Omnichannel Over Multichannel Marketing: Differences and Advantages

Omnichannel Over Multichannel Marketing: Differences and Advantages

As a business trying to further your brand through various marketing efforts, you have probably heard the terms omnichannel and multichannel come up before. Both these marketing methods involve using more than one channel to attract and engage consumers, so it may be hard to tell the difference between them. It is crucial to recognize that these two terms are very different, and there are reasons why businesses and marketers may choose one route over the other.

At Bennington Brookstone, we believe that omnichannel marketing is the best path to take to grow your business. Why, you ask?! To understand the difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing, keep reading for an in-depth overview.

Multichannel:

This marketing practice includes using more than one outlet to communicate with current and potential customers. Various outlets can include television, print ads, social media, emails, billboards, Google display ads, and more.

That sounds like a decent amount of marketing, right? While this type of marketing sounds perfectly fine, each channel is likely not integrated with the next. For example, the content and style of your social media ads might be completely different from what you are sending out in your promotional emails.

Your products and services are certainly at the center of this marketing plan, but the channels work separately to deliver your message. As a result, consumers will need to look at each outlet to search for the information they are looking to find.

Omnichannel:

Omnichannel marketing also includes multiple outlets for consumer interaction. In this case, however, all outlets are working together to create a unified experience for the customer. Simply put, in this instance, the consumer has a seamless experience with your business across all platforms. The marketing materials they see on your social media profiles, website, ads, and even in your physical store have a single message or concept. 

For example, if a consumer is browsing your site and adds a product to their shopping cart but does not complete the checkout process, they will get retargeted on Instagram with an ad for said product. 

Why Omnichannel:

Omnichannel involves using all available channels – both digital outlets and in-person at your store – and is all about the consumer. Multichannel means using more than one channel but focusing on your product or service rather than the customer.

The reason that omnichannel is more valuable is the concept of brand consistency. Consumers can trust your brand if they see the same messaging across the board, which turns them into loyal customers. If your business lacks consistent messaging, people will think you are unorganized and untrustworthy.

Keeping your marketing channels integrated and unified shows consumers that you care about your brand and maintaining your image! 

The digital landscape is jam-packed with brand competition, making standing out the biggest challenge. For this reason, we cannot stress the importance of omnichannel marketing enough! 

By putting your target audience at the center of everything you do, this type of marketing allows you to offer different kinds of content and incentives for consumers to engage with and convert through. We know it is a massive lift to create personalized messaging, invest in paid advertising, and produce content for social, email, web, etc. that is where our team comes in! 

At BBstone, we believe that putting your audience at the center of your marketing strategy increases your chances of success. Contact us here or Email us at sbellem@bbrookstone.com to get started. We can’t wait to help grow your business!