Shoppers increasingly rely on multiple channels to learn about different products and engage with brands. Indeed, research indicates firms that sell through ten or more channels record 7% more conversions than those that use a few channels. Therefore, marketers have an imperative to engage customers on multiple channels while still sending a coherent marketing message. Effective messaging is anchored on developing a sound multichannel marketing plan.
Components of an effective marketing plan
A good multichannel marketing plan should:
• Create comprehensive customer profiles.
• Articulate customer acquisition and retention strategies.
• Propose strategies for reaching out to different customer segments.
• Develop integrated marketing communication across channels, platforms, and devices.
• Develop metrics for measuring the effectiveness of each marketing mix and channel.
Awareness
The first step involves getting the customer’s attention by using multiple channels to increase the visibility of your brand. Some of the strategies include creating content that informs customers about the products and the value proposition. The aim is to maximize reach and evoke interactions across multiple channels.
Interaction
Once the potential customers have noticed your products or services, it is time to interact with them by responding to their queries and comments on social media and other channels. This stage aims to generate leads and encourage prospects who have shown interest to move to the next stage of the buying process. You should enhance their experience and knowledge of the brand by providing information about the unique selling points and benefits of your products.
Marketers can deliver such content through advice sections on the company website, product descriptions, product reviews, YouTube videos, and informative blog posts. Marketers should use different channels to target various market segments. For instance, research by Statista indicates that 66% of the young women in the UK follow Instagram making it an attractive channel for engaging this segment.
Conversion
At this stage, the customer is aware of the brand but needs a conviction to make a buying decision. Marketers need to send relevant messages to each group while employing excellent copyrighting skills. The content you send to each segment should be consistent on all channels and appropriate for the audience. It is critical for marketers to customise content for each lead because customers are most responsive to personal messages. Indeed, a survey published by Infosys in 2018 showed that 72% of the respondents prefer marketers to send messages that are relevant and personal.
Engagement
After customers have made purchases, the marketer needs to continue with the interaction through engagement and communication. First, it is important to understand their experience with the brand as such insights inform improvements in the product and selling process. Second, engagement builds long-term relationships that increase the chances of repeat purchase and customer loyalty. Finally, engagement helps turn loyal customers into brand ambassadors and covert marketers who bring in other buyers.
Metrics
Metrics are critical to the success of a multichannel marketing strategy because they help marketers determine the channels and marketing strategies that yield the highest return on investment. Metrics also inform tactics for reaching out and engaging with different segments. They allow marketers to tweak their multichannel messaging for certain customer groups without changing the overall marketing strategy.
Wrapping up
Effective multichannel marketing involves strategically connecting multiple channels such that they form a continuum of customer engagement networks that complement each other. The key to success is integrating different channels while sending a consistent message. Firms that create well-integrated marketing plans benefit from increased visibility, qualified leads, and high conversion rates. It also enhances customer engagement at different levels of the marketing funnel while increasing the loyalty o existing customers.
