Is multi-channel marketing necessary for businesses? Most definitely! Modern marketing strives to engage potential buyers on multiple channels – but putting in place the marketing tech and strategy can seem like more of an art rather than a science. Here’s the backstory…
Firstly, buying behavior has changed. There many ways to reach a business’ target market and many ways for IT professionals and decision-makers to discover, learn, and purchase a service or solution. Looking at data from several sources, including Forrester, Google, HubSpot, and Gartner, we found how the buying process has changed:
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The image above shows the new purchasing format from buyers, starting with browsing and researching a company or their solutions, sharing and comparing information through peer assessments, deciding on a choice of companies and their services, engagement with the company to build trust, which leads to advocating for the company and their services.
This shows that IT buyers are far more knowledgeable and educated than ever before; in fact, 90% buying process is over before a decision-maker even speaks to a salesperson. Because of this, marketers need to be available where their prospective buyers are, reaching out to the different methods of visibility. This is the benefit of using multichannel marketing.
What is Multi-Channel Marketing and What is its Purpose?
Multi-channel marketing allows for brands to extend their reach and focus to business leaders in several ways, including the following:
- A website
- Phone
- Social Media
- Mobile app
This intensifies brand awareness, as the more channels a brand is using, the more they are able to reach both current and potential prospects. It also means more opportunities for decision-makers to view, discuss, and purchase products or services using their preferred channel (like email or social media).
Brand awareness is a must for businesses – nearly 84% state that it’s their #1 priority – and the more channels your business is one, the more your prospective customers will see you. Not only does multi-channel marketing help to bring your brand to more people, but it can increase conversion rates and revenue.
But multi-channel marketing isn’t just about creating a social page or mailing an email; with the right approach, businesses can easily plan a multi-channel marketing strategy by looking at companies and industries who are doing it great.
Below, we look at 3 industries who are using multi-channel marketing and how they are reaching decision-makers.
How Do Technology B2Bs Leverage Multi-Channel Success?
Tech B2Bs are leveraging multi-channel efforts in of fun and inventive ways. Tech professionals are often the first to try innovative ways to reach their target markets, leaving memorable impressions on those who see them.
HP, for instance, used online influencers to help them bring attention to their products. They created a series of videos with ESPN sportscaster Charissa Thompson as an intern at various companies where she was given tasks to complete, which she did using HP products.
In this case, HP’s target focus was small business owners. They were able to highlight everyday office products using a fun video series and a popular social trend (influencers) to help sell their products.
Dell is another technology company that is targeting their customer base with multi-channel marketing, something they begin to do in 2008. While their main focus is those who visit their official website, customer feedback told the company that customers wanted to see and test devices before purchase. This led Dell to pushing more of their products into local retail stores.
This actually pushes customers, especially decision-makers, towards their website, so they can customize their system to their specified specs. Dell also uses both email and direct mail marketing to showcase new products and special offers. Here, Dell engaged with their target market by listening to concerns about accessing their products, which lead to their new multi-channel marketing strategy.
How Does Travel Leverage Multi-Channel Success?
The travel industry, especially with air travel, are leveraging multi-channel marketing to make it easier for frequent flyers to not only interact with them, but also increase the ease of travel arrangements.
Most major airlines are bringing awareness to passengers by growing their social presences, but also providing easier ways for passengers, especially those traveling for business, to check-in for their flight, check flyer miles, an even board through their dedicated apps or with a mobile device.
Southwest Airlines, for example, began to connect Twitter profiles to members’ frequent flyer accounts to give more personalization. This follows users not just on their website, but their mobile app as well. They also send emails to members, showcasing new offers and promos.
For airports themselves, digital stations are provided outside most of the major airlines to give passengers the chance to check-in or even print out their boarding pass. This shows the different ways travel is using multi-channel: social media, mobile, email, and their physical presence within airports.
Travel has used these multi-channel marketing efforts to not just bring awareness to the airlines themselves, but it has engaged with travelers through these same means. Their customers are aware of their preferred airline’s brand and are then targeted by that brand’s message through their preferred means – email, direct mail, social, etc.
How Do Retailers Leverage Multi-Channel Success?
The retail industry, like technology and travel above, is delivering strategies that allow for B2B decision-makers to buy products from several different avenues: physical stores, online marketplaces, mail orders, telephone orders, etc. This allows retailers to extend their reach to decision-makers, while also satisfying specific business needs.
For many retailers, the subset of omni-channel marketing is the best way to keep consistency across all of their channels, both online and off. Omni-channel strategies focus on the customer experience for decision-makers, allowing seamless integration on desktops, mobile, online, and in stores, giving decision-makers the exact same results regardless of where they shop.
A great example of this is Best Buy, whose sales had been struggling in 2012, began to integrate their online and physical store presence. This allowed all of their customers to view products on their online site, select an option to pick up from their local store if available, or just see if a particular item was available locally. Sales improved and grew dramatically.
Is your business leveraging multi-channel marketing?
If not, our team of skilled experts can discuss and plan a detailed multi-channel strategy to help your business reach your target audience. We work with all types of B2B, tech, enterprises, and small businesses with a goal to work within your preferred budget. Contact one of our delightful experts today.
Resources
What is Multichannel Marketing: An A-Z Guide
Demystifying Channels and Multi-Channel Sales Strategies and How to Leverage Them to Make More Money
Here’s How Hewlett Packard is Using B2C Techniques to Build a Classic B2B Strategy
Dell Adopts Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy
How to structure an effective multichannel marketing plan
7 Examples of Brands with Excellent Omni-Channel Experiences
