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Omnichannel marketing has become a hit in recent years. The term omnichannel is associated with nothing but superlatives, and surveys show that this strategy really works. So what is omnichannel in eCommerce?
Sales channels in marketing
In marketing, a sales channel refers to a way of transmitting information about a product or service towards a potential customer in order to convey a business service.
Traditional sales channels include mail, telephone, text message, radio, television, or an advertising leaflet, or poster placed inside or outside a brick-and-mortar store. We can also include billboards, promotional stands or experiential (event) marketing.
However, electronic marketing today is built on the services of the internet and uses email, websites, native mobile apps, social networks, and chat apps as the main channels.
Developments in technology are advancing rapidly. While up to now electronic communication could only be mediated through personal computers and laptops, in the last decade, these devices have been joined by smartphones, tablets, smart watches, augmented reality and virtual reality devices.
In addition, today we are beginning to see new, modern types of sales channels surrounding us at every turn – electronic kiosks in brick-and-mortar stores, dashboards in cars, trains or planes, smart mirrors or smart glasses in our homes.
This includes devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT for short), such as a smart fridge that can connect to a grocery store or a thermostat screen connected to a website with weather information.
Omnichannel
The word omnichannel (from Latin omni - present everywhere, omnipresent) is a marketing term describing a specific business strategy based on the use of several types of sales and communication channels simultaneously. These channels are interconnected to form a unified and complex communication network, at the center of which is the customer.
Omnichannel marketing integrates sales and sales channels and thus unifies the company's communication strategy. Interaction with the customer in this way offers a compact and uninterrupted path from product discovery to delivery.
The great advantage of omnichannel marketing is the consistency of information. It doesn't matter whether the customer has opened the e-shop website on a smartphone, is browsing discounts in a brick-and-mortar store, or is reading about a recommended product in an email or text message – all information is consistent.
For example, if customers visit your Instagram page, they should see the same products, prices, and promotions displayed on it as they do on your e-store. Or if a customer contacts your customer support via live chat, the operator on the phone should already have all the necessary information that the customer has already submitted in the chat.
An omnichannel shopping experience encompasses all available channels and connects marketing communications and the sale itself. The customer has an overview of product details, bargains, discounts, availability of the product or service, payment methods and tutorials, all regardless of how they access that information.
Omnichannel experience with TheShop
Give your customers a true omnichannel experience with TheShop.