Today’s business landscape requires innovative ways to reach and engage audiences across all their preferred spaces. Increasingly, this means adopting an omnichannel communications strategy which seamlessly integrates multiple platforms—such as email, SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, social media, and in-person interactions—into a unified experience. A successful omnichannel approach can boost incremental store visits by as much as 80%. Businesses that don’t implement this approach can see customer retention rates drop to as low as 33%. With an omnichannel strategy businesses can retain as much as 89% of their audience more consistently.
The data supports this reality in other ways, too. Nearly three-quarters( 71%) of people who shop in physical stores say that their smartphone is an essential part of the shopping experience. Customers expect a unified brand experience that simplifies interactions across all channels, including in person. Without an omnichannel approach, it’s challenging to capitalize on consumers’ growing preference for more integrated, layered experiences.
This blog explores what omnichannel communication means, how this strategy benefits businesses, and how to get started.
Table of Contents
- What is omnichannel communication?
- What are the advantages of an omnichannel approach?
- What goes into a successful omnichannel communication strategy?
- The basics of implementing an omnichannel strategy
- Overcome common challenges in omnichannel marketing
- What does omnichannel’s future look like?
- Explore your options for success in this space
What is omnichannel communication?
Omnichannel communication combines various ways customers and businesses interact. While one single channel might only be SMS, WhatsApp or email, an omnichannel approach offers the flexibility to engage with customers across many touchpoints. Rather than relying on one method, business can leverage several channels to create a consistent, personalized experience. This allows individuals to engage with your company in their preferred way.
Omnichannel marketing strategies differ from traditional digital marketing strategies by encompassing several channels that customers already use to interact with businesses, including in-store shopping experiences. In contrast, a traditional digital marketing approach might use only two or three methods and lack consistency, often resulting in a disjointed strategy. This can lead to gaps in a customer’s journey that may ultimately mean a missed sales opportunity.
For example, consider a customer who begins shopping on their mobile device and later switches to their account on a desktop computer. Does the business preserve their shopping cart and data? If not, this could result in lost sales, as consumers expect seamless transitions between channels.
A seamless omnichannel strategy is essential for delivering the experiences customers expect. It offers greater flexibility than disconnected messaging and marketing by eliminating communication silos. Your message stays clear and consistent, while interactions can be personalized based on customer behaviors. The result is a wide array of additional benefits.
What are the advantages of an omnichannel approach?
Reaching customers at the right time and place can make all the difference. Here are three key advantages of incorporating omnichannel strategies into your business communications:
- Improves customer loyalty
Customer experiences with less friction along the purchase path can drive better outcomes. Omnichannel solutions that address common customer pain points encourage loyalty and repeat sales. A great example of omnichannel success is the coffee chain Starbucks.
The Starbucks Rewards program provides an omnichannel experience that consistently delights customers. Whether through the app, website, or in-store, Starbucks can cater to each customer’s preferences. The app even delivers targeted, timely recommendations and offers based on past purchases or the local weather conditions. With over 34 million users in 2024—an increase of about 13% from the prior year—Starbucks’ omnichannel strategy has been central to customer retention and business growth.
- Boosts opportunities to enhance revenue
Better retention and new customer acquisition can drive positive business outcomes. Returning to the Starbucks example, its investment in seamless digital experiences has resulted in several notable outcomes:
- Existing customers visit Starbucks locations more frequently due to omnichannel marketing.
- Special offers and timely communications attract new customers.
- Per-ticket order value increases.
These elements all contribute positively to the company’s revenue. Similar results can be achievable for businesses in many sectors. However, a crucial element of success lies in how you manage and control your omnichannel strategy. With many channels to monitor, a fragmented approach can be time-consuming, costly, and less effective. Using a unified platform to manage your omnichannel efforts simplifies the process.
- Offers more valuable insights from your data
The right platform for omnichannel marketing management also enhances data collection. You can gather real-time insights into customer behavior and, more importantly, derive comprehensive insights from customer interactions across all channels over time. Gathering relevant data and identifying trends enables more informed decision making. These insights can ultimately lead to meaningful changes, resulting in more engagement.
What goes into a successful omnichannel communication strategy?
The benefits of omnichannel marketing are clear, but how do you start to create an omnichannel strategy? Setting yourself up for success starts with early planning and equipping your business with the right tools. Here are three critical best practices:
- A unified approach to the technology
A unified approach is essential not just for improving the insights you derive from your data but for integrating technology across all your marketing efforts and channels. This ensures you have access to all the necessary information. For instance, delivering cross-channel personalized offers to customers often requires a combination of core technologies.
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools simplify engagement and help manage your messaging. There are platforms available to provide the insights you need to make decisions based on actual buying patterns or interaction types. Even artificial intelligence can play a role by identifying hidden trends people might overlook. Integrating all these elements is at the core of success in omnichannel efforts.
- A clear, consistent approach across channels
Consistency in messaging is key to creating the kind of experience that drives customer engagement. Disjointed communication can confuse customers and diminish interaction. The messaging in one channel should closely mirror the experience in another channel.
For example, consider the British online bank Monzo, which launched a multi-layered promotional campaign featuring ads on London’s iconic double-decker buses. The bus itself served as a unique channel, but the banking services provider went further by creating an X (formerly Twitter) account where users could engage in playful interactions, including a contest for photo edits of the bus in strange locations. All elements of the campaign delivered a consistent message, boosting awareness for Monzo online and offline.
- More personalized customer journeys
Personalized experiences make brand interactions more valuable to customers by offering a targeted experience that makes the brand feel relatable. The impact on the bottom line is significant as well. According to McKinsey, personalization can contribute to revenue increases of up to 40% for fast-growing companies compared to those with slower growth rates.
There are many ways to deliver personalized messaging today. Good data is at the foundation. You’ll need tools that can identify customer behaviors and preferences. Using that information, you can craft messages that offer a personalized experience.
The basics of implementing an omnichannel strategy
Every business is different, so the right omnichannel strategy differs from company to company. However, certain key elements remain constant. As you explore an approach to implementing omnichannel communication into your operations, keep the following in mind:
- Build a customer journey map
A customer journey map outlines how individuals interact with a business before making a purchase. It closely resembles the sales funnel, encompassing stages such as awareness, learning about the product, and more. To have an effective reach in omnichannel marketing, you need to understand the typical path your customers follow.
You can start by mapping a typical buying process for a customer. What do they seek when they first become aware of your offerings? What actions do they take at the consideration stage? You’ll need to collect data to inform your map-making. This includes a range of metrics, such as website traffic and social media engagement. And beyond metrics, talking to subject matter experts within the organization—like sales representatives—can help you collect anecdotal and/or qualitative data.
Identify the key touchpoints along the journey where customers make critical decisions. Optimize these steps in the journey to remove obstacles and facilitate progression to the next stage.
- Integrate your channels
Effective omnichannel management requires seamless integration across platforms. Otherwise, you won’t deliver a consistent experience. Synchronize your efforts across SMS, WhatsApp, email, and other channels. Some best practices include:
- Using the right technology and platform to visualize and manage your communications.
- Developing a consistent brand voice and message style across channels.
- Aligning your marketing efforts with other departments, such as sales, to leverage additional data to drive smarter communication.
- Analyze the data you receive
Use analytics tools and reporting dashboards to gather the necessary customer data. Metrics such as email and SMS open rates, click patterns, and cart abandonment statistics all contribute valuable insights. With the right solutions, data analysis becomes simpler and more effective.
Real-time dashboards offer crucial insights, faster adjustments and quicker results. Regularly incorporating feedback loops into your process allows you to step back and assess the overall health of your campaigns. These loops ensure you can continuously integrate new insights and recommendations.
- Make course corrections
Achieving omnichannel success requires ongoing effort. What works for your customers today may change and be less effective tomorrow. As a result, you must engage in continuous efforts to improve the outcomes of your campaigns. There are several tools to help you stay agile.
A/B testing remains very important. Regularly conducting A/B tests and analyzing the results will reveal weak spots in your campaign. Over time, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s preferences, which can inform future campaigns. Invest in these efforts and build an agile environment where marketing teams can collaborate to complete tasks.
Additionally, actively seek customer feedback and integrate it into your process. Go beyond product-related opinions—learn how customers feel about your overall communication strategy. Use this feedback to fine-tune your messaging and improve the customer experience.
Overcome common challenges in omnichannel marketing
Roadblocks and speedbumps are inevitable when implementing a new strategy, and omnichannel marketing is no exception. Let’s explore some common challenges you may encounter and how to overcome them.
When business systems can’t easily communicate with each other, silos form. Breaking down these silos requires better software solutions. Many companies today adopt automation solutions to facilitate communication between disparate systems. Choosing the right solution for your omnichannel messaging approach ensures your communications won’t be hindered by the silo effect.
Telesign can help businesses close technology gaps. You may lack the tools needed to effectively manage cross-channel communication. We provide cost-effective, scalable solutions that are accessible for resource-limited businesses yet powerful enough to support growth and scalability.
What does omnichannel’s future look like?
As more companies embrace the omnichannel approach, the pace of innovation continues to accelerate. We’ve witnessed a major transformation in marketing over the past decade. But what about the future? Where will omnichannel innovation take us?
New technologies are constantly emerging and evolving. Artificial intelligence (AI), for instance, has already become integral to businesses in many ways. In the future, AI is likely to play an even greater role in uncovering insights and detecting consumer behavior trends. AI-powered chatbots and interactive solutions will continue to elevate engagement and personalization. An AI solution might be able to analyze a consumer profile and make tailored, time-sensitive product recommendations.
Augmented reality and virtual reality (AR and VR) may also be important. AR, in particular, holds great potential for omnichannel marketing. AR-enabled smartphone apps could transform the in-store shopping experience, combining digital and physical environments. Both technologies could further expand opportunities for personalization and customization, reshaping the shopping experience.
Many of the technologies that will drive the future of omnichannel are already here. In the years to come, brands should aim to stay ahead of the curve to fully harness the potential of these advancements.
Explore your options for success in this space
Omnichannel strategies not only deliver a unified experience and better data to inform your efforts but also meet growing consumers expectations. Shoppers increasingly want seamless experiences that make engaging with brands as easy as possible. Omnichannel marketing provides deeper insights into consumer habits, allowing brands to create personalized approaches that can drive higher retention and increased sales.
Telesign can play a pivotal role in setting your business up for success in omnichannel strategies. Our seamless, integrated solution for omnichannel communication lets you roll out flexible, secure campaigns using voice and a wide range of messaging channels.
Telesign has also recently become a sister company to Route Mobile. With powerful AI and hundreds of connections across industries, this partnership supports brands in building new experiences over the entire pipeline. An end-to-end solution is now available from marketing to customer support and all the steps in between.
Learn more about how Telesign solutions enable omnichannel success—chat with us today.
