The question is not whether online or offline marketing is more important. Or even which one is more effective. They both are here to stay. The real question is how CMOs and CEOs will look at the strategies they deploy and investments they make differently moving forward. This paper explores why a new perspective on the offline and online customer journey is required and how CMOs must change the way they manage the end-to-end customer experience. Read more ...

1. It’s Not About Online or
Offline. It’s About the Journey.
Delivering the clear, connected and consistent experience
your customers demand.

2. The question is not whether online or offline marketing is more
important. Or even which one is more effective. They both are
here to stay. The real question is how CMOs and CEOs will look at
the strategies they deploy and investments they make differently
moving forward.

3. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 3
Enough already about
online. And, enough about
digital journeys.
For the past several years, CMOs in business-to-business
companies have been consumed with digital channels
and technology. They have been focused on launching,
connecting and optimizing online content and touchpoints
with customers. And rightly so. All of this stuff is fairly
new and has truly transformed the way customers engage
with companies.
With that said, in the business-to-business world, digital
is only half of a winning customer experience equation.
The fact is, B2B buyers spend more than half their buying
journey offline. And more importantly, they value those
interactions more than the digital interactions they have
with your company.
For CMOs and CEOs to win in the experience economy, it’s
not about online. It’s not about offline. It’s about delivering
the clear, connected and consistent experience customers
not only expect, but also demand.
The bottom line is, CMOs must look at online and offline
differently. They must fully align the strategic intent,
purpose and placement of online and offline touchpoints
with customers in the context of their journey — not in the
context of where they reside in the marketing department
or budget.
This paper explores why a new perspective on the offline
and online customer journey is required and how CMOs
must change the way they manage the end-to-end
customer journey.

4. “Marketers must put 2016
budgets to work on shifting
interactions seamlessly between
digital and physical contexts.”
– Forrester Research

5. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 5
Face-to-face marketing isn’t
going anywhere.
While the buzz in the boardroom and CMO circles is
all about digital, business is still about relationships.
Business gets done when people connect and have
opportunities to form trusting relationships. That’s why
the so-called death of tradeshows and events has been
dead wrong.
Face-to-face marketing for companies with complex
products, services and solutions will never go away. It is
one of the most effective ways for customers to secure the
confidence they need to make serious buying decisions. It’s
also the only way companies can truly demonstrate subject
matter expertise, establish credibility and build lasting
relationships with buyers.
So as online marketing and digital journeys are making
headlines, companies are still placing a lot of stock in
face-to-face and event marketing initiatives. In fact, there
are numerous statistics that illustrate how these offline
initiatives positively impact purchasing decision and the
overall customer experience. For example:
> 74 percent of event attendees say that they have a more
positive opinion about the company, brand, product or
service being promoted at an event.
(EMI Mosaic)
87 percent of customers said they purchased the brand’s
product or service after an event.
(EMI Mosaic)
60 percent of marketers believe that events
and conferences are important ways to improve
customer experiences of their services or products.
(E-Strategy Trends)
48 percent of event attendees find in-person interactions
with brands more valuable than two years ago.
(Live Marketing)
51 percent of marketers surveyed believe that
events strengthen existing customer relationships.
(Marketing Charts)
So while a significant amount of time and energy in recent
years has been spent on digital marketing and online
channels, B2B marketing executives continue to spend
a large portion of their budgets offline. According to a
B2B marketing and advertising study, which analyzes the
investments, strategies and challenges of Chief Marketing
Officers across the U.S., B2B marketers will spend $26.1
billion on event-related marketing investments in 2016.
In addition, the study noted a 40 percent increase in B2B
brands participating in tradeshows and exhibitions. This
means participation in live offline events is on the rise.
The question is not whether online or offline marketing
is more important. Or even which one is more effective.
They both are here to stay. The real question is how CMOs
and CEOs will look at the strategies they deploy and
investments they make differently moving forward.

6. This is the new experience economy we
work in — an economy where buying
decisions and dollars flow in the direction
of companies that deliver a superior
customer experience.

7. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 7
It’s not even about online
or offline. It’s about the
entire journey.
For years, experts have predicted that digital was going
to be the demise of face-to-face marketing. However, the
facts we just shared tell a different story — a story that
should tell CMOs that customers clearly use and value
both their online and offline experiences.
The difference is, customers don’t separate the two.
They are continuously engaging with your company and
consuming your corporate story through a multitude of
channels. To them, it is not about online and offline.
It’s about the end-to-end experience one company
delivers over another. Customers cast votes with their
dollars. Companies that deliver a superior end-to-end
customer experience win. Those that don’t lose out on
the opportunity to secure, foster and maintain long-term
profitable relationships.
The good news is, CMOs and CEOs are catching up with
customer thinking. This is causing them to rethink how
they can deliver a clear, connected, compelling experience
regardless if dimensions of that experience are delivered
online or offline. In fact, findings from the Gartner 2015-
2016 Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Spend Survey found
that the term “digital marketing” is on the wane. The
survey also found that, “98 percent of CMOs no longer
make a clear distinction between marketing online and
offline and say the disciplines are merging.”
The key message from the Gartner report is that the
“disciplines are merging.” This means the process of
looking at online and offline journeys as two distinct
and separate things is changing. However, this change
is occurring in a slow and limited fashion. The truth is
most marketing organizations are still functionally and
operationally divided. There is a digital team and an
events team. Worse yet, there is also a content team, lead
qualification team, brand team and more. You get the
point. The gap between online and offline will not be fully
closed until CMOs reshape how they structure, manage
and orchestrate the customer journey from a marketing
operations, strategic planning and execution perspective.
When will this happen? It will happen when CMOs start
aligning resources and allocating budgets differently.
Today, budget allocation is defined by channel. At the
highest level – you guessed it – you’ll find online budgets
and offline budgets. In fact, according to a recent report
from ITSMA, most B2B companies will allocate 55 percent
of marketing program and campaign dollars to offline
marketing, while 45 percent will focus on digital. The good
news here is the balance in spending, which reflects the
importance of both. However, the Holy Grail is reached
when the budget is aligned to specific phases of the
“98 percent of CMOs no longer
make a clear distinction
between marketing online and
offline and say the disciplines
are merging.” – Gartner

8. The gap between online and offline will
not be fully closed until CMOs reshape
how they structure, manage and
orchestrate the customer journey from a
marketing operations, strategic planning
and execution perspective.

9. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 9
customer experience rather than channels. The gap will
be closed when dollars are allocated to specific initiatives
that are designed to improve customer acquisition,
retention, loyalty and advocacy in the self-service, sales
and post-purchase phases of the customer experience.
Maybe that’s why Forrester Research said, “Marketers
must put 2016 budgets to work on shifting interactions
seamlessly between digital and physical contexts.”
A new perspective on the
online / offline journey.
Until marketing operations and budget line items fully
align with the customer experience, which will take
time, leading CMOs must make significant advances by
changing the way they formulate and align online / offline
strategies. This starts by recognizing the interdependency
between online and offline channels and touchpoints in
specific phases of the customer journey. By looking at
the channels and touchpoints through this lens you can
optimize how online and offline channels work together to
connect, continue and / or extend the conversation with
prospects and customers throughout their journey. This
means being very intentional about the placement and
purpose of each online / offline channel or touchpoint in
the customer experience.
Let’s look at the critical role offline channels play in
the customer journey. We will start with the buying
process. Many CMOs and marketing executives assume
that digital marketing is the most important dimension
of the purchasing process, however offline programs
are essential when it comes to engaging B2B buyers,
especially buyers of complex solutions and services. In
fact, according to ITSMA research, “half the buying
process takes place offline even for the most digitally
savvy buyers.” This is based on ITSMA survey data from
more than 400 B2B buyers across multiple industries.
The data highlights the importance of offline marketing
initiatives and a balanced online / offline approach
throughout the entire buying process. ITSMA also
discovered the most influential information sources buyers
turn to early in the buying process are people-based:
subject matter experts (SMEs) from solution providers,
industry analysts and advisors, management consultants,
and peers / colleagues.
The same survey found that human interaction dominates
later stages of the buyer process as well, with custom
demos, references, solution provider interaction, and in-
person events topping the list. Ultimately, ITSMA research
found that the most credible source of information during
the purchasing process was delivered through subject
matter experts; in other words, face-to-face.
Offline channels also play a role in securing new
business opportunities. In fact, they produce higher
quality prospects. According to the annual B2B Demand
Generation Benchmark report, 77 percent of marketers
said face-to-face events generated “good” or “excellent”
quality leads.
The truth is, face-to-face
marketing plays a role in every
stage of the customer journey.

10. The bottom-line is, for CMOs
to be successful, they must
be more intentional about how
face-to-face marketing initiatives
connect with and extend the
customer journey.

11. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 11
The point is, while online marketing has received a lot
of attention, offline dimensions of the customer journey
are just as important. And these two dimensions of the
customer experience are becoming more interdependent
than ever before. And yet, most companies have
disconnected digital and offline strategies. They have lead
generation, conversion and branding strategies that are
being deployed online and then others that are driving
face-to-face marketing. This model is flawed and will not
produce optimal results. To truly create a differentiated
customer experience and increase the performance of
online and offline marketing strategies, full alignment
and integration is required.
Establishing greater
connectivity and continuity
in the journey.
Establishing complete alignment between your online
and offline customer journey can be achieved, but it does
require a different approach. This approach is anchored in
five strategic planning questions:
Stage – What are we trying to accomplish in this stage of
the customer journey?
Story – How are we adding to or extending a consistent
and connected story?
Experience – How does this specific channel or touchpoint
enhance the customer’s overall experience?
Connection – What are the intentional connections we
are trying to make between online and offline channels
or touchpoints?
Conversion – How are we creating and converting
engagement at this stage of their journey?
Stage
You must look at each channel and touchpoint through
the lens of your customer journey. What stage are they in?
What do you want to achieve in this stage? How will your
online and offline channels and touchpoints work together
to move this buyer / customer throughout this phase of
their journey?
Story
You must have a clear, compelling and consistent
corporate story in place. A story that is shared across
online and offline channels and touchpoints. What is
your story? What are the cornerstones of the story that
will be omnipresent throughout the journey? How are you
intentionally weaving the story together online and offline?
What messaging, promises, content are you serving up
to the buyer / customer across different channels and
touchpoints in this stage of the journey? How does the
story unfold online and offline? How are you connecting
the story in a meaningful and relevant way?
Experience
You must clearly define and document the overall
experience you want to deliver throughout the customer
journey. How are you defining that experience? How does
the experience you are creating for the buyer / customer in
this stage of their journey connect to that definition? How
does their experience in this stage add to or enhance their
overall experience?
Connection
You have to paint a picture of the specific online and
offline channels and touchpoints that are used in each
stage of the customer journey. What are the strategic and
intentional connection points you are trying to establish
between the online and offline experience at this stage of

12. The point is, while online
marketing has received a lot
of attention, offline dimensions
of the customer journey are
just as important.

13. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 13
the customer journey? How are you leveraging online and
offline channels or touchpoints to move them from this
stage to the next? What threads have you put in place to
ensure connectivity and continuity from one channel and
touchpoint to the other?
Conversion
You need to define specific conversion methods and
metrics you will use to measure online and offline
effectiveness within each stage of the customer journey.
What connections are you trying to make with the
buyer / customer online and offline in this stage? How
are you moving the buyer / customer from an online or
offline connection to a true conversion? Is that conversion
method driven by digital content, human interaction or
is it transactional? How do different connections lead to
specific conversions online and offline?
The truth is, face-to-face marketing plays a role in
every stage of the customer journey. The 2016 Center for
Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) study found that face-
to-face marketing persists as a key brand and sales driver
for B2B businesses. This national study also suggests
that 80 percent of marketers believe they can build or
expand brand awareness in this way. The study found that
76 percent of B2B marketers agree exhibitions support
relationship management and engagement of existing
customers. Sixty-three percent of executives found that
exhibitions help cultivate relationships and feed the sales
funnel with new potential customers.
The bottom line is, for CMOs to be successful they must
be more intentional about how face-to-face marketing
initiatives connect with and extend the customer journey.
They must ask and answer questions that will lead to
greater connectivity and continuity between the offline and
online dimensions of the customer experience.
What is the strategic intent and purpose of this event?
(Education, acquisition, retention, etc.)?
What specific stage of the buyer / customer
journey does it play in? (Self-service, sales, post-
purchase, etc.)
How am I intentionally connecting the event experience
with the overall experience we are delivering in the
customer journey?
How am I intentionally connecting this specific event
experience with the other events that are part of the
customer journey?
How am I leveraging online dimensions of the journey
to extend and add to the experience customers will
have at the event?

14. The new competitive
battlefield is the
customer experience
– online and offline.

15. It’s Not About Online or Offline. It’s About the Journey. 15
Conquering the last bastion
of a truly integrated
customer experience.
Offline and online dimensions of the customer experience
are not going anywhere. Maybe that’s why Justin Hersh,
CEO of Group Delphi, said, “It’s no surprise that even
as digital continues to take hold, brands place an even
greater emphasis on the distinct value that the face-to-
face experience brings in driving brand awareness, affinity
and consideration.”
The truth is, online and offline dimensions of the customer
experience are intrinsically connected. And both are going
to continue to grow in complexity. So the only question
CMOs must ask is this:
How is my company going to strategically align offline and
online dimensions of my buyer and customer journey to
deliver an experience that increases business growth and
fosters lasting relationships?
The last bastion of a truly integrated and consistent
customer experience is face-to-face marketing. It
can’t continue to operate outside the lines of the
customer journey. It must be brought fully into the fold.
Econsultancy said it best, “For some strange reason,
events have been able to escape the eye not only of
integrated marketing, but also the evolution that every
channel has had to go through in the last 10 years:
heightened measurement and analytics. That’s the whole
point of integrated marketing: to be able to look at the
entire ecosystem and connect all the dots. Somehow
events get set on the sidelines.”
The new competitive battlefield is the customer
experience – online and offline. This is the new
experience economy we work in — an economy where
buying decisions and dollars flow in the direction of
companies that deliver a superior customer experience.
Only those CMOs who embrace this reality and establish
greater alignment across every dimension of the customer
experience will win.

16. About OnMessage
Companies that succeed in maintaining complete
alignment between their corporate story and strategy
— win. They win because their words and actions are
consistent; creating a superior experience that increases
customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and competitive
differentiation. OnMessage specializes in helping
executives align and activate their entire organization
around a corporate strategy and story that dramatically
improves the customer experience. Leveraging our
disciplined methodology — executive teams are able
to crystallize their go-to-market strategy, formulate a
strategically aligned corporate messaging platform and
ensure every stakeholder understands how to activate the
strategy and story throughout the customer journey. In
addition, our cloud-based intelligence console provides
leaders with timely and accurate insights. Market,
customer, employee, culture, competitor and partner
insights they need to optimize their strategy, story and
customer experience over time. We are OnMessage, the
strategy consulting firm helping executives win in the
highly competitive “experience economy” that exists today.
© Copyright OnMessage, Inc. 2016 | All rights reserved.
For more information
For more valuable and informative resources that can
help you improve your customer’s experience, go to:
itsonmessage.com/resource
Follow us on
linkedin.com/company/onmessage
facebook.com/onmessage
twitter.com/onmessage
itsonmessage.com
James O’Gara
President and Founder
James O’Gara is the president and founder of OnMessage.
Under his leadership, OnMessage has developed a proven
model for helping companies develop a clear, compelling
and consistent message. With almost 25 years’ experience
working in business and marketing leadership positions,
O’Gara is known and respected for building collaborative
relationships with executive teams that result in highly
effective go-to-market, messaging / positioning and
demand generation strategies.