When it comes to marketing, the options you have are endless. Internet marketing lets you express your brand through a website and Social Media while promoting yourself through the complicated algorithms of search engine optimization (SEO) and Google Adwords. Omnichannel marketing helps connect all your different aspects of internet marketing and create a seamless experience for your customer.

What is Omnichannel Marketing?

First, let’s talk about internet marketing. The base of any internet marketing strategy is the website. That’s the hub of the customer’s journey, and where you would like them to spend the majority of their time. In order to get customers to your website, you use any number of different platforms including SEO, Adwords and Social Media. This idea is called multichannel marketing. You’re using multiple different channels to link back to your website.

Now, let’s imagine you’re running a Spring Special. To promote this, you’ll create direct mail campaigns, Google ads and social media posts about the special. These initial touch points will lead customers to your Spring Special landing page that provides all the detailed information about the special and includes a way customers can schedule an appointment. They’ll then come into your shop to complete their service. This is called crosschannel marketing. The customer is using multiple channels in order to complete their purchase.

Omnichannel marketing is all about understanding the customer’s experience and helping them throughout their purchase journey. It’s taking multichannel and crosschannel marketing techniques to the next level and letting the customer choose where and when they complete their purchase(s). For example, here’s how the customer’s journey can be developed.

• Crosschannel techniques are utilized to distribute a message.
• Instead of sending the customer back to your website to schedule service, schedulers are built into your social pages and integrated into your emails.
• Once the service is scheduled, the customer will receive confirmation and reminders via email and text message.
• During the service, the customer has the option to watch the service in live stream and/or receive text message or email updates with pictures.
• If additional service is needed, the customer will be able to approve services via text message or email.
• After the service is complete, customers can pay via the mobile website and a receipt is emailed to them.
• Also, customers are able to login to the website or app to view a record of their previous services.
• Reminders are sent to the customer for new promotions and when it’s time for their next service via text message and/or emails.

All three of these marketing techniques are important to be able to reach potential customers. You need to be on multiple marketing platforms. You need to have consistent messages across all your marketing platforms. More than anything, you need to be able to allow the customer to choose their journey and give them many opportunities to work with you.