Omni-channel marketing: a term that’s flung around boardrooms, blogs and social media with much fervour.Unlike the majority of marketing jargon, this term is refreshingly worthy of the hype. (As opposed to the plethora of marketing buzzwords which rarely live up to it.) In short, omni-channel marketing is here to stay.

Omni-channel marketing may sound complicated, but the practice is simple.

Also referred to as ‘multi-channel marketing’, omni-channel marketing is based on the premise that in order to attract customers and guarantee you’re not sitting behind the register twiddling your thumbs, you need to make it as easy as possible for your customers to find you. Hence, the use of multiple channels or platforms on which to broadcast your message, and hopefully, capitalise on the fact.

If you’re currently using an omni-channel marketing strategy (good for you), or are considering making use of one (again, good for you), the following statistics – gathered from nChannel – demonstrate why this practice is crucial to your retail store’s success.

If you’re still debating whether to ‘omnify’ your marketing efforts, read on:

“Three out of four customers are more likely to visit your store if your online information is useful”

In other words, an online presence is equally as (if not more) important as a physical one. And offline you want to get your customers away from their devices and into your store – you need to catch their attention and convince them while they’re online. Your customers don’t want reams of text, elaborate product descriptions or sloooooow loading pages. What they do want is information that’s helpful, informative and engaging, however. By optimising your website, and giving your visitors an enjoyable experience, you’re relaying the sentiment that your physical store will offer them an equally gratifying interaction.

“Digital interactions influence 36 cents of every dollar spent in a brick & mortar store.”

Another statistic that emphasises the importance of an engaging, valuable and pervasive online presence. Don’t rely on your website alone – brands who are actively engaging with their customers over social media, email and apps are those who enjoy increased brand awareness and as a result, sales.

“22% [of consumers] spend more at the store if digitally influenced.”

In other words, the more captivating your online presence is, the more money you’ll make. Fact.

“55% of online shoppers would prefer to buy from a merchant with a physical store presence over an online-only retailer.”

Yes, ecommerce is huge, but according to this stat, half of your customers would choose you over a competitor who’s solely based online. And unless you’re a well-established online-only brand like Amazon, for example, your market is only trusting of brands who also have a physical store. Blame this on the increase of cyber-fraud, or the many (many) emotional factors that influence a purchasing decision, one thing’s for sure: gaining the trust of your customers is tantamount to facilitating sales. (That said, if you’re sold on exclusively trading via an ecommerce store, you need to do everything you can to earn the trust of your market.)

“84% [of consumers] believe that retailers should be doing more to integrate their online and offline channels.”

The secret to using omni-channel marketing successfully is being able to seamlessly integrate your physical and digital offerings. As consumer experience begins to outrank price as a differentiating factor, every single one of your channels need to work in unison to provide your customers with an experience that’s fully-immersive, streamlined and consistent.

“Only 8% of companies said they currently provide a ‘very integrated’ customer experience.”

Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that points to the fact that today’s customers expect a seamless customer experience, very few companies seem to be providing one. The takeout: if you can give your customers an integrated experience, you can widen your market share and capitalise on the failure of competing brands who’re late to the party.

It’s futile implementing an omni-channel marketingstrategy if you’re not measuring the results thereof. Find out about our multi-channel attribution software, that gives you in-depth, accurate insight into the ways your customers are interacting with your brand.

Read more about Blix Traffic here.

All statistics cited in this article were obtained from this blog by nChannel.