Omnichannel Marketing
1. Switching from one channel
to another should be seamless.
When a customer clicks on a Face-
book ad that promotes a 20% off
sale of back to school décor, the link
should direct them to the webpage
that displays the right products at
the sale price. Many ads will direct
the shopper to the homepage. It is
time-consuming and frustrating for
the shopper to try to find the sale
items. They will likely give up without
making a purchase.
2. Price consistently
across channels. Shoppers expect a
certain level of transparency, especially
in pricing. Loyalty requires trust and
when shoppers see different prices in
a catalog versus online, they lose faith
that they are getting a fair deal.
3. Encourage cross channel
shopping. If the information is
presented well, this can only help make
sales. Consider a shopper in a store
needing more information on a product
– maybe a different size they can’t
find on the rack, or the specs for an
electronic toy. Ideally, in-store signage
directs them to the merchant’s website
to find the information. Without direc-
tion, shoppers will search elsewhere
(ahem…Amazon.com) for the infor-
mation and end up purchasing there
instead. Offering channel choices helps
to keep shoppers from straying.
4. Offer flexible fulfillment
options. Services like drop ship or
buy-online-pickup-in-store ensure
items are where shoppers want them
when they need them, however, great
care must be taken to execute them
properly. If items are ordered in
the store for drop ship, the shopper
should be able to buy in-store and
drop ship items in a single transac-
tion. If picking up an online item in
store, pick up location signage should
be clear when they enter the store
and the pickup counter should be
staffed so customers aren’t wandering
the store not knowing where to go or
waiting while their items are located.
34 essentials | summer 2019
The final focus area includes two
operational practices that are critical
to an effective omnichannel strategy.
The first and probably most important
practice is inventory accuracy. A big
goal of an omnichannel strategy is to
allow shoppers to buy where they want
and when they want. That means the
item must be available. If it’s not, it is
better to not offer the item at all than
to allow a shopper to place an order
only to receive an email that the item
is out of stock and the order has been
cancelled. This is the fastest way to
cause frustration, get a negative review,
and lose respect.
The second operational practice
that heavily influences customer
experience is returns. Return policies
should be visible, simple, and flexible.
Ideally, returns should be accepted
anywhere regardless of the point of
purchase. While out of stocks are
frustrating, easy returns can create
lifelong customers. Customers love to
rave about how easy a return policy
is, giving others more confidence in
making a purchase.
To top off this omnichannel con-
versation, I want to point out common
omnichannel killers – those mistakes
that will doom an omnichannel strate-
gy before it even begins.
• Not believing that every touch-
point matters. They all matter! Like a
house of cards, one poor experience
can cause the whole strategy to fail.
Even if 90% of everything is done
right, shoppers are most likely to
remember the 10% that was wrong,
especially if it falls into one of cate-
gories described above (inconsistent
pricing, out of stocks, poor return
policy, etc.).
• Not bringing in the whole busi-
ness. Omnichannel isn’t just mar-
keting’s job. It takes buy in from the
entire organization to succeed. Product
development must provide the right
product data, sales and customer
service much be cross trained across
channels, finance must support omni-
channel budgets. Any missing link will
be noticed.
• Not data driven. It’s impossible
to do omnichannel without data.
It’s more of a science than an art in
that every tactic should be measured
to see if has a positive or negative
impact on the business. Decisions
should be based on research and
data, not hunches, opinions, and
beliefs.
For those that want to be the
merchant of choice for omnichannel
shoppers, focus on quality not quantity.
Think about how omnichannel applies
to your organization and rally your
team. Gain support and start small.
Analyze what you already know (sales
trends, product velocity, repeat pur-
chases, customer profiles). Choose a
couple of channels and create quality
experiences. Build shopper personas
and develop communication strategies
that will speak to those shoppers. Mea-
sure your results, tweak, and repeat.
Once those channels are performing
really well, only then should you add
channels, services, or complexity.
Overtime, you’ll find that most of your
customers are repeat customers…
which happen to be the least expensive
to acquire!
n
SHILPA MARANO worked for 12 years
in sales and marketing with Sterling
Commerce, before being tapped to serve
as CMO for
omnichannel
integration
software provider,
nChannel, where
she led strategy,
partnerships, and
marketing for five
years. In 2018,
Shilpa co-found-
ed Silver Kite, a
consultancy that
advises compa-
nies on omnichannel strategies including
technology selection, market expansion,
and capability development.