{"id":179944,"date":"2025-06-23T11:52:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T09:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spotler.com\/guides\/omnichannel-marketing-strategy-how-to"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:05:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:05:19","slug":"omnichannel-marketing-strategy-how-to","status":"publish","type":"guides","link":"https:\/\/spotler.com\/en-gb\/guides\/omnichannel-marketing-strategy-how-to","title":{"rendered":"How to build an omnichannel marketing strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How to build an omnichannel marketing strategy<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For any customer, the most desirable scenario is that they do business with an organisation that delivers the same look and feel, the same prices, and the same terms and conditions on all channels. Offline and online give the exact same brand experience, and customers can always view their data in real time on a laptop, desktop, mobile, tablet, in-store, and in your app.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Suppose all the channels on which your customers and prospects can find you are completely integrated, and all the data comes from one central database. In that case, you have an omnichannel marketing strategy. If you’re wondering whether developing such a strategy is useful, consider the findings from a study by Coresight Research and Salesforce.<\/a><\/p>\n

Improve your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)<\/h2>\n

Customers are front and centre once an omnichannel marketing strategy is established within your organisation. They recognise that you offer the same consistent presence everywhere. Whether they reach you through a Facebook post or approach you directly through your site, customers immediately understand that they are doing business with you. Chances are, this will help you retain customers for the long haul.<\/p>\n

An omnichannel marketing strategy improves CLV<\/a>, <\/span><\/span>which is why 53% of European retailers implement one.<\/p>\n

Reaching new customer segments<\/h3>\n

An omnichannel marketing strategy exists when multiple channels are integrated. This also means that you have to pay attention to various channels. You may reach new customer segments. For 48% of European retailers<\/a>, this is an important reason to develop an omnichannel marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

Improve operational effectiveness<\/h3>\n

With an omnichannel marketing strategy, you work from one central database. You’re past the point of storing data in different systems. Often, organisations work with a Customer Data Platform to secure all data in one place. Working from one system is much more effective than when different departments work with customer data from different systems.<\/p>\n

Improve your inventory management<\/h4>\n

Managing data from one system is less error-prone and gives a better overview of all available data. For example, this is important for your marketing, sales, and inventory management. An omnichannel marketing strategy gives you more control over this. You immediately see from which channels your conversion takes place and what that means for your inventory.<\/p>\n

Now we’ve set out why an omnichannel marketing strategy is important, how do you go about setting up such a strategy? What should you pay attention to, and how do you go about it?<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n <\/i> 1st touchpoint<\/strong>
Physical store\n <\/td>\n		Christine walks through Manchester\u2019s Trafford Centre, and sees a beautiful dress hanging in the window of a clothes shop.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 2nd touchpoint<\/strong>
Online store\n <\/td>\n		She didn\u2019t have time to try on the dress, but she searches for it in the store\u2019s online shop at home. She has doubts the dress will fit.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 3rd touchpoint<\/strong>
Chatbot\n <\/td>\n		The online shop\u2019s chatbot reassures her that she can return the dress at the Trafford Centre branch if it doesn\u2019t fit.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 4th touchpoint<\/strong>
Transaction\n <\/td>\n		Christine purchases the dress online and receives a confirmation email.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 5th touchpoint<\/strong>
Delivery\n <\/td>\n		The dress is delivered two days later by Royal Mail. It fits perfectly and Christine is happy with it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 6th touchpoint<\/strong>
Social media\n <\/td>\n		Christine shares an Instagram story about the dress and tags the store. Her friends take notice.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 7th touchpoint<\/strong>
Social media\n <\/td>\n		The retailer notices the tag and responds with a thank-you message on Instagram.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n <\/i> 8th touchpoint<\/strong>
Email\n <\/td>\n		Five days later, Christine receives a follow-up email with suggestions for related items.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Omnichannel marketing from the customer’s point of view<\/h2>\n

The term “omnichannel” is quite jargon-y. Yet, from a customer’s perspective, we clearly understand what omnichannel means. We don’t think the example of Christine and her first eight touchpoints with a retailer is crazy. It shows how we, as modern consumers, interact with companies.<\/p>\n

However, an omnichannel marketing strategy is also increasingly expected in business relationships. A McKinsey survey found that 90% of B2B customers expect an omnichannel approach similar to what we, as modern consumers in B2C, are used to. In short, you have high customer expectations to live up to.<\/p>\n

Your customer expects you to be present anywhere, anytime<\/h3>\n

It seems like an obvious statement: be present where your customers are. That doesn’t just apply to Christine (B2C) starting a chat at home on the couch, but it certainly applies in B2B<\/a> as well. Take a look at the extensive contact capabilities of wholesaler Isero:<\/p>\n

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\"Overview<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Your customer expects accurate and prompt service<\/h3>\n

Again, this seems obvious, yet this is where things sometimes go wrong. Make sure you respond promptly to customer questions or comments. How quickly “promptly” is depends on the channel. For example, it is acceptable if the response time of an email is a few business days, but for live chat, it
is important to respond as quickly as possible. Even better, communicate how long the expected response time is.<\/p>\n

Every client expects that you clearly state how you will dispatch goods and when they will be delivered. We live in an era of 24-hour delivery, Click-and-Collect, and even same-day delivery.<\/p>\n

Your customer expects a consistent experience<\/h3>\n

As consumers, we expect a lot. A consistent experience is more than using the same colours and logos everywhere. It also ensures that customer interactions don’t lead to different answers and solutions or end up elsewhere. Therefore, organisations often work with communities on their customer forums or public forums like Reddit. And you also need to set up chatbots so that frequently asked questions get the same answers every time.<\/p>\n

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The Vodafone community on Reddit<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Excel in customer contact<\/h2>\n

How do you ensure that you have a presence anywhere, anytime, that delivers accurate and responsive service and that customers have one consistent experience with your brand and organisation? How can you meet your customers’ expectations, and what is involved in implementing an
omnichannel marketing strategy? <\/p>\n

Work from one central database<\/h3>\n

Suppose Christine finds out at home that the dress she ordered doesn’t fit after all. Fortunately, she has received reassurance through the chatbot that she can exchange the dress in the physical store at the Trafford Centre. She walks in, but the store staff has no idea how to deal with online purchases. First, they have to find out if this exchange option really exists. Christine has to explain that a chatbot has informed her, and then a receipt is missing. Not much of a true omnichannel experience now!<\/p>\n

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Example of the refund process used by clothing and homeware retailer Zara<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

As you can see, it can be quite an involved process, depending on your chosen method. In Christine’s example, the chatbot should have directed her to the page where all the important return information is listed. This is how you should set up your own virtual assistant.<\/p>\n

Store personnel should know what the website instructs customers to do. Furthermore, it would be handy for store personnel if the checkout system showed the online order information. <\/p>\n

Does marketing know who brought back which products in the store?<\/h3>\n

It would be a bad look for the marketing department<\/a> if they emailed Christine after five days saying, “How are you enjoying your new dress?” That message will no longer be needed once Christine returns the dress. If Christine receives such a marketing email two days after returning the dress, you’ve hit the moment when the desired omnichannel experience is no longer realised. As a final indignity, Christine makes an Instagram story that ridicules the whole experience.<\/p>\n

Data must be available in one central location for an actual omnichannel experience. Otherwise, it gets tricky. For that reason, organisations like to work with a Customer Data Platform.<\/p>\n

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What is a Customer Data Platform?<\/h3>\n
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Want to know everything you need to know about CDPs? We’ve written a guide<\/a> covering the following topics:<\/p>\n

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