It’s no great revelation that we’re living in an age where people are constantly connected and their attention is constantly divided. Users seamlessly access different channels and platforms throughout their everyday lives on a multitude of devices – sometimes switching between them constantly, sometimes using them simultaneously. For marketers, it’s vital to live the same way, to integrate these channels and platforms seamlessly into the way you approach these consumers.
This necessitates a true omnichannel approach. Omnichannel means much more than simply being present on multiple channels; it’s a specific approach that considers each channel as part of a single digital whole. This centers the customer, creating an experience where all channels build upon one another for the customer and the brand delivers a seamless journey that instills higher levels of trust.
By building higher levels of trust between the brand and the consumer, you increase your brand equity and, in turn, see an impact on the rate of conversions. While this is not always an immediate impact, it is certainly measurable. Without solid brand equity, even the most robust conversion campaign will hit a performance wall, unable to overcome the challenges posed by a lack of investment in earlier stages of the journey.
Investing the time to develop a consistent and meaningful experience for consumers leads to a sense of more meaningful connection, which in turn leads to higher customer retention and loyalty. But shifting your marketing to a true omnichannel approach can be a daunting undertaking.
Common obstacles in omnichannel marketing:
Omnichannel Budgets. Taking on omnichannel is a costly endeavor, often requiring a patchwork of solutions to manage presences on multiple walled gardens, gather data and insights on your audience, and measure performance across a wide range of tactics. Knowing how to balance your budget between upper and lower funnel strategies can also present a challenge of its own, as it requires careful monitoring and interpretation of all this data.
Silos Between Teams. It’s quite common to have employees with expertise in specific channels but not others. Building a team that not only possesses expertise across all channels but can also successfully integrate that understanding to form a single cohesive approach covering the full landscape consistently and effectively presents another challenge, particularly for brands and agencies at the midmarket level that cannot dedicate the resources to build and support these teams in their ongoing demands.
Difficulty Tracking the Customer Journey. Similarly, these disparate walled gardens create a challenge in outlining the paths customers have taken through the omnichannel landscape to ultimately reach their point of conversion. The value of first-party data becomes quite clear here, often gathered through multiple approaches, as does the value of new data approaches such as behavioral and demographic audiences, and the application of audience modeling.
These are just a few of the challenges that a fully integrated omnichannel platform, such as the offering from AUDIENCEX, can address. With multiple solutions for data collection, audience insight, and performance tracking, integrated with seamless channel access and ongoing optimization, we are positioned to help any brand or agency excel in this landscape.
To learn more about the omnichannel approach and the modern customer journey, watch our on-demand webinar, Navigating the Omnichannel Consumer Journey, with AUDIENCEX VP of Partnership Solutions Danielle Gale and Digital Strategy Manager Tyler Kappen.
If you’d like to discuss omnichannel solutions specifically tailored for your marketing needs and performance goals, please feel free to reach out. Our strategists are always available to provide insight and answer your questions.