How omnichannel marketing can unlock maximum growth for startups

Consumers are changing and so are their expectations. They prefer experiences over products and are more open to trying new brands through different methods of shopping, especially since the pandemic.

Even though the impetus for this rapidly changing behaviour can be credited to the pandemic, one crucial lesson that companies have learned is that they need to meet customers where they are and provide them with an impeccable experience.

According to McKinsey, India has over a billion mobile phone subscribers, with more than half-a-billion individuals online, and nearly 300 million are social media users — making India among the world’s largest and fastest-growing digitally-enabled consumer markets. 

The existing digital divide is narrowing: Indian consumers continue to choose convenience over price and expect heightened levels of personalisation in terms of products and communication. To cater to this evolving consumer behaviour, brands need to capture their customer’s interest — and omnichannel marketing will be key.

Omnichannel opportunity

Consumers today use an average of six touchpoints to interact with a brand, with nearly 50 percent regularly using more than four touchpoints. A customer journey can start or end at any point and on any device or channel.

This makes it critical for marketers to make sure that they are providing a seamless experience to their customers and understanding the importance of omnichannel marketing to not only acquire new users but also to retain existing customers.

Simply put, omnichannel marketing refers to maintaining a consistent brand presence across multiple online (website, app, social media, email, and SMS) and offline channels. It is important because it establishes a connection with customers, manages brand reputation, and also elevates the customer experience.

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Multichannel vs omnichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing is often confused with multichannel marketing. Multichannel marketing widens a campaign’s reach by broadcasting a message on multiple channels. The idea is to reach as many potential customers as possible.

Omnichannel marketing also uses multiple channels, however, the strategy and the messages have to be unified. If it does not all work together, it is not omnichannel. It has to enhance customer experience and bring the user a step closer towards making a purchase.

Most companies using omnichannel strategy retain about 89 percent of their customers. Multichannel marketing is important for targeting customers, but omnichannel marketing is the key to retaining customers.

Creating a perfect omnichannel strategy

Before we step forward, let’s take a step back to understand what elements define a concrete omnichannel strategy for superior customer experience.

First is convenience: for the new-age consumers it is at the centre for a strong experience. The second is consistency: creating a unified presence is a must to build familiarity and trust. The third is timeliness: delivering the right message at the right time. And the fourth is transparency: making sure customers have all the necessary details to make the right decision.

Here are the tried and tested tips for marketers to create a high-impact omnichannel marketing strategy:

1. Deliver hyper-personalised messaging

The first thing to do before putting an omnichannel strategy in place is to understand your audience in-depth. Figure out what they want, when they want it, and how they prefer to receive information.

Real-time behavioural data is key for understanding in-app actions, preferences, demographics, etc. This enables marketers to construct super targeted and relevant campaigns.

2. Map the customer journey

After having identified who the customer is and what channels they use to consume information and interact, the second step is to map their purchase journey. With this information, marketers can implement tactics to improve or enhance the customer experience at key touchpoints and stages.

3. Optimise content

By scaling content across screens, marketers have the opportunity to convert consumers at multiple stages. However, marketers need to be mindful and optimise content across channels. The whole purpose is to offer a seamless brand experience that’s consistent across different channels with zero disruption.

4. Track, measure, and optimise

Finally, after implementing the tactics, it is important to measure the success of your campaign with the right mobile marketing tools. Observe what worked and what didn’t, and then adjust the approach for maximum results.