Omni-channel Personalization

Omni-channel Personalization

Omni-channel is a step up from multi-channel marketing

Omni-channel Personalization

A Zappos consumer describes the term “omni-channel” in a simple way

“Zappos had just made my buying experience as easy as taking candy from a baby.”

Omni-channel can take many shapes and levels of sophistication, but it’s mostly about making the buying process easier and more relevant for customers with personalization.

In the Zappos example, three relevant channels are combined: email, a mobile website, and a desktop website on desktop. Omni-channel isn’t about using every channel in every interaction. It’s about combining data from all those channels, determining which are most relevant to the consumer, and serving them up when they’re best received by him. In this case, the consumer bought as a result of a retargeting email on the weekend, but it may have been a personalized direct mail piece sent as a result of an item saved in a cart on an eCommerce site.

Defining Omni-channel and Multi-channel marketing

Most brands struggle to implement omni-channel, but at the very least, they have a multi-channel marketing strategy. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re not the same.

Multi-channel marketing

Multi-channel is a strategy that emphasizes being where your customers are. That includes your website, email, certain social media platforms, specific publishers, etc. If your brand has an established presence on multiple channels, you are running a multi-channel marketing strategy.

Omni-channel marketing

Omni-channel is a step up from multi-channel marketing. With this strategy, marketers attempt to make their multichannel approach more relevant by seamlessly integrating the channels they’re present on:

“Think of the word omniscient, meaning “all-knowing.”

That’s an accurate way to describe omnichannel marketing — everyone at your company knows everything about the customer journey. “

The biggest challenge retailers face when attempting to implement an omnichannel marketing strategy is having access to the right customer data. It’s tough to effectively target your buyers if you don’t know when they interact with you on each channel. It’s not uncommon for data to be siloed via a channel (desktop, mobile, etc.) or by marketing software (eCommerce platform, ESP, etc.) which makes understanding the customer journey nearly impossible.

Marketers need a way of capturing and segmenting customer data across all of their different touchpoints so they can serve up relevant campaigns on the right channel at the right time.

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The Customer Journey

Customer journeys are tricky in today’s digital world. They’re no longer simple and linear, which makes it difficult to follow their path to conversion. Journeys take place across a multitude of channels and touch points that retailers need to capture.

Think about your last few retail purchases. Odds are, you interacted with the brand through at least two different channels and probably on a few different devices.

Customer Segmentation

Being able to segment your customers based on key profile and behavioural information is the first step to engaging with them effectively. Think of a first date versus a two year anniversary.

Odds are, you would have a very different approach to each. The same goes for your customers: the way you speak to brand new customers versus long-term loyal customers should differ significantly.

Real-time Personalization

One of the most powerful aspects of omnichannel marketing is hitting customers with the right message at the right time on the right channel.

From location-based push notifications to an email alerting customers their favourite item is back in stock, personalized messaging campaigns are critical to delivering on the promise of a personalized customer experience.

Omni-channel Delivery

It’s overwhelming to think about managing all your different omnichannel marketing campaigns and keeping track of when users take action along their buyer journey.

Lucky for you, AIIM makes this a breeze by allowing you to set up campaigns that will trigger based on stages in the customer life cycle and behavioural information.

Methodology and Process

Welcome: Send a welcome email when a new customer signs up for your email list from a website pop up, mirroring the same message across channels

Cart abandonment: Trigger a “forget something?” push notification to encourage purchase completion along with cart abandonment ads and emails

Post-purchase: Send “Thank you for your purchase” emails or push notifications with relevant shipment information

Cross-selling: Display ads for complimentary products across every channel

Replenishment: A push notification or email reminding the customer it’s time to stock up again

Re-engagement: Display or social media ads or an email of their favourite product line with a discount to encourage them to re-engage with your brand

Statistics

73% of customers use multiple channels while shopping.

30% higher LTV than those who shop only using one channel.

90% of customers expect consistent interactions across channels.

60% of millennials expect consistent brand experiences—whether instore, online or by phone.

80% of customers are retained by companies with omnichannel engagement strategies.

3x higher effectiveness rates are reported by companies using multi-channel marketing vs. non-integrated campaigns.

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”