Defining Omnichannel Marketing

In this blog, we’re going to walk through the definition of Omnichannel marketing.

I’m going to start with what Omnichannel is not. Omnichannel marketing is not Multichannel marketing—these words are not interchangeable. For example, if you are saying your marketing campaign is omnichannel because you’re using emails, banners, the web, and your sales force, this is Multichannel marketing, not Omnichannel marketing.

So, what is Omnichannel marketing, then?

Omnichannel marketing is a marketing philosophy that inspires us as marketers to ask ourselves how we can make each customer touchpoint more precise, more personalized, and more relevant. Just going out via multiple channels does not accomplish this goal.

And what is at the heart and soul of Omnichannel? Data.

What data do you, your favorite vendor, or another vendor have on your target customers that could help you be more precise, personalized, and relevant in your marketing campaign?

Most every brand has a target list; let’s talk about how you can look at your target list differently and through a more Omnichannel lens.

Instead of just cross-matching and going with the vendor with the larger crossmatch, you should go with the vendor with the largest crossmatch against customers that engage with the media channel you intend to execute.

For instance, let’s say two vendors both have an 85% email crossmatch. But vendor A can tell you which NPI on your target list has not opened an email in the past 12 months, so you only want to engage 60% of your target via email and the remaining 25% via another channel, perhaps a banner. This is being more precise, personalized, and relevant with your marketing approach.

It is also important to consider the information you have about your customers: What insights do you have on them? Who are they influenced by? Do you need to engage all your customers in all markets? Or does it make sense to only engage in positive formulary geographies?

These are simple questions we should always be asking as marketers, but many marketers reflexively “rinse and repeat” think that sending a few more emails or deploying a couple more banners to customers that don’t engage won’t hurt their brand… but it does hurt your brand.

Just as any of us get turned off by this tone-deaf marketing, that behavior is what is turning off your target customers and why they may be prescribing less of your brand.

What is a good working definition of Omnichannel then? Consider this one:

A data-driven, customer-centric, unified brand experience that you deploy across one or more channels.

Now that you have a practical, easy-to-understand definition of Omnichannel, give it a try, and please feel free to reach out if we can support you on your Omnichannel journey.