“Omni-channel marketing” refers to marketing to customers through all the different channels by which they might engage with your brand.  The concept has become more important in recent years, since customers now have many different ways to learn about a product: in addition to more traditional channels such as viewing an advertiser’s TV commercial or their website, today’s customers might be searching online for advice about what to buy, or checking on social media, or reading reviews about a product on their smart phones while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, or using an app to compare prices… and the list goes on.

In our research, we have found two major motivators for customers to use multiple channels: making the shopping process easier and finding the best price.  How do we best cater to those needs?  By making sure we’re there with relevant information and offers when the customer wants them.  For example, when they walk into your store.  While customers value their privacy, we have found they’re quite interested in receiving this kind of information if it will save them time or money and as long as they’ve given their permission.

My friend Scott Holmes, president of interactive agency United Future, calls it “At-the-Ready Marketing.”  In a recent article, he recommended a variety of tactics, including:

• Encouraging positive online reviews, and providing imagery and content that are easily shareable on social media
• Offering proximity-based digital coupons
• Rewarding loyalty with special perks that make shopping even easier

To learn how to most effectively market to your customers, give us a call at (818) 752-7210.

Sources: , Bureau West research; “Rethinking Retail,” Infosys, 1/14/14; “5 ‘At-the-Ready’ Mobile Retail Marketing Strategies – Getting Close and Personal,” iMediaConnection, 1/18/14