to expect the combination of them all to result in improved KPIs and boosted sales. The definition of this practice is called omnichannel marketing.
It isn’t just another buzzword — it’s a marketing strategy that, when compared to multichannel marketing, focuses on the customer experience instead of on customer engagement. It takes into account previous customer interactions and ensures that the communication with every customer is personalized and relevant.
Research conducted by the Aberdeen Group found that companies that employ omnichannel marketing see a 9.5% increase in annual revenue. This statistic shows that if implemented correctly, you can rely on your sales approach to help you get better purchase rates and keep your customers engaged at the same time.
So, pick your omnichannel marketing mix and apply the following tactics to get more sales today:
1. Use multiple communication channels to remind customers of abandoned carts
As many as 69.57% of shopping carts are abandoned. This means that out of every 100 customers, only 30 go through with their purchase. Whether it’s the indecisiveness or unexpected total cost of the order that gets in the way of your prospects leaving the site without buying anything, it’s your job to win at least a small percentage of them back. Here’s where an omnichannel communication tactic can come in handy.
Instead of disturbing your leads with countless emails reminding them about the items left in their cart, create a series of messages across different platforms aimed at reviving their interest in a non-intrusive way. It can include a push notification in their browser, an SMS, a social media direct message, and an email to seal the deal. Below is an example of mixing amd matching communication channels to get the best results.
2. Personalize your offers across communication channels
To appeal to present-day customers, you have to put a little more effort into personalizing your offer. A whopping 91% of consumers are more inclined to purchase from companies that provide relevant recommendations. Combined with the wide range of communication channels they use on a daily basis, your omnichannel marketing strategy should account for both.
Track the browsing behavior of your customers, and you’ll have a better idea about what elements and language they engage with the most. Once you gather all the data you need, you can start personalizing your offers when reaching out to them via email, phone, and social media. The emotional connection embedded into those recommendations will make it hard for them to say no.
3. Send a push notification to prospects who didn’t engage with your email
A low email opening rate isn’t an automatic death sentence to your marketing campaigns. Your customer might’ve forgotten to check his inbox, or the email’s subject line didn’t resonate with him. In addition to sending him a follow-up email, you can also reach out to him via other communication channels.
If it was a welcome email, consider crafting a message that would catch his attention on Facebook or Instagram. Leverage the data you have on the said customer and win his interest with the help of the platform where he’s the most active. You can choose more than just one communication channel and try your luck with an SMS message, a targeted ad, or the old-fashioned booklet. The same strategy applies to customers who didn’t engage with your follow-up email or a weekly newsletter.
4. Focus on mobile-friendly communication channels first
Calls and brochures are fun and all, but they’re not sufficient for acquiring new customers and increasing your sales — at least not in this day and age. With 6.378 billion people using smartphones daily, the question of whether or not companies should prioritize mobile experiences becomes obsolete. It also happens to be home to digital communication channels through which you could target your customers.
Mobile commerce is forecasted to grow 68% by 2022 as more users start shopping online. This should prompt you to adjust your omnichannel marketing strategy to align with the new customer shopping habits. When you shift your focus to mobile users, make sure that your page time load is optimal. Customers who have to wait more than 3 seconds for the page to load will bounce at light speed.
It also pays to optimize your website so that customers wouldn’t have to zoom in to see the product in more detail. When combined with the lack of a clear Call-To-Action (CTA) button and a form that’s difficult to fill from a mobile device, the chances of your prospects leaving without giving you a chance instantly skyrocket.
5. Upsell to customers who’ve made the purchase
Upselling and cross-selling aren’t anything new. But using these tactics to send transactional emails to customers is an omnichannel marketing strategy you’d want to try out yourself. This is because these types of emails have the power to boost revenue by 33%. They also gain some of the best email open rates which makes them a go-to omnichannel marketing tool for every marketer out there.
To reap the benefits of transactional emails, offer an attractive deal to your customer that would be applicable for his next purchase. Include it in the email along with the order confirmation and tracking information and let it do its magic. You can also take it a step further and send an SMS with the same content to increase the odds of your customer making another purchase soon after.
The takeaway
The more tech-savvy customers become, the more sophisticated the marketing strategies companies choose to adopt should be. With omnichannel marketing being one of them, its goal is to leverage customer data to track customer shopping behavior and target every channel and device customers use to increase conversion rates.
Omnichannel marketing campaigns earn a 250% higher purchase rate than single-channel campaigns. So, why not give them a go and see how much of a difference in sales they can make if you stick with them for a while?
