Does it Apply to All Marketing Channels?
We’re in this weird year. It's called 2023.
Many companies have been thriving over the last few years.
But we’re now getting to the point where some ugly words are emerging. There is the ugly I word (inflation). There is the ugly R word (recession). There is also the ugly L word (layoffs) taking place.
So imagine this. You walk into a CEO’s office to discuss the year ahead. What is the winning formula you give them for marketing leadership in the 2023 we’re all living in right now?
The Winning Formula for Marketing Leadership in 2023
You’ve always got to think customer-first. So, the winning formula starts with understanding them.
Your marketing mission is to be the voice of the customer and create a force for good. If you keep this in mind, then you won’t go astray and run crazy campaigns.
As part of your formula, marketing and other functions within your organization should focus on mentoring. It doesn’t have to be formal. But you must identify the employees you want to keep and do whatever you need to do so they don’t leave your company.
You need to plan short-term but think long-term.
What is Omnichannel Marketing and Why Does it Matter?
When omnichannel marketing is done well, it delivers a seamless customer experience across all channels.
These channels do not stand alone. They take the customer on a journey that makes sense to each segment.
Your messaging must answer the question, “what are you going to do for me today?”. It needs to be a story that leads people to the benefit that your organization offers.
Studies have shown that brands that embrace an omnichannel marketing plan are more successful than those that don’t. They increase engagement. They increase sales. Plus, customer retention is an average of 91%.
It saves the organization a lot of time and a
lot of money. Omnichannel marketing also provides a dedicated focus.
You need to remember that the buyer journey is more important than the sales process. One is customer-centric. The other is company-centric. You’re hitting people on the head by understanding their pain in a multimodal approach.
The Common Gap to Omnichannel Strategies
One of the most popular thoughts within companies is that people think that the story in the brand guidelines is old. Therefore, they want to change it.
But if you do, your customers won’t re
member who you are as a brand or what you stand for. All you’ll end up doing is confusing them.
It doesn’t matter if you think the story is boring because you’ve told it 500 times. There are different ways to say it that mean the same thing.
Someone within your organization needs to create an editorial calendar and put that story in each month or quarter, so everyone knows what they need to deliver. You can even go a step further and advise everyone they must put their plan on the document. That way, everyone is working from the same strategy. Start with:
What problem are you solving?
How are you solving it?
Why are you leading them to your product?
How is it different?
When Should Companies Move to an Omnichannel Approach?
No matter what stage your company is in, you should move to an omnichannel approach.
Once you get a customer, you need to keep them. It costs a lot of money to replace a customer because acquisition is the most expensive part of the marketing funnel.
Keeping customers and serving all levels of tha
t funnel becomes essential. If you start with an omnichannel approach, it becomes easier as you grow. The planning and the execution become easier.
You need to look at the three legs of the stool: planning, storytelling, and executing. Especially in 2023. Not everything can be the top priority, so you need to decide what it is.
Examples of Success When Building Omnichannel Marketing Programs
Walgreens is an excellent example.
Sure, you can call them and sit on hold if you want. But you're more likely to head online because we live in a digital world. Here, you can renew any prescription and keep it renewed. Walgreens will notify you via text that your medicine is ready to pick up.
But you can also have it sent to you. That means you don’t need to go through the drive-thru window or stand in line at the pharmacy.
Therefore, the thought becomes, make it simple a
nd easy. If it’s hard, they’ll think about it for a long time, which might make them change.
Don’t guess your story or what customers need.
Why Omnichannel Marketing Matters to CEOs
If you have one key takeaway, it’s to start with and test everything through your customers. Don’t assume you know. After you do that, you can go to town.
If you get lost in the middle of a campaign, then test again. This can be hard for some CEOs to embrace. But the customers give us the answers we need.
We just have to ask.
They want to give us the answer. They want us to succeed. They love having a voice.
Your customers have the insights you need and will tell you how to get more people like them.
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