Omnichannel marketing has become synonymous with success for many content teams. However, as brands continue to prioritize return-on-investment (ROI) measurement it’s worth asking: Is an omnichannel approach to content marketing always the right approach? Below, we explore the intricacies of omnichannel and investigate whether this marketing strategy is universally applicable—or whether a more selective, channel-specific approach might sometimes provide a higher ROI.
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
At its core, “omnichannel marketing” refers to a cohesive, integrated strategy that creates a unified customer experience across all digital and offline touchpoints. Whether a customer interacts with a brand via social media, email, in-store, or through an app, the experience remains consistent and aligned with the customer’s journey.
Customer behavior has largely driven this strategy. Today’s consumers engage with brands across multiple platforms and expect seamless transitions among them. A well-executed omnichannel marketing strategy ensures that these transitions foster brand loyalty and improve customer engagement.
Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing
For starters, practicing omnichannel can boost return on investment (ROI). Studies show that omnichannel marketing — particularly in business-to-consumer (B2C) retail and e-commerce — can drive higher conversion rates by engaging customers across multiple touchpoints and offering a more personalized experience. Retailers using 3-or-more channels increase consumer engagement 251% more than single-channel retailers, according to CapitalOne research. The data gathered from these interactions allows businesses to refine their strategies and make data-driven decisions.
Additionally, omnichannel marketing enhances customer loyalty by creating a consistent and satisfying customer experience. Brands that deliver personalized, relevant messaging across platforms tend to see increased customer retention, as users are more likely to engage with businesses that understand their preferences and needs. Omnichannel retailers retain 91% more customers than single-channel stores.
Challenges of Omnichannel Marketing
Maintaining consistency and governance across various platforms can be difficult. Each channel—be it social media, email, or retail—has its nuances, and customizing content for each while retaining a unified message can be resource-intensive.
Data integration is another significant challenge. Gathering and analyzing customer data from multiple sources, such as online interactions and in-store visits, requires robust data analytics systems.
But then there’s the business-to-business (B2B) question: Do potential business customers need or want to be marketed to in that way? Does a site manager at an industrial warehouse want to see an ad on Instagram when they’re trying to relax after a long day? Does a restaurant owner want to see ads for industrial mixers in their inbox? It is important to test because, in the end, B2B buyers are people, too — but testing takes time.
Businesses must weigh the potential benefits against the substantial investment in hours, technology, and manpower required to execute this strategy effectively.
Omnichannel vs Multichannel Marketing
While both strategies involve engaging customers across multiple platforms, multichannel marketing tends to treat each channel as an independent entity, often with separate strategies and goals. In contrast, omnichannel marketing integrates all channels into a single, cohesive strategy that centers on the customer journey.
When choosing the right approach, the decision often hinges on resources and objectives. While omnichannel marketing offers a more personalized experience, it requires greater coordination and investment. Multichannel marketing may be better suited to businesses looking to maintain a presence on several platforms without deep integration.
The Role of Repurposing Content
While omnichannel marketing requires consistency, that doesn’t mean content must be duplicated across all platforms. Instead, content can be repurposed to suit the unique audience expectations and features of each platform. For instance, a long-form blog post can be condensed into a series of social media posts, while a podcast episode can be transformed into an infographic or email newsletter. This strategy allows businesses to maintain a unified message while catering to the specific strengths of each channel.
At Imprint, we have used this approach to turn webinars into social campaigns. We’ve also used repurposing to create grids of preemptive social media posts that help brands react to the latest financial markets news based on the content they’ve already published.
The Future of Omnichannel Marketing
As technology continues to evolve, so too will omnichannel strategies. Emerging technological trends such as AI, GenAI and machine learning will help further personalize the customer experience, allowing businesses to deliver highly targeted content in real time. However, that highly targeted content will come at a premium. Businesses must figure out how to reconcile the cost of adopting and integrating those technologies with their ROI targets.
We Can Help!
If you’re planning your next content strategy, reach out to us — we’d love to partner with you! You can contact us at Imprint@imprintcontent.com or complete the contact form at https://imprintcontent.com/contact/.