Omnichannel vs multichannel: which marketing strategy works best? What is an omnichannel approach? What’s the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?
With 40% of US consumers beginning their purchase on a retail website and finalising it in-store, omnichannel communication is adopted by an increasing number of brands. Nowadays, customers want to be able to interact with brands and buy a product or a service 24/7, through various devices.
About 6 out of 10 Americans expect personalised offers when they receive some by email, push notification, SMS or by mail. Is this possible with an omnichannel strategy? With multichannel marketing?
Today, learn what is omnichannel, with simple words. This article is perfect for beginners: after reading it, you’ll be able to differentiate omnichannel from multichannel. With this introduction to omnichannel marketing, you will learn how to create an omnichannel strategy and how to increase ROI, for your clients or for your brand.
Ready to learn the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?
Omnichannel vs multichannel
Omnichannel marketing definition
Omnichannel marketing, or simply omnichannel, can be defined as a customer-centric approach where all marketing channels are integrated and linked together. This way, customers enjoy a consistent and unified experience across all channels wherever they are: in-store, on their laptop at home, on the street, on their mobile phone.
All digital marketing channels are connected: social media, in-app, email marketing, website, SMS, e-commerce platforms (such as Amazon), display advertising, chatbots, etc. Customer data is collected, analysed then updated in real time across all channels.
Omnichannel marketing includes multiple devices, multiple channels and multiple platforms while keeping a cohesive brand identity. Creatives, customer service and user experience must be cohesive across all devices. Omnichannel takes into account past interactions (if any) and the current stage of the sales funnel for each customer. With omnichannel marketing, consumers receive tailored messages based on their interests, loyalty, purchases or actions.
As you can imagine, omnichannel marketing plays a huge role in retargeting strategies. It allows brands to reengage with their past and current customers in a seamless way.
For example, imagine a customer named Jess, seating on a bench during her lunch break. Jess adds a pair of jeans to her cart from a brand’s app, but does not purchase it because she forgot her credit card at home. The information that Jess added an item to her cart but did not purchase it is automatically shared across all the channels. Jess will be able to finalise her purchase at home from the brand’s website, even though she started her buying journey from the app. And if she forgets, she would receive a push notification or an email reminding her.
“omnichannel customers shop 1.7 times more than single-channel shoppers”
Source: McKinsey
With a good omnichannel strategy, consumers won’t realise they are (re)targeted by the same brand through different media. They are mostly happy that they can reach a brand more easily, through various channels.
For example, on Instagram, customers can contact a brand through DM and not have to call a specific service to receive an answer to their questions. The percentage of social media users who send a DM for customer service keeps increasing each year: it represents 15% in 2022 vs 19% in 2023.
Omnichannel marketing brings a consistent experience to consumers: ads, customer service, pricing, brand identity… Wherever people are in contact with a brand, they will have the same seamless omnichannel experience. Omnichannel marketing campaigns improve brand engagement and brand recall, increase conversion rates and reinforce customers’ loyalty to the brand. Omnichannel marketing is a great investment when done properly: by yourself after joining a Programmatic training or with the help of a media trading expert like Ted Jordan.
This omnichannel marketing approach follows customers across their buying journey, when they move down the sales funnel. Thanks to tracking options, such as contextual tracking, device ID or audience targeting through Programmatic, a brand can target or retarget any customers and encourage them to take a specific action (click, download, purchase…).
An example of omnichannel advertising could be sending a push notification to a customer’s mobile phone while the person is in-store. If a brand sends an offer to a customer who is visiting one of their stores, it increases the chance of purchase and sales value.
Multichannel marketing definition
While omnichannel marketing focuses on the customer journey and delivers a seamless, unified and consistent experience through multiple channels, multichannel marketing focuses on reach.
The goal of a multichannel strategy is to reach as many people as possible through at least two marketing channels. But these channels are not necessarily connected and don’t transmit customers’ information into the other channel(s). In a multichannel approach, marketing channels compete against each other instead of working together: this leads to an inconsistent customer experience.
All omnichannel experiences are multichannel, but not all multichannel experiences are omnichannel.
Multichannel is often used by small brands because they don’t have the experience nor the budget to run omnichannel campaigns. To help small brands or digital agencies run omnichannel campaigns without wasting financial investments, Ted Jordan created a Programmatic Training Course. And, if needed, Ted helps marketers run their first Programmatic campaign upon completion of the course.
Still unsure about the difference between omnichannel and multichannel? Check some multichannel vs omnichannel experience examples below.
Omnichannel vs multichannel examples
Omnichannel vs multichannel experience examples
A book store sends a newsletter to its customers each month, announcing the new arrivals and offering them a free stamp on their loyalty card next time they buy one of the mentioned books.
A book store sends a newsletter to its customers each month, announcing the new arrivals within the same book genre each customer loves. Previous purchases are taken into account: non-fiction book lovers receive a list of the new non-fiction books… If these customers buy a book that is mentioned in the newsletter, they get a free stamp on their loyalty card. When visiting the book store, they receive a reminder on the book store app, where they can access their loyalty card.
The first example describes a multichannel experience. The second scenario is customer-centric, provides a personalised experience and tailored messages for each customer: it’s an example of an omnichannel strategy.
Example of omnichannel customer experience – Topshop
A few years ago, during the London Fashion Week (LFW), Topshop (ASOS) collaborated with X (formerly known as Twitter) and DOOH publishers to bring the catwalk to public spaces.
With DOOH screens displaying trends from LFW live events near Topshop stores, it encouraged people to use specific hashtags (#LIVETRENDS, #leather or #colourblocking, for example) to receive a link with Topshop items that follow these trends.
If someone attended the LFW or watched the catwalk at home and liked a red jacket they saw during the show, they would tweet Topshop mentioning the red jacket and add #redjacket for Topshop to send them a similar product, available in their stores. Topshop would also display similar items on the DOOH screens located less than 10 minutes from their nearest store.
With this omnichannel campaign, Topshop saw a sales uplift of 75%.
Omnichannel vs multichannel marketing example – Chipotle
Chipotle, the famous Mexican food chain, offers a seamless omnichannel customer experience thanks to its app.
In the US, for example, Chipotle customers can place an order through the mobile app and have it ready for collection when they arrive at the restaurant. This way, they don’t wait for their food and enjoy a nice experience, from the moment they place their order to the time they pick it up in-store. They even receive a notification to easily find their order on the pickup shelf.
Omnichannel communication example
TJ lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is at home and visits a jewellery website, where he’s a regular customer, searching for a new watch. He finally finds one he likes a lot, a blue watch with a leather band: he adds the watch to his cart but does not purchase it, and leaves the website. He wants to take the day to think about it.
TJ is a loyal customer to this brand; he even downloaded their app a few months ago…
Five hours after adding the watch to his cart but not buying it, he receives a push notification on his phone: a personalised reminder about the watch, waiting for him to be purchased. TJ ignores the notification because he needs more time to think about it.
The next day, when checking his emails on his laptop, TJ notices an email from the jewellery store: he can get 5% OFF his next purchase (online or in-store) if done before the end of the day. TJ will go to the jewellery store after work to buy the watch and avail of the discount.
This retargeting strategy is available when using omnichannel advertising: most of TJ’s data has been collected as first-party data and is shared between all marketing channels. This would not be possible with multichannel marketing because the data would need to be integrated manually by the advertiser.
The omnichannel approach
To recap: omnichannel marketing creates a seamless, unified customer experience by delivering personalised marketing messages across multiple channels, while updating customers’ data in real time. This produces a cohesive brand identity, a better user experience and, most importantly for brands, an increase in revenue.
Omnichannel advertising campaigns create more sales touchpoints while using better attribution data across all platforms. For a better user experience and targeting purposes, first-party data is collected and used. The targeted audiences are often shared across channels through Programmatic platforms, such as Demand-Side Platforms and Supply-Side Platforms.
Now that you know the definition of omnichannel marketing, that you have discovered examples of omnichannel vs multichannel experiences and understand why omnichannel marketing plays a crucial role in advertising these days, it’s time to create your strategy. But how to create an omnichannel strategy?
How to create an omnichannel strategy
To create an efficient omnichannel strategy, you first need to know how Programmatic ad formats work: which ones worked for your audience in the past? Which ones could interest your loyal or new customers?
Omnichannel personalisation is important; more than 50% of customers expect personalised communication. It tailors each experience, for each customer, across all channels. Unique and personalised communication is highly appreciated and increases sales and customer loyalty. But this can have a high cost or a low ROI if not done properly: it’s important that you ask experts, like Ted Jordan, for help. You can also join a Programmatic Advertising online training.
Then, you have to understand how your customers communicate with your brand, how long they take to make a purchase and how, where they live, what types of activities they like, etc. It’s important that you understand the customer’s journey to create a map from the data; if needed, split your audience into several groups and adapt your strategy for each group. Take into consideration cross-device interactions. A customer could scroll on their phone, add items to their cart but finalise their purchase from your website on a laptop.
Test your strategy internally before launching any omnichannel campaigns.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes, interact with the support team through different channels, use the chat bot if there is one… If the experience is not unified or seems confusing, create guidelines for your brand: this way, messages will be consistent across the marketing channels, and customers will appreciate it.
Be consistent in terms of look, tone, voice, phrasing, brand colours… and create personalised messages based on behavioural triggers (an abandoned cart, for example), past actions or geographical location (near a store).
To run a successful omnichannel marketing campaign, make sure to create a customer journey map for each audience group.
Know your audience
Knowing your audience is key to running efficient omnichannel marketing campaigns. Discover where they live or travel, know their buying habits (frequency, average transaction values, time of the day/night they are more active), find which device they favour when purchasing a product or a service, etc.
After gathering all the data you need about your audience, analyse it then split your customers into smaller groups. For example, a group of “customers buying in-store after seeing a DOOH ad”, another one of “customers making purchases via mobile phone (app or website)”, etc.
This will be handy and useful to reach the right audience for your brand, using Programmatic audience targeting features, for example.
If you notice that some ad formats work better than others, add more budget to these formats to increase your conversion rate and ROI. Keep in mind that your omnichannel strategy must be convenient, consistent and relevant for the customers.
If you need help to create customer journey maps for your next omnichannel marketing campaign, contact us; we’re here to help.
Learn, test, succeed
Now that you know how to create an omnichannel strategy, that you have learned everything to know about Programmatic ad formats and how to use Programmatic platforms (if not, do it now), that all your audiences are identified, it’s time to launch your omnichannel marketing campaign.
To do so, use the right tools and platforms: the right SSPs or DSPs for your brand and for your budget. Ask for help if needed: a bad decision could cost you a lot of time and money.
Make sure to track all important metrics: actions, clicks, form fills, video views, shares, comments, visits, searches, conversions, etc. Collect data in real time, analyse it then optimise your campaign. Calculate the ROI for each marketing channel you use in your omnichannel approach and adapt your strategy accordingly.
Test different ad formats to find the ones that work best for each audience. But remember: to run a successful omnichannel campaign, make sure your brand is consistent through all channels.
For example, if your customer service team replies within 24 hours on Instagram, make sure that customers reaching through tickets, mails or LinkedIn will get the same response time. Otherwise customers will notice and it will impact your brand image negatively.
Omnichannel vs multichannel FAQs
What’s the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?
The main difference between omnichannel marketing vs multichannel marketing is the end goal: omnichannel advertising focuses on a unified and seamless customer experience, while multichannel marketing focuses on reach.
With multichannel marketing, channels compete against each other. With an omnichannel strategy, marketing channels share data in real time and work together for a better customer experience.
How to improve omnichannel customer experiences?
Improve omnichannel customer experiences by tracking first-party data and main KPIs across all channels. Then analyse this data to optimise ad formats, channels, targeting options, etc.
Adaptability is important in advertising.
How to get better at Programmatic strategies?
Knowing the basics of Programmatic is key to get better with your campaign strategies: ad formats, KPIs, targeting, cookies, analytics tools, inventory, bidding, etc.
Once you know all the basics, you’ll be able to practise with live campaigns and learn from them. Being mentored by a Programmatic expert will grow your competency.
