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.