Multichannel marketing is important for really one simple reason – you must be where your customers are. It’s no secret that potential customers require multiple interactions with the brand before conversion happens. The number of interactions depends on many factors and varies by industry, e.g. 2.4 for B2B brands or 7.3 for fashion retailers.
Customers are chan
ging their buying behaviour and so your marketing strategy needs to evolve as well. As an example, 5 years ago people needed 5.2 physical visits to the car dealership before buying a car. Now they need only 1.3 because all other interactions (e.g. model comparisons, checking reviews, checking technical specifications, etc.) are happening online.
When we talk about channels we mean email, website, mobile app, PPC ad, product package, etc. And when we speak of multichannel marketing it’s not just about pushing our marketing message across as many channels as possible. Multichannel marketing is all about reaching your target audience and giving them a choice to convert/buy when and where they are ready to do so.
There are many benefits of multichannel marketing, including increased awareness, consistent messaging across channels, better engagement with potential customers, etc. But how we can maximise ROI with multichannel marketing?
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Target the relevant audience
Even before you start thinking about which channels you should have presence on, you need to have clearly defined your target audience: demographics, behaviour, interests, etc., and most importantly, which channels they are active on. If your target audience is mums with kids, Facebook might be one of the choices. If your target audience is business owners, you may consider LinkedIn as one of the best channels to reach them.
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Don’t limit yourself to one single channel
Today’s users are engaged across various platforms, devices and apps – each giving them a unique value/experience. If you limit your marketing activities to one single channel, you will reach only a small portion of your target audience. So connect with your potential consumers on all of their favourite channels.
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Always deliver value
Whether you are blogging or running an ad in the local paper, your information/messaging has to be relevant to your target audience. You should know your audience well enough to understand their problems, issues and needs, and to present them solutions. Remember, it’s not about what you have to offer; it’s about what they need at this point of time.
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Acquire more leads
When you reach more people and have strong, consistent messaging, you generate more leads. Also, when you are present on multiple channels, it is easier to collect data on your potential consumers and their behaviour. Don’t forget to use learnings to improve your future campaigns by minimising activities that don’t drive leads, and amplifying the ones that do.
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Boost conversion rates
By strategising your campaigns across multiple platforms and devices, you will see a higher engagement from your potential consumers, higher conversion rates and greater return on investment. According to the latest statistics, multichannel campaigns see 24% greater ROI compared to single channel campaigns.
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Incorporate a multi-device approach
Multichannel marketing is not only about reaching your customers across channels. It should also reach them with a cohesive message across devices. That way you will reach them whenever and wherever they are looking for information: commuting to work, at home in bed, at a concert with friends or on the beach.
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Measure results!
Use multichannel attribution and conversion tracking to measure the impact of your campaigns on ROI. You can attribute which channels led to a desired consumer interaction (e.g. newsletter signup or product sale) or observe how they are engaging on mobile compared to desktop. Based on this information you can tailor your future campaigns accordingly ensuring higher ROI.
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Build lasting relationships
The better you understand your consumers and reach them on the right platforms, the less likely they will find your ads annoying. Don’t be interruptive to the consumer experience; integrate your messaging across channels and devices for positive brand experience and build lasting relationships with them.
Digital marketing campaigns are effective in reaching out your targeted audience and generate leads, conversions, brand awareness, etc. While each digital marketing channel is effective in their own individual way, you can generate much better results through combined, multichannel marketing campaign that make use of the best of what these channels can offer.
