Building an Omni-Channel Strategy

As technology advances, the majority of consumers have several internet-connected devices within arm's reach. Marketers realize that instead of thinking of a desktop experience, a mobile experience, a tablet experience, and an Apple Watch experience, they need to deliver a holistic approach ─ an omni-channel experience that customers can use whenever they want.

Omni-Channel Defined

An omni-channel experience is a multi-channel approach to marketing, selling, and serving customers in a way that creates an integrated and cohesive customer experience. It doesn’t matter how or where a customer reaches out. The customer can be shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, or by telephone, or in a brick-and-mortar store and the experience would be seamless.

Omni-Channel Versus Multi-Channel

The key difference between an omni-channel experience from a multi-channel experience is the depth of the integration. All omni-channel experiences will use multiple channels, but not all multi-channel experiences are omni-channel.

Most print service providers today are working with customers on what I categorize as multi-channel experiences. They work with customers on direct mail with personalized URLs or development of websites or mobile campaign with QR codes. However, in most cases, the customer still lacks a seamless experience and consistent messaging across each of these channels.

An omni-channel experience, on the other hand, accounts for each platform and device a customer will use to interact with the company. Messaging is aligned for each channel and device. Omni-channel marketing is a valuable asset for businesses that are looking to deliver a better customer experience.

What is a Printer to Do?

Print and marketing services providers need to develop their own unique omni-channel experience infrastructure. Ultimately, your strategy should consist of a strategic plan to build a coherent, aligned experience across multiple platforms, which may include any or all of the channels, depending upon the campaign objectives.

Because this is still a relatively new and emerging concept, there's still time to start small and expand in the future. And if you need some inspiration, in my next several blogs, I will share stories about print service providers that are starting down the path to deliver omni-channel customer experiences.