Print vs digital is a hot topic of conversation in the marketing world. However, what about refocusing your marketing efforts and creating a campaign with digital and print elements? Marketers have found that using print and digital symbiotically can create a strong, seamless campaign. Creating a seamless experience in a highly distracted world is an important marketing tactic for many businesses. Customers are used to using multiple channels to gather the information they need. They also want to jump between channels easily. The push towards more personalized communication with consumers, through many marketing channels, and on multiple devices is the backbone behind what is called omni-channel, or multi-device marketing.
What is Omni-Channel Marketing?
The concepts behind omni-channel marketing are pretty simple. “Omni-channel” refers to a significant shift in marketing tactics. Marketers now need to provide a seamless experience, regardless of channel or device. Think about it. Customers engage your brand in a physical store or studio, on an online website, through a catalog, and through social media. They can access products and services by calling the company on the phone or by using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Omni-channel marketing makes sure the customer’s experience is consistent and complementary. Omni-channel marketing takes the viewpoint of the customer and uses it across all channels. When the customer wants to switch channels, the message and overall look is still consistent.
How To Create A Seamless Campaign
Think Like The Customer
An omni-channel campaign starts with the customer. Start with reviewing the process your customers go through in order to research, purchase, and connect with your products. Use a team of multiple testers, both external and internal, to get a full view of your user experience. Test the experience by placing orders, interacting via all available channels, submitting a message to support, and more. Review your after-sale process as well. How are you engaging with customers after their initial purchase? Do you send follow-up messages or direct mail pieces? Are you making product suggestions to fit their needs? Not only is the pre-sale experience important, but post-sale engagement will offer ways for those customers to become loyal customers.
Consistency
If you take anything away from omni-channel campaigns, it should be that consistency in your design and content is key. As customers move across channels, you want to make sure they are seeing the same brand identity. Each of your marketing tactics, from your logo, to your social media profile, to your displays, should reflect your brand identity and also look professional. Using brand colors, fonts, and consistency in your voice encourages trust and let’s your customers know you are there for them. Not being consistent can lead to confustion and risks your audience not being able to connect your brochure and website as part of the same marketing effort.
Collecting and Using Data
Your marketing campaign should have both digital and print elements to it. If your want to measure response, the good news is that there are ways to measure response for both! Adding QR codes and personalized URLS, are easy ways to track your response for your print marketing campaigns. You’ll be able to determine who is taking the next step from your print campaign to your digital one. For your digital marketing, website analytics, Google analytics, social media insights, and open rates are great ways to start. When collecting data, you are not only seeing who is going to your website, but you can also see when and where they are interacting.
With the data you collect, you can tailor messages to a specific set of people. Starting off, it may seem like a lot of trial and error, but after a while you will be able to easily refine your target lists and find customers more like the ones purchasing from you. Understand what data points are useful to you and adjust your marketing campaign accordingly.
Engage and Interact on ALL Channels
You never want to create a strong campaign and then just let it be. Make sure you are always engaging and interacting with your customers. This can be though support chats, email accounts, or social media. It helps your reputation if your customers know you are a real person and ready to help. It also helps you get feedback on your campaign. Having reviews on your products gives future customers something to look at when buying your products. If a customer has a negative review to give, make sure to address that review in a resonable amount of time and offer a response or solution to the situation. It will help you look better by showing your customers you care about their opinions and want to give them the best experience possible.