Take the test: Is your brand ready for Omnichannel Personalization?

Jul 06, 2022 | Blog, Customer Data Platform, Email Automation, Web Personalization, POS, Search Personalization, E-mail Personalization

By Anders Spicker

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If you're ambitious in your marketing strategy, you've probably already heard of omnichannel, or you're planning on going omnichannel as well.

(Psst... If you're still a little fuzzy on the terms, you can check out what omnichannel is right here).

While the world is becoming increasingly digitalized, 2/3 of consumers still prefer the option to look at or buy products at a physical location. Overall, you shouldn't neglect any of the touchpoints that your visitors interact with.

They should all be connected to make sure each customer received the right communication at the right time and place.

But what are the most important benefits of an omnichannel approach?

And is there a simple way to test what barriers stand in the way of your brand?

Let's dive in! Starting with the benefits.

The benefits of omnichannel

1. Reach your customers where they already are

An omnichannel strategy focuses on the individual customer and their journey, not the individual channel. By mapping the customer’s typical buying journey, you can cater each channel to meet their needs – or you can nudge them towards another channel they might like. If you know that your loyal customers tend to click on products in e-mail send-outs, it’s no good to only reach out to them on your site

2. Create a brand identity that sticks to consumer minds

It’s impossible to create a seamless connection between your channels without a solid identity. Your customers should immediately be able to identify your brand, your tone-of-voice, and the unique experience you provide. An omnichannel approach prompts you to zoom in on this, and your brand will be stronger for it.

3. Catch data from any touchpoint

This is where the true magic happens. If you invest in the right tools, you can gain a full understanding of each customer’s movements in detail – from looking at a product page to swiping on an in-store tablet. It creates a full picture of your customer that makes it much easier to target them with the right messages.

Marketers using 3 or more channels in a campaign earned a 494% higher order rate than those using only a single channel - Omnisend

The physical barriers to omnichannel

While the online shopping experience is becoming more and more personalized by the day, the physical touchpoints are lagging.

Every day, every step of the online customer journey is more intrinsically covered by personalization. It’s detailed, it’s coordinated, and it displays a full understanding of your customer’s behavior, wants, and needs wherever they turn to find your brand. In the physical store, we tend to forget this level of detail.

Why wouldn’t we?

After all, display ads are the same for everyone, a visitor can come and go without leaving a trace, and you can only receive customer information if a purchase actually takes place.

In other words, physical stores lack the technology that digital platforms have finessed for years. It’s a black hole for data as few know how to capture data on customers’ interests as they browse your shelves for offers.

The figure below shows how the physical locations are behind with the times.

Personalization is common in the online customer journey, but less so for in-person shoppers

Personalization McKinsey model Raptor Services

The greatest obstacle to omnichannel is likely the physical touchpoints, but there are other important issues that typically stand in the way.

To help you address your greatest pain points, we have created a checklist that can help you self-assess your brand.

Is it the tech, your KPIs, or an inability to connect data across channels?

Let’s find out! Take the test

If you checked one or more symptoms, chances are you suffer from from a lack of omnichannel. A pretty dangerous diagnosis if you want to deliver the best customer experiences.

But fear not. You're now one step closer to achieving the state of true omnichannel bliss. But this is a long-term strategy that bleeds into every single corner of your brand.

Starting from scratch? Or are some of your omnichannel building blocks already stacked?

This e-book takes you through all you need to know about Omnichannel Personalization - from succesful cases to best-practice examples on platforms like TikTok and Pinterest, and what tools you can use to continue your brand's path towards omnichannel.