Omni-channel marketing is the next big thing for small- and medium-sized organizations, where limitations with technology, infrastructure, human resources, and budget have constrained success with this approach.
Organizations are waiting for technological advances that will lower the cost of entry, and greater recognition of its match with consume expectations which will flood the B2B marketplace with more options for strategic and operational partners and vendors.
In the meantime, here are my five key take-aways on omni-channel marketing:
- How is it different? Unlike multi-channel marketing, omni-channel is the process of driving customer engagement across all channels with seamless, targeted messaging and requires greater organizational culture change
- What’s necessary? Success requires organizations to understand how their customers interact throughout the customer journey and forego outdated organizational decision-making structures
- Biggest pitfall? Silos are a known issue for omni-channel approaches, causing operational problems that impact message consistency, frequency, and personalization
- What’s the scope? It supports a customer lifecycle that doesn’t end after a sale is made, valuing cross-selling and customer retention
- Where did it come from? It’s an apt response to a changing environment when it comes to digital technology, customer expectations, and supply side factors