Here you are! You have recently put your ecommerce website online and would like all the effort, financial and cognitive to generate excellent performance on the platform to be paid off with a cascade of sales. You have everything you need: the site is aesthetically beautiful, the design is functional, the products you sell are perfect, but visits to the site are sporadic and random.
There is a big problem!
It’s not enough to put a shop online, create social pages and hope something happens!
In order for what every entrepreneur in the digital world would like to see to happen, it is important to implement an omnichannel strategy that systematizes and enhances all media manned by the brand in the right way.
According to the data of Osservatorio Omnichannel Customer Experience:
70 percent of large and medium-sized companies consider omnichannel the best way for strategic business development.
What Omnichannelality means in an online business
“Omnichannel” holistically identifies the concept of customer experience built from knowledge of the customer journey.
In recent years, customer experience, has evolved from mere marketing strategies useful for maximizing sales to an overview that includes customer care, retail, logistics and supply chain.
To truly understand the concept of omnichannelality, one must first focus on that of customer experience. The consumer experience is realized through all the interactions the consumer has with the brand through institutional communication, consumer experience, and social comparison. Thus emerges a strictly personal abstract concept that involves the customer emotionally, rationally, sensorially and physically.
Having clarified the concept of “consumer experience” and analyzed the factors that determine it, the definition of omnichannelality can be introduced through the timely words of Inside Marketing:
“Omnichannelality is the term used to refer to the synergistic management of all contact points between the company and customers (online and offline) that must be interconnected. It aims to make sure that we provide an optimal brand contact experience that is seamless and totally consumer-centric.”.
From this assumption, it emerges how this delicate practice synergistically involves all the touchpoints used by the company to reach the customer, i.e., the assets that the company has at its disposal to develop a firm bond with the customer that is as long-lasting as possible. These tools fall into 2 categories:
physical such as retail, call centers, service centers;
online such as social media, mobile app, website and e-commerce.
Thus, it emerges that the differential factor between a well-done marketing strategy and an excellent marketing strategy comes from the integrated management of these channels.
This new vision stems from a strong awareness of different media and their potential, moving from optimized to integrated management. Thus emerge the concepts of multichannel as the combined use of multiple channels and cross-channel, which involves the development of integrated projects across multiple channels generating a customer experience that enhances two or more different touchpoints.
An omnichannel marketing strategy makes it possible to increase the number of potential customers by intercepting and converting more consumers during all steps of the customer journey.
The initiatives undertaken all start from a data-driven approach by ensuring that the actions implemented are suggested and take their cues from the user habits implemented up to that point. In reality, there are currently few companies using systems to automate and personalize omnichannel marketing initiatives.
From a retail perspective, omnichannel can be seen as a competitive factor. This is now familiar to all retailers who, since digital has disrupted our consumption habits, are busy reformulating their business proposition through synergistic integration of all channels.
Benefits offered by an omnichannel strategy
Omnichannel impacts all business units of an organization by generating widespread benefits for the entire organization.
The business areas most involved, in planning and benefits, are those that preside over the “last mile” by establishing a relationship with the customer. It thus emerges that those most involved in such activities are those working in the marketing and communications, sales, crm and customer care departments. These, more than others, are able to exert direct control over the customer experience by having a decisive impact on it.
The benefits that emerge from virtuous activities of this kind generate: an increase in sales and revenues; an optimization of costs and internal processes; an improvement in lead acquisition in terms of volume of contacts generated and cost per contact; increased consumer and employee satisfaction; a higher rate of customer engagement and loyalty; and an improvement in service levels.
Data-driven omnichanneling: timely management of marketing initiatives
Using an approach based on the analysis and study of data is definitely an added value for Omnichannel management. The data to be extracted, organized and analyzed will have to refer to all the actions the customer takes during the customer journey.
Since the internet and the network have become pervasive in all the actions we perform our devices produce a multitude of data, still segmented and uneven, that leave a furrow in the world of the web and digital hypertext. This data, being produced in disproportionate volumes, will need to be organized according to the interests and goals pursued. Once the policy of data collection and use has been rationalized, the data will need to be organized into digital repositories that catalog them in a timely and effective manner. One of the many databases that can facilitate such work is Hubspot a very effective tool in which the Biscuitway team believes strongly, to the point of becoming its certified partner.
This model can be defined as “data-driven” in that the consumer and his or her habits are intercepted through the collection, analysis and exploitation of data released by the latter in all moments of contact with the brand.
The three steps needed to develop a strategy based on firm point data are:
Data collection: at this stage all data, primary and secondary, available to the organization are collected and integrated. The touchpoints through which data can be collected are: the point of sale, the website, direct marketing channels, corporate information systems, and data purchased from third-party providers.
Data Analysis: once the data is collected, it is analyzed and processed in order to obtain new insights that have the corporate objectives as their focus. It will then be possible to generate a general overview of the consumer. The analyses can be of various kinds from the simplest and merely descriptive, to multivariate analyses using complex algorithms.
Data Execution: this third step consists of data activation. These are delivered to the different business divisions that will use them for communication, marketing and sales initiatives. This data will also be used to create protocols and rules useful for activating specific actions on specific targets.
Omnichannel technologies and tools
From what we have learned so far, it is clear that this practice is increasingly central to Italian companies. The most advanced realities that generate satisfactory results invest a multitude of time and resources each year in implementing Customer Experience Management activities and technologies.
In these processes it is necessary to possess technologies and infrastructures capable of collecting and processing large amounts of data quickly and with a very high level of accuracy.
The two tools that will necessarily have to be used are:
Customer Experience Management (CXM): tools and technologies useful for managing the customer experience by monitoring customer activities in real time. One of the most advanced methods of developing this is Content Intelligence, which involves semantic analysis of content to profile the interests that the individual makes explicit online.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): essential tool for managing and nurturing the relationship with current and potential customers by integrating personal data, authorized under GDPR, with careful reporting of all moments of contact between the brand and the customer.
Your Growth Agency can make the difference
Biscuitway sees big data as the most valuable starting point for strategic implementation of operations in the digital world.
Within our team, all resources have a data-driven approach to make available to our partners. We also believe that presiding over as many touchpoints as possible in an integrated and synergistic way is the true added value of a business, and every day, driven by a love of innovation, we work to discover and master all the tools that can help you reach your target customers.
Our bakery not only bakes donuts but churns out delicious cookies, cupcakes and macarons every day. Come try them and let’s write a new recipe for success together!
Why should you implement a digital marketing strategy for your business?
If you’ve opened this article, you’re probably wondering why your business needs a digital marketing strategy.
What benefits can be derived from it? When you already have a good traditional marketing strategy, is it essential to replicate it on the web?
The answer to these questions is very simple: traditional offline marketing is no longer enough.
This obviously does not imply an abandonment of all marketing strategies that are not digital! Rather, it requires a change in perspective, as well as the realization that, to do good marketing, both approaches (digital and non-digital) are necessary.
Today, a promotional campaign that takes advantage of the full potential of digital can make the difference
A respectable digital marketing strategy is based on the creation of valuable content for your target audience and on the positioning activities of the company in order to make it more visible on the web: from the copy on your e-commerce, to the sponsorship activities on social networks.
After defining the short- and long-term goals of the strategy, you will outline the activities needed to achieve them, which span several areas, each of which is essential.
Whatever the goal, from Brand awareness to site conversion, you will rely on these practices:
Search engine optimization (SEO) to increase organic traffic and rankings for the keywords your site needs;
Search engine marketing (SEM): paid promotion activities that are based on the user’s search intent;
Content marketing: creation of valuable persuasive content that draws interest, attracts and drives the customer to the desired action;
Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Social Pay-per-click advertising (PPC): online content promotion activities via social media and paid advertising.
These macro activities will be complemented by ad hoc strategies of affiliate marketing, email marketing (DEM and Newsletter), influencer marketing, digital PR, community management, digital customer care.
Your customer-centric marketing strategy
The terrain of digital marketing is considerably more complex than that of traditional marketing.
Nowadays being present on the web is everything. This is not only because much of your marketing efforts have moved online, but because your competitors have too!
Yes, in spite of all your efforts and commitment to make your product as good as possible, some other product, maybe with a lower quality than yours, got the better of you just because it was sponsored on the web!
Did I guess right? If the answer is yes, fear not, the solution you are looking for is much closer than you imagine, but more importantly, it may not be the one you imagine! By this I mean not that the quality of the product is not important, but that it is not the only factor to consider.
Product is not everything!
Digital marketing allows for the formation of a network of contacts with two-way communication flows. What makes your potential customer become real is the way you make them feel.
Instead of focusing exclusively on the product, a digital marketing strategy also focuses on another element that is as important as it is often overlooked: people.
This approach, which is based on listening to the needs and desires of the customer, allows companies and their target audience to establish a dialogue resulting in full satisfaction for both.
The benefits are many: tapping into customer desires can help you create a targeted campaign with a high probability of achieving your goal. People appreciate a type of offer that seems tailor-made for them, and they respond to this interest with their brand loyalty.
Having gained loyalty, the customer will be inclined not only to rely on you in the future, but also to become a testimonial for your products, even going so far as to influence those in their closest circle.
Is digital marketing the future for SMEs?
The answer to this question is absolutely to be found in Big Data!
Every user constantly produces a large amount of behavioral data that should not be overlooked: analyzing the flow of data coming from those who buy a product, in fact, can tell us a lot about people, building models that predict their behavior.
What are your user’s preferences?
How old is he/she?
How does he/she like to spend his/her free time?
What are his/her values?
What is his/her job?
What are his/her goals?
What worries him/her the most?
A digital marketing strategy allows for immediate feedback and monitoring of an ongoing campaign.
There are many aspects to consider, as there are many skills needed.
What’s the first step in starting your digital marketing strategy?
Relying on an agency to take care of your marketing strategy can bring countless benefits.
Not all agencies guarantee the same results. How do you choose the one that best suits your needs, without neglecting any aspect?
A multi-disciplinary approach that ensures growth from a variety of perspectives is critical. In short, what you really need is a specialist who has an overview. Someone who can manage a digital promotional campaign from every aspect.
The right professional for you, therefore, has a wide variety of skills, ranging from SEO to social media management, online digital PR to SEM, direct email marketing, pay-per-click advertising (PPC), funneling, data analytics and more. These are just a few of the fundamental skills for a digital marketing specialist.
To all this knowledge will be added those necessary to coordinate the marketing department with all the others that make up the company, in order to develop a marketing strategy that is as complete as possible and that, above all, combines perfectly with the work of each area.
How to choose the right Web Agency for you?
Choosing the best option is not always so simple and obvious, unfortunately. It often happens, in fact, to rely on marketers with a sectoral knowledge, not able to cope with the complexity of factors in a company.
A Growth Agency is right for you because while it creates the right digital marketing strategy, it monitors and takes care of the overall health of your business.
The approach adopted by a self-respecting Growth Agency is Data Driven: it is based on the analysis of the data flow, elaborating, depending on the results obtained, a strategy based on concrete facts rather than mere opinions that may have no connection with the real state of things.
A Growth Agency, moreover, while identifying any critical issues of your company, develops and implements a growth strategy aimed at eliminating problems and highlighting the strengths of your business. Before developing it, however, offers support in the analysis of your target market, intercepting the best strategy to be implemented to reach it and optimize the result.
Your business needs a digital marketing strategy, but it also needs experienced hands that know how to best implement it.
Are you still pondering? Contact us, let’s write the recipe for your success together!
Marketing Manager: who is the right professional for your company?
There you are, you are again looking for the communication agency for your company. Each time they promise you great things, fireworks and “out of the box” ideas and yet, time and time again, you don’t feel satisfied!
What’s going on. How come no one can completely understand your needs as a business owner?
Simple, maybe for your company you don’t need a marketing manager, but a T-shaped Marketer!
Who is a T-shaped Marketer?
If you’ve never heard of a T-shape trained marketer, you might think I just made it up just to get you hooked on reading the article. But I swear, I’m not talking about a mythological figure, and I assure you he exists.
What characterizes a T-profile in the marketing world is the multidisciplinary approach, spanning all areas of marketing and beyond.
If you don’t think you’ve ever met such a professional, the reason is simple: marketing is a very broad field, which means there are plenty of opportunities to specialize in various areas.
I confess, in the world of media agencies spotting a T-shaped marketer is difficult and somewhat rare.
Usually, agencies work in watertight compartments, with a clear and precise distinction between the various departments: the Social Media Manager, the Digital Strategist, the Copywriter, the SEO Specialist, the UX designer, the Project Manager, the Web Developer, and so on and so forth.
What are the skills of a marketing expert with a T-profile?
Working in a Growth Consulting, where the primary objective is the 360° growth of the client’s company, the multidisciplinary approach is essential, not only for those who deal with Marketing, but for the entire team.
Each member of BiscuitWay is committed to developing skills that travel in horizontal and vertical lines, just to form a T, especially to meet the needs related to the Digital Transformation journey that our customers require of us.
The T-profile digital marketing specialist framework.
Regarding the training framework of such a specialist, there are 3 levels:
Basic knowledge of the digital world
Marketing knowledge
Specific channel skills
The T-shaped Digital Marketing Framework – Source: Mattyford.com
A marketing manager who has to follow the all-round growth of your company must have a basichorizontal knowledge of all the fields that come into play in the process of developing a business.
Instead, he/she must be absolutely vertical in the field of marketing to be able to create a marketing strategy consistent with everything about the company, its products/services and business needs. So, he/she will have SEO, SEM, Funnel, Social Media, Influencer Marketing Campaigns, DEM, PPC Campaigns, Digital PR, Community Management, Data Analytics, etc..
Warning! The goal will not be to develop the mere marketing campaign, but to put together a marketing strategy by leveraging a generalist knowledge database and collaborating with team members.
Why rely on a T-shaped expert?
A marketing manager with such a profile helps clients develop a marketing strategy from A to Z. He or she will be able to create more accurate strategies by collaborating with the entire team, not just the marketing department section.
Companies need marketing experts with multidisciplinary training because they have a wealth of knowledge at their disposal that is both broad and constantly updated.
The future of effective marketing lies in this concept of interdisciplinary knowledge.
Especially in the digital world, there is too much complexity, time, resources and information available for consumers to ignore or avoid any one area. It becomes essential that a solid marketing plan includes a wide variety of different elements in order to drive growth, sales and conversions.
Not all markers are the same, choose yours carefully!
