Marketing with LinkedIn: An Effective Tactic to Enhance Business

Article | July 26, 2021

Companies with robust omnichannel customer engagement see a 9.5% year-over-year increase in annual revenue and see a 7.5% year-over-year decrease in cost per contact. Consumers are extremely comfortable and contented with omnichannel shopping. More than 89% of customers are engaged with omnichannel and the number has been increasing gradually. As a result, omnichannel marketing has become one of the vital components of advertising. Maintaining quality at reasonable prices is no longer the only aspect of a customer’s purchasing decision. Brands need to be present on all the platforms where there is a target audience.To put the consumer on priority in your strategy, you must foster optimistic, persistent, and unified experiences at every touch point along the customer’s journey. Let’s examine every aspect of omnichannel marketing to understand its significance in your business and utilize it to create an exceptional experience for your consumer and maximize your ROI. What is Omnichannel Marketing? Omnichannel marketing is a holistic approach towards the target audience by creating a brand’s presence across multiple online and offline channels. One of the most important aspects of omnichannel is that each channel is interconnected to deliver a seamless experience and connected purchase journey. Its objective is to produce superior, first-class connections that drive your customers to take action. It’s about meeting your clientele, no matter where they are or where they go, with a consistent brand identity, message, and all-around experience. A survey conducted by Harvard Business took 14 months to analyze consumers’ shopping behavior wherein they interviewed approximately 46,000 purchasers. They found 7% of the customers were only online shoppers and 20% of them were store-only shoppers. 73% of them used multiple channels throughout their shopping journey. The survey found that the more channels the consumers utilize, the more valuable they proved to the retailers. For instance, the study revealed that the consumers who use more than four channels spent 9% more in the store than those who used a single channel. Due to this, the retailers had to reconsider their customer journeys and discover new ways to acquire, engage, and retain customers through positive experiences across multiple touch points. With new marketing channels emerging, omnichannel has become the need of the hour for marketers and shift their focus from traditional marketing to omnichannel marketing strategies. Omnichannel vs. Multichannel and Cross-channel- Differences Marketers utilize these marketing channels interchangeably. After all, they seem to mean the same thing - using multiple channels to acquire, engage and retain your customers. But, there is a slight difference among all of them. So, let’s understand the differences. Omnichannel Omnichannel marketing is a tactical approach to create your brand’s presence across various online and offline channels. These communication channels are connected, consistent, and interactive, which makes the customer journey easier on all devices. In omnichannel marketing, the messages are consumer-centric that are created to convey personalized and one-on-one communication. And this unique quality attracts the customers to buy products or services. Omnichannel marketing has superseded multichannel and cross-channel in the last few years. Multichannel Multichannel marketing is an amalgamation of multichannel online and offline to get in touch with customers and put products and services at the right place and at the right time. However, these channels aren’t connected — they function in isolation and there is no exchange between them. The goal of multichannel marketing is to grow the reach and connect with the audience wherever possible. It is company-centric which delivers different messages on different channels. Cross-channel Cross-channel marketing refers to customer-focused digital marketing techniques used by marketers globally to provide their customers with a consistent experience when interacting with their brand across multiple digital channels. Cross-channel marketing is sometimes customer-centric or company-centric depending on the requirements. Omnichannel Statistics Marketers using three or more channels in any one campaign earned a 287% higher purchase rate than those using a single-channel campaign. Customer retention rates are 90% higher for omnichannel vs. single channel. 98% of Americans switch between devices on the same day. Omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using only one channel. Omnichannel strategies drive an 80% higher rate of incremental store visits. Businesses that adopt omnichannel strategies see 91% higher year-over-year customer retention rates compared to businesses that don’t. Some 73% of consumers shop on more than one channel. Almost 90% of retail leaders agree that a seamless omnichannel strategy is critical to business success. 70% of internet users buy clothing and footwear online, making clothing and footwear the most purchased item online. By 2023, the global omnichannel retail commerce market is projected to grow to US$11.01 billion. Companies with strong omnichannel customer engagement will see a 9.5% rise in annual revenue. 60% of millennials expect brands to provide consistent experiences across multiple channels. Creating a cohesive customer journey across different channels is important to 86% of senior-level marketers. Omnichannel campaigns produce a 250% higher rate of purchase frequency than do single-channel campaigns. 80% of consumers say they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences. Challenges While Implementing Omnichannel Marketing Strategy Lack of Effective Content Strategy Content is the valuable, essential, and utmost important factor for omnichannel. A well-analyzed and creative content strategy can ensure your campaign success. Your target audience uses various channels such as social media, mobile apps, websites, etc., to interact with your brand. Therefore, you have to be extra careful while delivering messages. The quality content consists of top-notch quality, relevant information, sophisticated language, and avoid an embarrassing mistake in grammar. Improper Utilization of User Data When users interact with a brand, they leave data such as contact numbers, email ids, addresses, etc. However, brands don’t store or utilize it properly. According to Neustar, 60% of this data is outdated within two years. 37% of the people in the US alone change their contact details within a year, making your data obsolete. Brands need to contain the information in a unified system that they received from users to be utilized by the sales and marketing teams to deliver relevant offers to users. Unproductive Strategy A survey conducted by Yes Lifecycle Marketing says that two-thirds of marketing administrative at large companies found it challenging to coordinate campaigns across various channels. The study blames silos and organizational structure as one of the primary reasons for failure in implementation. If you want to make your omnichannel marketing strategy efficacious and profitable, you need to understand your customers’ requirements and plan accordingly. Placing your customer at the center of your strategy, leverage technology, putting relevant information, understanding buyer’s journey, providing vouchers, offers,a flaw-less content and systematic approach make your omnichannel marketing strategy result-driven. Lack of KPIs Measurement Four stages of a buyer’s journey- awareness, engagement, conversion, and delight are much more valuable and play acrucial role in marketers’ lives. Marketers have to ensure that the entire journey delivers a constant experience to the buyer. While marketers measure the campaign’s overall effectiveness, they fail to measure the KPIs at every stage of the buyer’s journey. This averts the marketer from deriving meaningful insights about each stage of the journey posing a challenge in improving the experience for the customer. Marketers need to evaluate the campaign at every stage instead of evaluating the results for the entire campaign. Create an Incredible Omnichannel Marketing Strategy You can make your omnichannel marketing strategy unparalleled, persuasive, and goal-oriented by just following these substantial steps. Know Your Customer Better Before executing your marketing plan, you must be aware of your target audience. Who they are? What are theirs need, their age, demographics, etc? Only then will you be able to design relevant campaigns for your customers. It doesn’t matter if you reach your target audience online or offline — it’s vital to express the unique value proposition (UVP) you provide. In addition, your UVP must be tied to a solution to their problem. Quality Maintenance Do you want your target audience to visit your website and experience your product or service? If so, you must create an omnichannel experience that shows your expertise in your field. You need to maintain the quality of the content you are delivering your audience whether it is video, gifs, or other content forms. It should be pertinent, valuable, and easily understandable. Evaluate Each Channel In omnichannel, it is essential to analyze each channel’s performance. It helps to understand your marketing approach in a better way. You need to find how many channels are performing well and eliminate the channel that does not respond to your business objectives. Put the Customer at the Centre Undoubtedly, your objective is to sell your product or service, but your customer should be your utmost priority. You need to discover a way where you can enhance the engagement of your customers with your brand. Creating interesting puzzles, asking advisory questions, sharing fun facts, etc., shows that you are involving your target audience and giving them a value that helps build your brand. Woo the Audience with Offers Most marketers introduce vouchers or some interesting offers to woo the customers. For instance, you can create a campaign where you can ask some interesting questions and provide a reward. This tactic initially helps your brand to gain a maximum audience. Once you have most visitors to your website or other channels, it becomes easy to hold on to audiences. Significant Omnichannel Trends in 2021 There are many significant channels that can help you to scale your business. Here is the list of some prominent channels. Artificial Intelligence Augmented Reality Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc.) Email Marketing Video Blogger Final Thoughts Some marketers might question whether omnichannel marketing is worth it or not. Well, thorough researched data, relevant and valuable information, important marketing channels, and knowing your customers’ requirements are the key factors that make your omnichannel marketing strategy influential. It helps in every aspect. Appropriately implemented omnichannel marketing boosts your sales and conversions, builds robust connections with your customers, and enhances your brand affinity. This omnichannel marketing guide will help you to find concise and comprehensive information. Frequently Asked Questions What is omnichannel marketing? Omnichannel marketing is a holistic approach towards the target audience by creating brand presence across multiple online and offline channels. Why is omnichannel marketing important? Omnichannel marketing superseded other marketing strategies to boost sales and conversion, build strong connections with customers, and provide high ROI. Read the above omnichannel marketing guide to understand its importance. What tools are needed for effective omnichannel marketing? 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Article | July 26, 2021

My inbox has been flooded with compassionate messages from retailers, businesses and SaaS vendors expressing their concern about the effect COVID-19 is having, assuring customers or subscribers about what they’re doing to keep everyone safe. Take time to talk with your executives and teams about extra things you might do with your marketing to help everyone get through the next weeks and months.If you’re in management or a member of a team that’s going through radical changes, these steps can help you translate your concern to action.

Article | July 26, 2021

Whether you’re selling yourself, a product, service, or idea, your online reputation makes a powerful impact on how successful you are. The way we communicate with family, friends, business associates, clients, and the world has been revolutionized in today’s digital environment. Everyone has the opportunity to be famous, or infamous, for something in a matter of minutes. Andy Warhol said that everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes. Today, those minutes of fame have the potential to live on forever digitally. When you’re in the business of selling products and services, it’s your duty to ensure that what potential customers see online engages them in a positive way. The management of your online reputation is everything! Communicate Emotionally Most people will tell you they make important decisions after weighing the pros and cons of situations. Some will tell you that they “go with their guts.” The truth is that for nearly all decisions, even those evaluated using logic, the final determination is strongly influenced by emotion. It’s a natural aspect of being human. The dominant tipping point in most situations is how the buyer will feel after the decision is made. Decision-makers may be relieved to have found a viable solution, or they may be excited about something new entering their lives or influencing their businesses in a positive manner. Understanding that emotion comes into play when making purchasing decisions, it’s important to proactively and positively influence human emotions through your digital presence. Most people who contemplate getting involved with you or your product will want to go through a getting-to-know-you phase. It’s a normal part of building relationships. It’s where we decide whether we like the person, brand, or product enough to invest more of our time and effort into them. In sales, this is referred to as building or establishing rapport. It’s where you learn about your buyers and find commonality with them, not solely on a business level. It’s when you establish that you’re able to help them with their needs so they will listen to what you have to say. It’s the first step in building trust. You can be fairly certain that the getting-to-know-you phase will include the buyers’ review of your digital presence. It’s the go-to resource for everyone these days. How you or your company come across online can either start or end the sales process, or it could just make the process much more challenging if there is any negative publicity or reviews to overcome. Your online reputation may be the tipping point for decisions about purchasing from you or building business relationships. Post Authentically The way we sell and foster trust as professionals must include authentic representation of our brands as providing tremendous value to our ideal customers. Authenticity is highly valued. Coming across as either phony or too good to be true will cause hesitation in the minds of buyers, creating the opposite of trust. And where there is no trust, there will be no sales. If you’re passionate about your clients and your products, that passion should show in your online presence. Part of being authentic is not to be afraid to speak about what you believe in or what your company believes in—just be realistic about it. Be thoughtful about the words and images used online to represent yourself and your business. Being passionate is important but do it in a manner that attracts buyers and doesn’t offend anyone. After all, even those who may not be qualified to own your product may know someone who is. Negative experiences are shared more frequently than positive ones. An unqualified person could negatively impact qualified friends or associates. Not every page or post has to be about your product. Demonstrating authentic humanity through positive comments, good works, or light humor (depending on your type of product) can be quite attractive to those researching online. Manage Consistently Going back to the concept of “moments of fame,” it’s imperative that your online reputation be consistent and be managed consistently. Avoid taking risks with your digital reputation by checking in and evaluating what’s being said online about your product or company on a regular basis. Express gratitude for positive comments or reviews and address negative ones immediately. When challenges arise both the solution and speed of solution are critical to their impact on your business. Being proactive demonstrates a high level of care for your reputation, which equates to a high level of attention being given to customers. There are thousands of nuances inherent in building relationships and creating sales opportunities. Mishandled, any one of them could cause buyers to seek solutions elsewhere. Effective management of your online reputation is simple, strategic, and achievable.

Article | July 26, 2021

Intapp serves many of the world’s top legal, accounting, consulting, private equity and investment banking firms with its connected firm-management solutions. After nearly two decades as the market leader, the company was seeking to amplify its global brand and broaden its reach to engage with new audiences. Taking a holistic approach, the Intapp team worked closely with April Six to refine its market positioning and brand strategy, and refresh its visual identity. The goal was a new POV and look-and-feel that would demonstrate Intapp’s focus on empowering client innovation.