Omnichannel marketing as a growth opportunity for retail marketers

Omnichannel marketing as a growth opportunity for retail marketers

Building true customer loyalty is not easy, even for the smartest marketers. In today's world of always-on commerce, rapidly changing customer preferences and fluctuating economic conditions, there are many obstacles to building lasting customer relationships, for example:

- How do you deliver personalized experiences that bind customers to your brand, and do so at scale as your business grows? - How do you reach customers on the channels where they are most active, at the most impactful time and with the best content? - How do you provide an end-to-end customer experience that keeps customers coming back? - And how do you do all this with smaller teams, in less time and with fewer resources?

This article previously appeared at www.retailtrends.nl.

If you ask marketers who are successful at this, they will say that it takes both creativity and good technology for the kind of marketing that increases customer loyalty. This is especially true for personalized omnichannel marketing.

Marketers who successfully find the combination of creativity and technology are those who consistently deliver campaigns that their customers love and deliver the results their business needs for sustainable growth.

Creativity: with creativity, you use every available color in your palette to engage your customers and deliver memorable, personalized experiences. This includes content creation, the channels you choose to reach your customers and your creative approach to staying in touch with customers. Technology: the technical side includes concrete IT tools and data-driven insights. Think about unlocking customer data insights, measuring, analyzing and anticipating customer behavior across all touch points and channels.

AI enables personalization at scale

Personalized experiences are not just fun to have; they are prerequisite when it comes to earning and maintaining a customer's loyalty.

Emarsys research shows that 76 percent of consumers want marketing communications from brands to be personalized, with 24 percent preferring highly personalized communications and 52 percent preferring some level of personalization. Marketers can use AI to make personalization easier (and more impactful) even as a company grows. AI can make personalization possible on a large scale. AI can help you, but stay at the wheel yourself. According to a separate survey report by Emarsys, nearly 24 percent of consumers think retailers should use AI to make recommendations more personalized, but 22 percent are reluctant if AI drives personalized marketing and recommendations.

Improve your CX at every touchpoint

Really loyal customers stick with your brand through thick and thin, but every customer has their limits. Research shows that 44 percent of consumers will stop buying from a brand because of a poor in-store customer experience. 41 percent will stop buying if they have a poor online experience. Regardless of the channel, if your brand suffers from a poor CX, it will be difficult to retain your existing customers, let alone attract new ones.

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. For effective omnichannel marketing, you need to do more than just improve your CX across all your channels. What does that look like? While every customer is different, the vast majority of customers are looking for experiences that:

1. Are seamless, simple and convenient 2. Tailored to their specific wants and needs 3. Provide value in exchange for their money

Focus on incorporating these elements into every touchpoint so that whatever channel your customers choose to reach your brand, they have a satisfying experience that keeps them coming back for more.

Improve collaboration between the marketing and IT departments

If customer retention and customer loyalty are the goal, and personalized omnichannel marketing the strategy to achieve that goal, synergy with IT is essential. Research by Forrester, commissioned by Emarsys, shows that 52 percent of companies that put the customer first experience improved customer loyalty and retention through omnichannel efforts throughout the customer lifecycle. When the customer is truly central, a complete 360-degree view is required, fueled by data across all channels.

How does IT fit into this picture? While marketers understand their customers' wants and needs and what kind of experiences their customers want, CIOs and IT teams understand the technology and data needed to make those satisfying customer experiences a reality. Whether you are a marketer looking to become more customer-centric, efficient, data-driven or more empowered by technology, IT should be your best friend.

Update your omnichannel strategy with new ways to keep up with customers

The past few years have shown an explosion of new channels, and the boom in digital commerce spurred by Covid-19 has further blurred the lines between pure e-commerce and retail. As a result, omnichannel engagement has become business critical and marketers are eagerly embracing new ways to engage customers.

A strong omnichannel marketing approach does not stick to a fixed set of channels, but is about reaching customers wherever they are. To build more customer relationships, make sure you are at the forefront of new and emerging channels where customers are most active.

Omnichannel marketing: don't forget the human touch

Thanks to advances in martech, retail marketers have new ways to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers, especially through digital channels. While personalized digital experiences are highly effective, nothing beats the relationships built in person in-store. One of the most crucial components of building an omnichannel strategy that drives customer loyalty comes down to your ability to connect in-store and digital touchpoints. When customers interact with a brand, they don't think in terms of an "online" or "in-person" journey. To them, it's all the same thing. Marketing teams need to integrate experiences that help bridge the gap between digital and physical. At the store level, retailers can offer email receipts, in-store surveys and in-store contests to get to know their in-store customers better.

Conversely, something like a mobile wallet voucher or loyalty card is a great way for a digital-first customer to be identified in-store and pick up where they left off while shopping online. These efforts may seem very marketing-oriented, but from the customer's perspective, it helps him feel more connected to a brand and better understood as a person.

Keep your eye on the long term

In today's competitive marketplace, the pressure to build brand loyalty is enormous. As a marketer, however, you must not lose sight of the fact that true customer loyalty goes beyond simply purchasing products or services.

It encompasses the entire customer experience, from personalized interactions to seamless journeys. It requires a holistic approach to customer engagement that prioritizes customer needs and wants, with an eye toward forging meaningful, long-term relationships. Personalized omnichannel marketing is the cornerstone of that holistic approach. With these strategies, you can deliver satisfying customer experiences that lead to better results for your business.