For a marketer, understanding the customer is vital- their wants, needs, experience etc. A customer’s purchase experience is always a journey which begins with the customer interacting with the brand on different channels (website, mobile app, etc.) and progresses into having queries that need to be resolved.
Each marketing channel allows the brand to build a customer relationship and the chosen channel for the same may vary from customer to customer. As users begin to interact with brands, brands have adapted to multi-channel marketing strategies that enhance the customer engagement and experience to take it to the next level. Smart marketers are the ones that deploy multichannel marketing as a core strategy to personalize communication for their customers.
Key strategies to keep in mind for Multi-Channel Marketing campaigns
Retention marketing efforts can be simplified by using a Marketing Automation platform, creating an elaborate, intelligent multi-channel campaign for businesses.
Defining the campaign purpose & conduct user analysis
Right at the onset, it is important to define the intended result of the multi-channel strategy and conduct data analysis which will generate powerful insights about the user and their online behavior, likes, and preferences.
Examine multi-Screen behavior to create user segments
Cross-device usage refers to the way in which a user may engage with a given funnel through two or more different devices at various times throughout the journey. According to a study in 2017, on an average any person uses a maximum of 4 devices at a given point. Analysing this helps the marketer garner information on the number of times a user logs in to any device and the amount of time that they spend on it. Based on the core strategy and the data collected from the users, the brand can produce specific user segments to create highly targeted campaigns.
Choose data preferred communication channel
Brands can choose which segment of users they wish to target, and then decide on the message for the channels. Choosing data preferred communication channels will benefit in personalized Multi-channel messaging. So, a brand can create a campaign including Email, Web Notification, Mobile Push Notifications, In-App Message, and SMS depending on the users identified and the channels they engage with. For each channel, crafting personalized messages that resonate strongly with the brand target segment is important, be it via any mode of communication: email, web- notification, push notification and so on.
The real benefits of Multi-Channel Marketing
At any given point in time, the user might be online via multiple screens – desktop, mobile, tablet. With a Multi-Channel strategy in place, one can ensure that the brand’s message connects with users at touch points where they are actually active. This helps to increase campaign engagement and conversions significantly. The phenomenal power of data helps track usage patterns hence creating an intelligent engagement strategy.Brands can increase awareness by subjecting users to multiple impressions which will reinforce the need for your product/service. Thus, increasing repeat purchases and user retention.
Brands can always identify the best performing channels for a particular segment of users, as well as isolate the channels that didn’t yield good results. Data will throw light on the timing, frequency, and message copy play in the success of the campaigns. This will help craft better performing campaigns for the future.
According to a Google report, multi-channel users will have a 30 percent higher lifetime value compared to single channel users.
The importance of Cross-channel marketing
Cross-channel marketing uses data from users from various sources and makes it available for use across multiple engagement channels. It aims to create a seamless, holistic experience for a user collecting data of the users online and offline activities in any engagement campaign. Multi-Channel Marketing is a logical solution to combat the phenomenon of Multi-Screen behavior among users. The fact is now user’s attention is increasingly dominated by multi- screens and the marketers must change their strategies accordingly.
In a nutshell, a multi-channel marketing strategy will see tremendous engagement compared to your run-of-the-mill single channel campaign. Because the messages are highly targeted, contextual, thus adds more value, directed real-time data as well as reaches every user touch-point that specially matters.
(Forum Sheth, AVP – Content and Brand, WebEngage and the views expressed in this article are his own)
