Digital media consumption is rising year over year. We are not spreading out our usage across more devices, we’re actually consuming more. As we think about our customer experience, we often forget that they are not reading every word, are not ready to subscribe, set up an account, download our app. If we want to succeed on a large scale, with prospects who are not engaged, we need to surround them with our message, and make it easy for them to interact with us, however and whenever they choose.
More brands feel they are “lagging behind” in omni-channel – If your omni-channel strategy isn’t among the elite, don’t fret because you are not alone. In a recent study by SPS Commerce over 37% of businesses feel as though they are still exploring their omni-channel options and have not developed a long term strategy.
This presentation will teach you:
1. How to develop your own omni channel strategy
2. How other brands have embraced an omni channel strategy
3. How to leverage your data to create a meaningful customer journey with your brand on the customer’s own terms
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution
Developing Your Omni Channel Strategy in the Digitally Fast-Paced World
1. Developing Your Own Omni
Channel Strategy in the
Digitally Fast-Paced World
Susan Prater
Senior Marketing Consultant, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
@SusanPrater
6. “The speed at which omni-channel commerce
continues to grow is being led by consumers
and continues to move faster than some
brands can handle. Marketers need to provide
a seamless experience, regardless of channel
or device. And each piece of the consumer’s
experience should be consistent and
complementary.”
PFSweb, 7 Omni-Channel Trends in 2015
7. Three Tenets
1. Think Omni Channel
a) Deliver a coherent message across channels
2. Eliminate Friction
b) Make it easy for the customer to interact however, wherever and whenever they
choose
3. Leverage Data for Relevance
c) Collect customer preference and behavior data across channels and utilize in
real time
@SusanPrater
8. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
10. What Do Your Customers Want?
Look to what your engaged customers are telling you:
• Search terms – both SEO and on your website
• Popular website and email content
• Customer Service and Sales – they truly hear the voice of the customer
• Social Media
• Ratings & Reviews
@SusanPrater
11. “A majority of the
lawn care
conversation in
social media falls
into ‘when to apply’
or ‘should I wait to
apply/do
something.’”
@SusanPrater
13. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
15. How Do I Ensure
Consistency at All
Touchpoints?
16. Look to Your Integrated Marketing Calendar
January February March April
Holidays/Events/Programs
Key Messages
TV
Radio
Print
Direct Mail
OOH
Store Ops
Web Site
Email
Social
SMS
Mobile Apps
Mobile Web
•Media with the longest planning cycles lead
the creative direction
•Ensure assets are formatted appropriately
and shared among departments and
agencies
• Don’t forget to leverage collaboration tools
and content management systems
@SusanPrater
18. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
19. • A single email promotes:
o Gift cards
o eCommerce
o Retail
o Twitter
o SMS
Cross Promote
@SusanPrater
21. • LTV of online shoppers is 2X that of retail-only customers; for multi-channel
customers, LTV is 5.5X.
• Customers who shop in-store and online spend 3.5X more than customers who
shop in-store only. Those who shop in-store, online and via mobile spend 6X more.
• Multi-channel customers are 4X more valuable than those who shop in-store only.
• Mobile App users spend 81% more than Power-Up Rewards Pro Members. For
every $1 of direct sales online, multichannel businesses are influencing 10X that
amount in Stores.
Multi Channel Customers Spend More
Source: Company representatives’ presentations at the MCommerce Summit 5/14
and Mobile Summit Holiday 2014
@SusanPrater
22. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
23.
24. So How Do I Connect the Dots?
• Clean up existing databases and consolidate
• Build a database of anonymous users and add to customer profile when a connection
is made
• Use progressive profiling to add critical data to your customer profile
• Use email address as the app user name (a must do!)
• Request SMS opt-in alongside email opt-in
• Provide an opportunity to collect their social media handles
@SusanPrater
25. ZIP
Condition
Desired Lawn
Spreader
Reminder Option
IP Address IP Address/
Mobile ID
SMS Number
Opt-in Date
Mobile ID
Mobile ID
OS ID
Push Opt-in
Email Address
Opt-in
IP Address/
Mobile ID
Print
(Desktop Only)
Calendar Email Opt-In formSMS Opt-in Form
Push
(App Only)
• Collect the data you need to
deliver relevant messaging –
not the nice-to-have
• Don’t make data capture your
primary objective
Remember!
@SusanPrater
28. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
29. “It really is understanding that you
must present in a conversation
when they want to have it, not
when you want to.”
Bob Thacker
Gravitytank Strategic Advisor and former CMO of OfficeMax
quoted in ZMOT: Winning at the Zero Moment of Truth
31. A “remind me” option allows users to self-select a triggered message to remind them
to complete a task at a later date
Remind Me
Email with “Remind
Me” link
Mobile optimized web
page to select
reminder date /
download calendar
invite
Triggered email
reminder or calendar
entry
@SusanPrater
32. Remind Me Calendar Entry
The Join the Chat Now CTA in the
calendar invite links to the
Facebook brand page, making it
very easy for the customer to click
thru.
@SusanPrater
35. High % of Passbook users
accept notifications
Can pop up when a user is
near a kiosk (geo fencing)
Can send notifications,
when available, when the
coupon is about to expire
Notifications are free!
Mobile App Ease of Engagement
Connect the dots – app, email, SMS
Can be QR,
barcode,
numeric
@SusanPrater
37. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
38. “When you lower the barrier to
reaching your company through any
possible channel, you’ll hear from the
customer more—and more often with
an open pocketbook.”
Micah Solomon, Forbes contributor
January 9, 2015
Imaginary Expert 'Meghan Millennial' Explains The Omnichannel Retail Customer Experience
39. Learn from the Pros
Retailers
• CVS, Walmart, Target, Sephora
Restaurants, especially Quick Serve Restaurants
• Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts
Financial Institutions
• Simple, USAA, AMEX
Businesses where interaction is OOH
• Uber
@SusanPrater
40. Omni Channel Strategy Development Process Recap
1. Start with the Customer Benefit
2. Enforce Consistent Messaging and Share Assets
3. Cross Promotion Rules
4. Putting the Data Puzzle Together
5. Frictionless Experience
6. Learn from the Pros
@SusanPrater
We are not spreading out our usage across more devices, we’re actually consuming more
Mobile digital media time in the US is now significantly higher at 51% compared to desktop (42%)
http://www.smartinsights.com/internet-marketing-statistics/insights-from-kpcb-us-and-global-internet-trends-2015-report/attachment/mobile-internet-trends-mary-meeker-2015-1/
Today’s shoppers bounce back and forth at their own speed in a multi-channel marketplace. The path to purchase in not linear – it can take many twists and turns along the way.
They switch devices to suit their needs at any given moment. They search; go off to look at reviews, ratings, styles and prices; and then search again.
They see ads on TV and in newspapers and online. They walk into local stores to look at products. They talk to friends, over the back fence and on social media. Then it’s
back to ZMOT for more information.
In short, the shopper’s journey looks less like a funnel and more like a flight map, as John Ross of Shopper Sciences has called it. Shoppers dart back and forth as they
touch down — again and again — not at cities but at all the information hubs on their journey.
And it’s not just retail. For these common activities, the action starts on a phone: searching, browsing, planning a trip, managing finances
The Multi Screen World – From Google
As we think about our customer experience, we often forget that they are not reading every word, are not ready to subscribe, set up an account, download our app. If we want to succeed on a large scale, with prospects who are not engaged, we need to surround them with our message, and make it easy for them to interact with us, however and whenever they choose.
Sophisticated marketers have a communication plan that may look something like this. This shows what we want to talk to customers about throughout the year. But the question is: what do they want to know from us? We have specialized knowledge that they want a piece of.
Use these resources to get the customer perspective. Remember that we want to scale programs for customers who are not engaged with our brands. So an “us” mentality will not work for them.
Scotts wants to share their products with customers, as they do on this FB page. But they made this observation by monitoring social media. And that lead to a focus on the LawnCare Program. Customers answer 4 quick questions to get a customized plan for their geography, because lawn care in Michigan is not the same as lawn care in Florida. Many channels drive to this plan – search, social, mobile, email.
The real benefit to the customer is the reminder – what to apply & when. They should be able to choose how they want to be reminded via the channel they choose. They aren’t forced into the linear path to purchase we marketers often believe a customer takes. In the current Scott’s environment, once they see the plan they can print it (doesn’t work for mobile devices), sign up for email or download the app (which don’t scale to the unengaged). Scott’s is taking a broader approach.
Collaboration tools (Basecamp, Sharepoint, etc.) to facilitate sharing, communication and version control without regard to firewalls are indispensable
Media Bin for CMS
Appoint an enforcer – with teeth – to keep departments and agencies from adding their own spin.
Marketers worry about redundancy, but drastically overestimate customers’ attention to our messages. Repetition is effective.
Single View of the Customer
Recognize and respond to the customer across channels
Perform a customer data audit
What do we have
For what % of customers
What do we need
How & where can we get it
CVS offers an incentive to update my customer data. Old days – paper form. Maybe never entered, sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Don’t use for prescrip, why create an account? This gives me an incentive. What else do they know about me from my loyalty card? Phone number. You can’t send SMS messages without permission, but if I sign up for SMS, they would be able to link that to the rest of my data.
Note sign up in-store option
Tabbed Preference Center puts all info in one place but doesn’t make it look like a homework assignment. Facebook social plug-in allows customers to like the brand without leaving the page and going to FB, where attention spans go to die. When I come back to the Preference Center, they recognize that I don’t use them for prescriptions, where the big $$ are, and work to collect that data and cross promote that feature. If I don’t want to add prescription management, I have the option to refill by label – a simpler first step.
The real benefit to the customer is the reminder – what to apply & when. They should be able to choose how they want to be reminded via the channel they choose. They aren’t forced into the linear path to purchase we marketers often believe a customer takes.