How To Structure An Effective Multichannel Marketing Plan?
Today’s lively and fast-paced internet-obsessed world has changed the way we spend our leisure time, shop for products, and interact with our friends and acquaintances. The social mechanism has undergone a paradigm shift with the advent of the Smartphone which offers unparalleled access to a wealth of information.
From the way goods and services are advertised to the consumption of marketing information, everything has transformed. The attention span of consumers has become shorter than ever and buying behaviour is now dependent on product recommendations, reviews and comparisons on the internet.
Gone are the days when consumers were available on just one platform and were easier to engage. Today, they are present on a variety of channels and are purchasing products online as well as through retail stores. Thus being omnipresent is the only way left for marketers to reach them. That is why digital marketing agencies are coming up with multichannel marketing plans to connect with consumers through various touch points.
It involves the utilisation of both online and offline platforms to engage with the target audience and achieve the sales target through maximum conversions. A multichannel marketing plan is typically long-term and can last for up to three years depending upon the needs and requirements of the marketer.
To structure an effective multichannel marketing plan, our SEO specialists at Netvision have come up with some important advice. Let us take a look at the elements that help build a winning marketing strategy for a plethora of channels.
Customer Focused Communication
New digital channels cropping up regularly and this has left the marketers confused about which platforms to target. Following a 360-degree approach is nothing new as integrated marketing has been utilising various media channels like TV, radio, billboards, newspapers, direct selling and magazines to send across the same message.
The digital age has added more vehicles to the list such as social media networks, emails, blogs and video marketing sites to name a few. The best ways to convert website traffic into leads involve identifying the right channels, message and marketing techniques which drive customer acquisitions. The target audience plays a significant role in determining individual channel plans that will be finally integrated to meet the goals.
The marketer needs to identify where the customers are spending their maximum time, which social media channels do they visit the most and what messages do they find interesting. A consistent message that focuses on customer engagement and retention through powerful experiences forms the essence of a marketing strategy that yields results.
Marketing Automation Software
With the burgeoning number of media channels, it has become impossible for marketers to keep track of the isolated platforms. Managing consistency across the channels with the sales strategy in place requires automation. The automation software available in the market allow the digital marketing experts to manage all the campaigns being broadcast through a variety of media such as email marketing, website, mobile apps, direct calling, social media posts, Facebook ads, Google ads and much more.
These systems are capable of analysing the consumer behaviour and generating reports. They are customised to suit the needs of the marketers and assist in tracking the progress of the promotions and automate repetitive tasks. They aid in retaining the consistency throughout the channels during all the critical phases of the customer lifecycle.
As the work gets divided and personalised attention is paid to each platform, the marketer gets ample time to focus on other challenges and functions. This is the phase where the marketer gets to interact with the consumers and identify prospective buyers. The objective of engagement is to generate leads through likes on social media pages, signing up for a newsletter, getting a product added to the cart and much more.
Objectives and Content Strategy
Every marketing plan needs the setting up of short-term and long-term objectives and a strategy to accomplish those goals. This involves understanding the current situation and analysing where does the brand/company stand now and where does it want to be and how to get there?
After deciding on the objectives, the marketer needs to focus on the content of the campaign which can influence sales. It should be helpful in positioning the brand in the market and creating a reputation which makes it stand out from the crowd. The advertiser can utilise a variety of sales pitches to attract the consumers such as coupon codes on social media, SEO enriched blogs to rank higher in SERP, pay-per-click online ads, website details on TV commercials and much more.
The marketer needs to create high-quality and engaging content which is expertly tailored to the needs of the consumers for targeted communications. A coordinated communication will increase the chances of conversion as many consumers stop responding to poorly targeted campaigns.
Analysing the Data
Another vital aspect of the strategy is interpreting the data to measure the success of the campaign and check whether you have achieved your business goals or not. It involves collating data from all the sources and examining it to check which messages were read by the viewers, which initiated action, and which generated leads.
It also helps in the creation of the customer relationship management database which has the information about the profiles of the users so that future messaging can be customised for them. The details from the tracking reports will suggest the patterns of consumer behaviour as a collective base of clients.
This wealth of information is beneficial in making the digital marketing teams work on luring the interested buyers and making them come back again for repeat purchases. It usually depends on leveraging loyalty programs and retargeting campaigns. Ample of tools are available online to track the efficiency of the campaigns such as TUNE, Mixpanel, Salesforce, Google Analytics and more. These give an insight into the return on investment for each channel.
Endnote
A successful multichannel marketing plan is a combination of the automation software, data analysis and personalised messages that influence the target audience through various touch points. Also, the inherent creative ability and industry knowledge of the marketing expert plays a vital role in strengthening the strategy.
