Unified Marketing Tactics for Better Consumer Sales
Have you ever gone through the checkout process of one of your favorite online stores and just as you’re about to check out, you get distracted and don’t complete your order?
I don’t need to see your hand to know that you’re raising it right now. 🙂
Chances are that we’ve all done it and haven’t noticed…but the businesses sure do!
Not only do those businesses notice, but there is a new(ish) form of online marketing out there being used to win more consumer sales and keep people from abandoning their online shopping cart.
It’s called Omni-Channel Marketing. Well, the ‘ish’ in new is that there’s a hybrid model that’s being used for this type of marketing.
Because Omni-Channel has been around since the early 2000s, the term is well used (maybe slightly overused), but how it’s being used in 2022 is all about the new customer experience. And you’re seeing more brands focus on a hybrid Omni-Channel Marketing approach rather than just Multi-Channel Marketing.
What in the what-what?, you ask…
Shopify breaks this down really well in one of their online articles. (Click here to get an in-depth look at the difference between the two marketing strategies.)
I’ll summarize though so you can see where I’m heading with all this.
Multi-Channel marketing focuses more on the product of the brand and the channels that consumers interact with. While there are a lot of choices between different channels when interacting with a brand (think website to Facebook ads to email campaigns), multi-channel marketing tends to be very linear.
Meaning…
- You go to a website and enter your email for a discount code.
- You find a pair of sneakers you like, add them to your cart, and enter your coupon code.
- Then, you answer the phone rather than completing the checkout and abandon your sneakers in your cart.
- Next time you login to Facebook, you see ads for the same exact shoes you didn’t end up buying.
- And, your inbox may have an email with a “Did you forget something” subject line and an email that entices you to go in and complete checkout of the sneakers.
It’s the constant DON’T FORGET – BUY NOW! reminders to finish what you started, and they get you on multiple channels.
Personally, I find that frustrating because if I want to buy sneakers and I get a kickin’ (pun intended) 15% off coupon code, I want to use it. Most of the time, that coupon code is not in the checkout and I have to dig around to find it (and it’s never in my inbox).
I never, never, ever want to dig for a coupon code. (Admittedly, I’m the laziest shopper there ever was.)
Enter Omni-Channel Marketing (2.0).
Here’s where I take notice in a company using this type of marketing. It’s more customer-centered and they don’t make me dig for a freakin’ coupon code.
And what’s really special about Omni-Channel Marketing is that they go beyond just the sale; they try to engage with the consumer in a way that’s more personal.
Tough to do, but you’ll see what I mean in a moment.
Same criteria, different outcome:
- You go to a website and enter your email for a discount code.
- You find a pair of sneakers you like, add them to your cart, and enter your coupon code.
- Then, you answer the phone rather than completing the checkout and abandon your sneakers in your cart.
- You go to your inbox later and instead of the “Did you forget something” email, your first email from the company has a subject header of “You’ve got a coupon!” -and in that email is your discount code.
- Not only that, but you open up Facebook and there it is again -the “15% off coupon for your next order.”
- I still decide not to finish my purchase because I already have three pairs of sneakers.
- But those sneakers seem to be always on my mind and I keep seeing them everywhere -not in an aggressive way…more like every couple of days there’s a reminder keeping those sneakers on the top of mind.
- Then the same company rolls out a different ad for a contest they are having for female entrepreneurs (I mean, how did they know that would be something I’d like?) and there’s a Youtube video. Hook, line, and sinker; I’m back on the website and watching. I still don’t buy, though.
- Then I get another email and another Facebook ad with a 20% off coupon. Those sneakers are looking really good right now and with my 20% off, my husband probably won’t throw too much of a you-don’t-need-another-pair-of-sneakers fit if I buy them.
- So I buy them. Yes, they won me over. I’m happy, my feet are happy, my hubs isn’t too annoyed. And, oh… I get an email a week after receiving the sneakers in the mail asking how I enjoyed my experience.
Nice, huh? It’s almost like I’m Cleopatra and the brand is feeding me grapes without me having to do much of anything -besides pay them (in the form of a purchase…not grapes).
Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? Well, we’re a complicated consumer these days and the bar keeps getting raised higher and higher.
If I was to sum up how to do this for businesses that don’t think this way, it’s pretty simple.
Step into your customer’s shoes for one day. Just a day -anything more may overwhelm you.
- Think about the morning they wake up before engaging with your brand. What happens? What do they do? What do they eat for breakfast and so on.
- What time do they engage with your brand?
- What platforms and channels do they consume?
- Do they have a lot of distractions? What kind?
And then step out of the day and focus on the individual personality of your customer.
- Do they make buying decisions quickly or do they take their time?
- Do they research buying decisions or do they tend to buy emotionally?
- What would prompt them to engage and buy quicker given how distracted they are?
- Do they need another reason to buy other than that they like the product/service?
Then combine the two and put together a map. If you don’t know how to do this, it’s time to start asking questions to those ideal clients/customers to find out what’s going on and who they are.
There are simple ways to do that, but that’s another article for another day. Instead, what I want to do is invite you to DM me here on LinkedIn and let me know if you’d like a quick mini-training on how to start doing this for your business and your customers. I may have a nice little framework for you too!
Until next time, please don’t pull your hair out trying to figure this out on your own. If you have figured it out, seriously, give yourself a pat on the back!
Chat soon and make it a great one!
Danielle
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Danielle Fitzpatrick Clark is lovingly referred to as America’s Favorite Digital Disruptor. She doesn’t just live, breath, and sleep digital marketing, she embodies the constant shifts and pivots needed to create long-lasting businesses in the online space.
Her company Influence Builder is all about bringing the human element to the online tech and digital space. Specifically focused on helping the lesser-known experts and thought leaders, Influence Builder shows them how to break out of the noise, create powerful platforms, and thriving businesses so they can spread their mission and message to the world. This is the bridge where disruptors disrupt and build with authentic influence.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Danielle Fitzpatrick Clark is lovingly referred to as America’s Favorite Digital Disruptor. She doesn’t just live, breath, and sleep digital marketing, she embodies the constant shifts and pivots needed to create long-lasting businesses in the online space.
Her company Influence Builder is all about bringing the human element to the online tech and digital space. Specifically focused on helping the lesser-known experts and thought leaders, Influence Builder shows them how to break out of the noise, create powerful platforms, and thriving businesses so they can spread their mission and message to the world. This is the bridge where disruptors disrupt and build with authentic influence.