Contact and communication between consumers and brands have evolved considerably over the past 20 years.
While in-store purchasing is not dead, the multiplicity of communication channels available to buyers increasingly encourages them to mix media before making their decision, and to do this whenever they want.
Telephone, website, social media, marketplaces, and apps are all tools that encourage 360° contact and allow consumers to juggle between physical points of sale and online interactions.
During their purchasing journey, customers will experience numerous physical and digital interactions with your brand.
This will occur an average of 10 times for each purchasing decision, according to the latest studies on the subject.
An omnichannel strategy will nurture the customer relationship by connecting all the various media while placing the buyer at the heart of your strategic objectives.
The stakes are high, from boosting sales to building loyalty and improving the customer experience.
How do you define and prepare an effective omnichannel strategy?
What is an omnichannel strategy?
An omnichannel strategy includes all sales channels and business contacts linked to your company.
It consists in detecting your customers’ habits through their interactions with your company, placing your customers at the heart of your strategy to better meet their expectations.
For today’s consumers, it’s not all about going shopping in stores.
With the advent of the Internet, the buying process has become more complex, and reflexes have changed.
Today’s shoppers can get in touch with their favourite brand in a variety of ways:
- a physical point of sale
- an e-mail
- an e-commerce site or marketplace
- a social network
- a mobile application
- an interactive terminal
As seasoned Internet users, eager to find the product or solution best suited to their needs, customers now search online well in advance of making their purchase, by making multiple queries and consulting competitors and customer reviews.
What’s more, they can decide to make a purchase using their cell phone and have it delivered to a pickup point… just like going to a store!
If awareness of multi-channel and then cross-channel customer relations was the first step, the omnichannel era marks a logical evolution.
Not only are these channels complementary, they are now inseparable and must be linked together and made coherent to create a seamless user experience.
To build the omnichannel strategy best suited to your brand, create a seamless shopper journey and foster a unique shopper experience, you need to put your shoppers at the heart of your strategy.
Four tips for building your omnichannel strategy
To build an effective omnichannel strategy, it is essential to know your shoppers.
You can use online surveys, a qualified database, or social networks to gather as much data as possible on their buying habits and behaviour, their desires, and their disappointments.
Then, it’s a matter of building the optimal customer journey.
What path and actions does your shopper take, between the moment they become aware of their need and the purchasing act?
This point is decisive.
In the phygital era, it’s all about mixing in-store and out-of-store touchpoints at the right time and with the right messages to encourage the act of purchase and conversion.
Here are our four tips.
1- Raise your shoppers’ awareness
The getting-in-touch stage with your brand is the starting point.
At this stage, your shoppers may compare your offers both in-store and online.
In fact, 80% of in-store shoppers check prices on a website before buying in-store.
With the rise of m-commerce, you can take advantage of micro-moments to capture your shoppers’ attention, for example with targeted digital advertising when they look at their mobiles.
This can be an opportunity to publicise a promotion or a new product by capturing shoppers’ attention before they go into the store.
2- Suggest customised solutions
When your shoppers are interested in your brand and want to try out your products, you can take advantage of the opportunity to offer them solutions aimed exclusively at them, whether online or in-store.
According to a Harris 2020 study, 70% of French people use promotions to choose their products.
By contrast, 8 out of 10 purchases are decided in-store.
Showcasing a promotion in a coherent way by combining point-of-sale advertising or a video screen at the point of sale with a prior, targeted digital campaign reinforces the personalisation effect and the individual experience.
3- Encourage purchases
Your shopper is now ready to make a decision.
At this stage, it’s important to support them so that they buy your products.
In-store advertising provides 40% of the incentive to make a purchase.
Making your brand and your products stand out on the shelf with a high-impact medium in the last few meters of the purchase will engage your targets and encourage them to choose you.
Targeted retargeting is also a technique that can pay dividends in converting your shoppers.
4- Be consistent
A coherent omnichannel strategy is essential to building a strong brand.
It’s all about making your marketing as consistent as possible across all the channels you use, in terms of tone, image and message.
