How many times have you seen a commercial for a product on television, followed by an advertisement for the same product on social media?
If it was an ad for a product you were already considering buying, seeing it across multiple marketing channels probably increased the chances of you purchasing that product. Creating a brand presence across multiple channels can have significant benefits, but how can you reap the benefits of a multi-channel marketing system and steer clear of the pitfalls?
Keep reading, this is your complete guide to understanding multi-channel marketing –– how to harness the good, convert the bad, and avoid the ugly.
What Exactly is Multi-Channel Marketing?
Multi-channel marketing is a strategic communication approach to reaching potential customers on several channels simultaneously with:
- Advertising
- Information
- Products; and
- Services
On the customer side, multi-channel marketing allows consumers to interact with companies through different mediums of their choosing, often based on need or convenience.
How Does Multi-Channel Marketing Work?
Multi-channel marketing may seem complex but given the common crossover of most advertising channels in today’s marketing environment, many companies instinctually employ multi-channel marketing strategies.
In fact, according to research the average marketer in 2019 used seven channels, with popular choices being:
- Digital advertising
- Web marketing
- Social media; and
- Mobile marketing
Multi-channel marketing may look like:
- Using a tracked web address in your email marketing efforts
- Promoting your business Instagram handle or hashtag on Youtube; or
- Your website sending push notifications to a mobile device
Inspire and Engage
At Pretty-Impressive, each client is unique. Which is why we create strategies tailored to the needs of each company. Reach out and we’ll help you get your brand exactly where it needs to be — ahead of the rest.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Multi-Channel Marketing?
In the modern world of digital marketing, there are more channels than ever to reach your customer.
Gone are the days of marketing limited to:
- Billboards
- Radio
- Print; and
- Television
Still, it’s worth considering the pros and cons of having so many marketing channels at your disposal.
5 Advantages of Multi-Channel Marketing
It’s in the best interest of your brand to meet consumers where they are –– and today’s consumers are everywhere.
Consumers expect products to be available in multiple places. So if your brand isn’t present where they’re looking, you’ve missed an opportunity.
Here are some of the benefits of a multi-channel marketing system.
1. Its tailored marketing strategy
Multi-channel marketing provides an opportunity for you to create a tailored marketing strategy that offers greater control over your brand’s future. By mixing different distribution and promotional channels into a single unified campaign to attract customers you can effectively communicate your brand’s value using the unique strengths of each marketing channel
For example, a popular retail store deployed a multi-channel marketing campaign to:
- Engage in-store customers and increase foot traffic by offering a novel experience; and
- Increase customer and prospective customer engagement on social media with new content created in a new and exciting way
In-store shoppers received a complimentary make-up and style session and were invited to create digital postcards using photos captured by an iPad and the Instagram app. Shoppers received a physical copy of the postcard as well as the opportunity to share it to the retailer’s Facebook and Instagram gallery with their tag and a branded hashtag.
People were …
- Tweeting
- Posting; and
- Sharing
… messages about the campaign across all social media platforms.
The campaign resulted in:
- An increase in the retailer’s social media page views and unique views as well as over 2,000 comments (engagement)
- Coverage of the campaign by over 640 blogs with a potential reach of 1.3 million views
- More activity on the retailer’s social media page in four years than in the last year
- 2,595 unique images created on Instagram with the branded hashtag
- The total reach of the campaign exceeded 7.5 million
Savvy, successful multi-channel marketing campaigns are what the pros at Pretty-Impressive do best. Our out-of-the-box approaches help companies attract and retain their ideal customers.
Contact us today to find out how our integrated multi-channel marketing campaigns can turn $1 in ad spend into $12 in profits.
2. You’ll Reach a Wider Audience
A multi-channel marketing strategy can help you grow into untapped markets.
By featuring your brand on different channels, you can reach a wider audience that may not have been looking for your product in the traditional avenues you have been marketing.
Additionally, combining multi-channel marketing with a multi-channel distribution modelcan put your product in the path of customers who are looking for it.
For example, investing in paid search ads to get in front of people searching Google for your product and offering your product in-store and online, can lead to an increase in customer reach, sales, and exposure.
3. More Opportunities for Customers to Commit
Not every customer is ready to commit at the exact time they see your ad.
The average American is exposed to four to ten thousand ads each day and if you subscribe to the marketing rule of seven, a potential customer needs to be exposed to your brand at least seven times before they are ready to buy.
Multi-channel marketing allows you to reach across multiple avenues and convert prospective customers at the exact time they are ready.
For example:
A potential customer may first hear about your brand through word of mouth, then do a Google search to learn more.
They visit your website where your Facebook (Meta) pixel attaches itself to their web activity and shows them your ad on other digital channels like:
- Social media
- Blogs; and
- Youtube
A tool like this creates multiple touchpoints with minimal effort increasing your marketing ROI.
4. Improved Customer Retention
Brands that utilize a multi-channel marketing approach can differentiate themselves from the competition.
The key to this differentiation is personalization.
Your brand should be attentive to each customer’s …
- Needs
- Habits; and
- Digital preferences
… which in turn will help create a seamless, personalized buyer experience from start to finish.
And customers that feel catered to will return time after time.
By tailoring your brand’s marketing model based on channel and customer preferences, you can win your customer’s loyalty. All it takes is a subtle reminder while scrolling through a blog post for a customer to return to purchase your product again or refer a friend.
5. Increased Profitability
As potential new customers repeatedly see your brand, widening your marketing efforts beyond the traditional channels can help develop confidence in your brand.
Consumers will see your consistent brand messaging across their preferred platforms— giving them a feeling of familiarity and making it easier to build a trusting, loyal relationship.
The benefits of increased consumer confidence and retention combined mean your company can naturally grow its revenue.
Inspire and Engage
At Pretty-Impressive, each client is unique. Which is why we create strategies tailored to the needs of each company. Reach out and we’ll help you get your brand exactly where it needs to be — ahead of the rest.
3 Disadvantages of Multi-Channel Marketing
With so many benefits of a multi-channel marketing system, you may be asking yourself “what are the disadvantages of multiple marketing channels?”
To give you a dynamic understanding of how you can make multi-channel marketing work in your favor, we’ve also included the top three pitfalls and how to proactively tailor your strategy to avoid them.
1. Limited Attribution
A downside to approaching customers across multiple channels is that it becomes increasingly difficult to determine which medium triggered a specific response from the customer.
Accurate marketing attribution becomes all the more important when organizations embark on a marketing strategy that targets a growing number of channels.
That’s where multi-channel attribution comes in.
Multi-channel attribution is a subset of marketing attribution which recognizes that customers are exposed to multiple touches and outreaches along the journey to a purchase.
While there are several multi-channel attribution models, they generally work in the same manner where the model provides data on how different channels impact conversions through the journey.
Credit for the purchase is divided across various touchpoints and different values may be assigned to different engagement points.
This holistic overview of your marketing campaigns helps you understand the shape of individual buyer journeys based on real customer data. Understanding how that contributes to conversions will enable you to focus your marketing spending and effort.
2. Increased Marketing Costs
As you may have guessed, more channels equal more resources required— both in terms of money and time.
You’ll need to assess whether a new channel fits within your budget and you may choose to abandon some channels because they require more resources than you’re prepared to allocate.
The answer here is to focus your efforts on only as many channels as you have resources to fund and track. Spreading yourself too thin can leave you biting off more than you can chew.
3. Requires More Data and Analytics
Multi-channel marketing works because it helps you calibrate your campaigns to better align with your business goals and the overall customer journey.
There’s no use in doing multi-channel marketing if you can’t track which channels are working and which ones aren’t.
But the resulting customer research required to make the appropriate adjustments can leave you swimming in a pool of data you don’t understand.
Moreso, multi-channel marketing analytics is notoriously complex and requires advanced tools and know-how.
Still, there are ways that less savvy companies can use multi-channel marketing best practices to fine-tune their campaigns.
One option is to first run a Facebook campaign promoting your business to an in-market audience. Then re-target your marketing to people who clicked on your display ads. At the same time, offer an email discount code to those who reached your landing page and signed up for your newsletter.
By making strategic use of your data and analytics, you can be sure your company is getting the most out of your multi-channel marketing.
Make the Most of Your Marketing With the Ideal Multi-Channel Distribution Model
Combining a multi-channel marketing and multi-channel distribution model can position your business for optimal results.
Establish these three objectives to maximize your multi-channel efforts
1. Go Digital
Instead of spending endless time and resources to expand physical locations, consider creating a user-friendly online channel or app. Making your product or service available online is a remarkable way to reach people who don’t have the …
- Time
- Transportation; or
- Proximity
… to reach your storefront.
2. Avoid cannibalization
Opening a digital channel may leave you susceptible to cannibalization. Try mixing and matching these tips based on your circumstances to combat distribution channel cannibalization:
- Utilize multi-channel attribution models to understand where your sales are coming from
- Eliminate coupon competition by offering the same discount, but different codes across all channels
- Reinforce exclusivity in your more valuable channels with better offers
- Employ single-use or account-based promo codes to uniquely identify users or engagement
3. Stay consistent
The user experience and messaging should always be consistent whether it’s a website or physical shop. Utilize apps and software solutions like Canva to re-purpose images and assets keeping your brand identity consistent across all distribution channels.
Inspire and Engage
At Pretty-Impressive, each client is unique. Which is why we create strategies tailored to the needs of each company. Reach out and we’ll help you get your brand exactly where it needs to be — ahead of the rest.
Is There a Better Alternative to Multi-Channel Marketing?
Depending on your specific goals and circumstances, you may need to engage in a different or combination of marketing strategies.
A multi-channel marketing strategy covers each relevant distribution channel to reach the relevant target groups.
Comparatively, an omnichannel marketing approach claims to be present on all existing channels interlinking the channels so that customers can use them in parallel and at will.
An adept team of marketing experts can help you identify the best strategy and create a unique campaign tailored to your company’s marketing needs.
Growth Marketing Produces Real Results — Call Pretty-Impressive for Help With Your Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy
With the significant increase in digital consumer behavior, a multi-channel marketing strategy is a vital aspect of a growth marketing campaign.
At Pretty-Impressive we saddle a nuanced approach to marketing that reins in your business channels to work in harmony.
Our data-driven insights mean that we can identify the channels appropriate for the relevant customer segments and design engaging creative content for each platform.
The result is highly orchestrated touch points and micro-campaigns that span multiple channels fluidly, in a way that the customer finds meaningful and trustworthy.
Pretty-Impressive is committed to long-term growth.
With a relentless focus on ROI, we help you:
- Find more customers
- Who buy more
- More often; and
- The data to make profitable decisions
For the multi-channel marketing strategy your business needs, schedule your free no-obligation session today.
