Omnichannel marketing is not the same as multi- or cross-channel marketing. When email marketing merges with mobile dialogue marketing channels such as SMS, push notification and/or messenger, then we are talking about mobile omnichannel in digital dialogue marketing. Here, a single customer view and real-time-capable processes make up omnichannel marketing. Find out why email belongs in the mobile omnichannel marketing mix and what part the other channels take in it.
What does omnichannel mean in marketing?
Omnichannel means that different channels are used in an integrated way to communicate with customers in marketing. These channels are integrated with each other in such a way that a seamless customer experience results, without breaks between the channels. This is how omnichannel differs from multichannel and cross channel. With multichannel, different channels exist but are used independently of each other. With crosschannel, there are simple integrations, but no seamless customer experience.
Omnichannel in digital dialogue marketing means the fusion of email marketing with mobile dialogue channels in particular to create a common customer experience. These mobile channels include SMS, mobile messenger and push notifications.
Single Customer View
Customers do not differentiate between channels, but expect a consistent customer experience, whether they are on a website, receive an email newsletter or chat with support via mobile messenger. Consistency doesn’t just mean communicating a consistent message across every channel. It means seamlessly picking up where you left off at the last touchpoint in every communication. It means maintaining a continuous dialogue along the entire customer journey, regardless of the channels. This requires a single customer view, i.e. a central data view that can be accessed at every touchpoint in every channel.
Realtime capable process
When creating a single customer view, data from different sources are brought together in one system and made available from there for use in communication in the different channels. In mobile omnichannel, this means for example for SMS, mobile messenger and push notification communication. The digital customer journey is very fragmented and dynamic. Customers sometimes interact with companies in a very short time at different touchpoints in different channels. In order to guarantee a consistent customer experience despite this speed, real time capable processes are necessary. If a date (e.g. a purchase or a click) is recorded at a touchpoint, this must immediately lead to an update of the Single Customer View and, if necessary, to the triggering of a (mobile) marketing measure. For this, the technologies used must be able to process data in seconds. The times of nightly bulk synchronisations are over.
Mobile channels and email marketing
- Email in the omnichannel mix: The email channel is the centre of the omnichannel mix in digital dialogue marketing. Email marketing combines customisability, measurability, real time capability up to live content updates, effectiveness and cost efficiency. The average return on investment in email marketing is €42 (DMA), more than any other channel. Email marketing is also an effective tool for reaching mobile customers. Mobile email clients are among the most used apps on smartphones. However, you should complement email with other channels that are used by customers on the move (or in some cases are no longer used). On average, smartphone users look at their mobile phone 88 times every day (Mental Balance).
If you want to take advantage of this attention, you have to be present on all mobile channels. - SMS in the omnichannel mix: SMS are the hidden champion in the omnichannel mix. In private communication, they have largely been replaced by mobile messengers. In marketing communication, however, SMS are very effective. One of the reasons they enjoy so much attention is that they have become so rare and therefore stand out from other mobile communication. SMS in marketing have open rates of up to 98 percent and are usually read within three minutes of receipt. This makes text messages particularly suitable for time critical messages that require unconditional attention.
- Mobile messenger in omnichannel mix: Mobile messengers are the preferred private communication channel for many people. In German speaking countries, WhatsApp is the most widely used messenger. For a long time, WhatsApp could not be legally used for marketing purposes. This has changed with the introduction of WhatsApp Business. WhatsApp is often used as a chat in the service, but more and more also for marketing messages such as activation or newsletters. Click rates of 45-60 percent are possible (AISensy).
- Push notifications in the omnichannel mix: Push notifications are a much used channel to motivate customers to use an app regularly. They are usually used to alert customers to news in the app. These can be, for example, daily reports from fitness tracking apps, reminders from learning apps, acute messages from news apps, but also commercial product and service offers.
Whitepaper: Mobile omnichannel in digital dialogue marketing
In our Whitepaper: Mobile omnichannel in digital dialogue marketing, we show you how you can expand and optimise your digital dialogue marketing with mobile channels using 10 exciting use cases.
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