NEW EXPECTATIONS

You visit your favorite retailer’s website. Upon arrival, the site drops cookies on your browser. Next thing you know, you’re seeing a television ad promoting deals available via the retailer’s mobile app. And before you know it, you are accessing information on your mobile device and then visiting the brick-and-mortar store. As you browse through the store, you look up products online and perhaps even scan a QR code in search of a deal. Meet the omni-channel consumer — you. 

The omni-channel customer expects a consistent brand experience. According to a recent study by MIT, 80% of store shoppers check prices online, with one-third accessing the information on their mobile device while inside the actual store. This percentage proves that consumers are also approaching their experience from multiple angles.

Today, businesses must be armed with numerous ways to reach consumers in real-time. The following are a few digital strategies that can help brands get the ball rolling and perhaps even help marketers stay ahead of the curve. Ultimately, every business needs an omni-channel strategy.

Best-in-class companies leverage consumer behavior to activate their brand and value proposition and connect with customers in entirely new ways. This is requiring companies to integrate their brand strategy into a holistic experience. 

WHERE DO YOU START

Here are 6 areas to consider:

• REDEFINE YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE - Make sure that you are testing your conversion path and optimizing your landing pages both online and on the mobile web. If you haven't yet established a social media strategy, start devising creative social strategies across all major platforms to engage with active audiences that are likely waiting to hear from you.
• DEFINE YOUR SEARCH STRATEGIES - combine organic search with paid search to optimize your presence. By implementing a multi-dimensional search strategy, you can improve the number of searches on your brand and also drive more visits to your website or store. There are two behaviors that every marketing effort must focus on: more searches and more visits to your corporate website or store.
• TARGETING EXISTING CUSTOMERS USING SITE RETARGETING - If consumers are searching for your product and visiting your website, use those website visits and your entire CRM database to improve site retargeting to arm your existing customers with relevant and personalized ads. Remember that your customers are your brand ambassadors. Presumably, they already like your brand. Build on that and turn them into even greater advocates.
• SEARCH TARGETING Will Help You Gain New Customers - If your website rocks, your search campaigns are converting and you have a multi-faceted digital campaign targeted at existing customers and site visitors. It's now time to find new customers. Search retargeting is the most effective digital marketing strategy to gain new customers.
• FOCUS ON MOBILE USERS - The mobile web has strengthened brands’ ability to connect and reach for consumers at any time of the day. This cannot be overlooked. Successful mobile integration depends on relevant audience targeting that helps brands recognize and engage with their consumers.
• LEVERAGE 'DISCOVERY SERVICE' MOBILE APPS - consider being part of sites that provide a personalized local search experience for its users. By taking into account the places a user goes, the things they have told the app that they like, and the other users whose advice they trust, these systems provide highly personalized recommendations of the best places to go around a user's current location.

Let us share with you strategies that work to further improve your engagement with customers across channels.