What is omnichannel marketing? Top strategies you can use

If your small business still relies on a single “point of sale,” discover how an omnichannel strategy can help convert more customers – especially in an age of rising consumer expectations and enhanced digital connectivity.

What is omnichannel marketing (the core elements)?

Although there are many approaches, most omnichannel offerings revolve around the following core elements:

Coordinating communications across all physical and digital channels – while still allowing for customer segmentation and user personalization

Adding more point-of-sale touchpoints throughout the customer journey so that your users can theoretically “buy” your products and services from anywhere

Collecting, attributing, and analyzing user data so you can measure success and adjust your strategy. For example, you might decide to divert resources from social media toward call center training or direct email marketing

Ways to optimize your omnichannel strategy

You don’t need a huge budget to launch an omnichannel strategy for your small business. Even if you run a one-person operation, you can still employ the best practices below.

1. Understand your customer

The first step in this multichannel approach involves getting to know your customers, what they like, and how they prefer to shop. We’ve already written marketing tips to help you learn more about your users.

Below are great places to collect valuable information about your customers:

Website analytics

Surveys and reviews

Sales records

Heat maps and web recordings

Social media engagement

Call center logs

Advertising campaign metrics

The more you know about your customers, the faster and easier it becomes to respond to their needs.

2. Integrate digital assets

The next step involves integrating digital assets including social media campaigns, websites, and email communications into all of your marketing and branding efforts. The more data you can move from the physical world into the digital, the easier it becomes to parse information and glean insights.

One example of this digital integration includes adding your social media accounts to all marketing materials (especially physical assets such as brochures and business cards). Adding QR codes throughout your retail space or restaurant is another way in which you can leverage this omnichannel digital marketing strategy to bridge the physical and virtual worlds.

3. Diversify where you sell items

Even before COVID, many businesses were exploring sales opportunities outside the traditional in-store and online experiences. Pop-up shops and in-app purchases are two common examples. When the pandemic hit, however, avenues such as curbside pickup, off-site delivery, and even scan to order (when dining in restaurants) all became more mainstream. Only you can decide what does and doesn’t work for your small business. The more “points of sale” you add, the more opportunities customers have to buy whatever it is you’re selling.

4. Personalize the customer experience

Personalizing the shopping experience can go a long way in building trust and loyalty with your customers. This is relatively easy to do for online retailers, since they can capture each customer’s name and email during checkout. Even as a brick-and-mortar retailer, you can use customer personalization to turn first-timers into repeat buyers. The Clover App Market has customer engagement apps designed for this purpose – complete with loyalty program management and the ability to share exclusive discounts. Try Ackroo, an app where gift, loyalty, and promotions can be redeemed; and Loyalzoo where you can create and launch your own loyalty program to engage your customers through points, notifications, and promotions.

5. Offer more payment options (online and in-store)

Generally, providing more payment options means having to turn away fewer sales. In addition to credit and debit cards, allow customers to pay via cash, mobile wallet, EMV and contactless plastic, checks, ACH, and even cryptocurrency (if possible).

However, simply offering these options isn’t enough to qualify as “omnichannel.”

You still need payment integration so that all these incoming sales are collected and reported in a single location. At Clover, for example, our POS solutions can instantly capture and report transactions – regardless of the time, location, or payment method used.

6. Optimize the in-store user experience

If you own a brick-and-mortar business, it’s critical to provide customers with a memorable in-store experience. Having great products at affordable prices can help. That said, don’t overlook the impact that courteous staff, free Wi-Fi, pleasant music, and interior design can have on generating repeat business.

7. Utilize your expertise

When it comes to omnichannel offerings, larger companies have an obvious advantage due to their size and financial resources. As a small business owner, you also have some competitive advantages that the bigger players don’t:

You know more about the products and services you sell than a typical large corporation support rep. With this expertise, you’re better positioned to answer questions, respond to complaints, and educate users across all the marketing channels you manage.

You can interact with your customers directly and on a personal basis. This proximity allows you to course correct much faster than multinationals.

Many larger companies are slower and less nimble than smaller ones. You can use this to your advantage.

The business world loves to come up with buzzwords that don’t mean a lot – e.g., “synergy” or “thought leadership.” It may be tempting to throw “omnichannel strategy” into the same category.

As the world becomes more interconnected, maintaining a competitive edge requires that you unify as many touchpoints, communication channels, and sales opportunities as possible under a single roof.

This is the goal of nearly every omnichannel strategy.

With our integrated payment solutions and customer engagement tools, we can help your growing business provide a truly seamless shopping experience that delights your users.

To learn more, schedule a free demo with a Clover Business Specialist today.