Whitepaper-Omnichannel-Marketing-Automation-US-English

AUTOMATE OMNICHANNEL MARKETING STRATEGIES
TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
OMNICHANNEL
MARKETING AUTOMATION

CONTENTS
Introduction 3
What is Omnichannel Marketing? 4
Why is Omnichannel Marketing Automation Important? 7
Omnichannel Marketing and the Customer Journey 9
The Browse Phase: Getting Browsers to Become Buyers 11
The Shopping Cart Phase: Expanding Customer Options 13
The Purchase Phase: Going Beyond the ‘Confirmation’ Page 15
Continuous Testing and Optimizing for Ongoing Success 17
Real-Time Messaging and Web-Based Triggers 19
Abandonment Programs and Win-Back Campaigns 21
Building an Effective Omnichannel Marketing
Automation Program 22
Omnichannel Marketing Automation

INTRODUCTION 3
INTRODUCTION
Omnichannel marketing. That’s a phrase marketers and e-commerce brands have been hearing
quite a bit lately. While marketers have become accustomed to hearing new industry buzzwords,
and the term ‘omnichannel’ may seem no different, the concept actually demonstrates a very
important fundamental shift, both in how marketers think about reaching customers, and in the
brand experience customers have come to expect.
Over the past several years, the term
‘omnichannel marketing’ has become defined
as the approach in which brands combine all
the channels they offer to consumers, both
offline and online, into one cohesive strategy.
As consumers interact more and more across
all channels, and sometimes even multiple
channels at the same time, it’s more important
than ever for e-commerce and retail marketers
to devise a strategy for how they will create a
unified message for their consumers across all
channels.
Given the changing landscape and evolving
consumer demands, how should e-commerce
and brand marketers view omnichannel
marketing? And more importantly, how should
they begin to apply and even automate
omnichannel strategies to improve their
respective customer journeys? E-commerce
marketers need to move from simply operating
multiple channels into having a truly holistic
multi-channel strategy, today known as the
‘omnichannel strategy’.
Marketers can begin by learning from the
omnichannel success other brands have
already experienced, along with understanding
the value of several important omnichannel
marketing tactics as a starting point to
implement their own effective omnichannel
marketing strategies. These are some of
the topics we will be considering as we walk
through today’s omnichannel landscape.

WHAT IS OMNICHANNEL
MARKETING?
Omnichannel marketing strategies take that
expectation into consideration, and build on the
understanding that a customer may begin their
journey on one platform, only to jump to another,
and finally convert by way of a third. As such,
marketers must design their processes to be
interconnected, integrated, and flexible enough
to respond appropriately
to a multitude of possible
customer journeys.
So what exactly is the
difference between multi-
channel and omnichannel
marketing? Multi-channel
marketing often just means
selling the same product
through various channels, each with a different
message. For example, a brand’s mobile app
may offer a unique experience, one that’s very
different to the brand’s website.
That may be different to how consumers are
able to interact with a brand via its Facebook
or Twitter page. Because each channel in this
scenario is managed with each unique channel
pushing out content to consumers, it describes a
multi-channel approach. The brand has multiple
channels, but each operates independent of the
next.
On the other hand, omnichannel marketing is
much more than that; it is about creating a truly
unified brand experience, regardless of channel.
For instance, a brand’s mobile app, website,
social channels, and even in-store experience are
all reflective of one another. If a customer starts
a purchase on a brand’s website, the mobile app
will recognize that, even days later when the
consumer begins to browse for another product.
As a result of unification across all channels,
the consumer is reminded of their uncompleted
transaction from several days prior.
Omnichannel marketing
strategies must take into
consideration that a customer
may begin their journey
on one platform, only to
jump to another, and finally
convert by way of a third.
Regardless of whether a customer comes into a brick-and-mortar store, shops via a website, uses
a mobile app, or browses social media channels (and sometimes all at the same time), they want
the experience to be smooth and consistent, regardless of the channel.
WHAT IS OMNICHANNEL MARKETING?
SINGLE CHANNEL MULTI-CHANNEL OMNICHANNEL

What an individual sees
in an email should mirror
the same message they
can view on the brand’s
website, social media,
and other channels.
Omnichannel
marketing is
about creating
that unified
brand experience,
regardless of
channel.
With this seamless strategy across all channels,
a consumer is placed at the center.
If a brand’s channels are not
interconnected or able to adapt
based on website or mobile actions,
then this strategy may in fact be
multi-channel, as multiple channels
are involved, but it is definitely
not omnichannel.Why? Because
the customer journey through
the multiple channels isn’t unified into one
overarching strategy focused on the customer.
Omnichannel marketing is about providing
appropriate and relevant content across
different channels, that ties together to create a
unified message without becoming repetitive.

WHY IS
OMNICHANNEL
MARKETING
AUTOMATION
IMPORTANT?

WHY IS OMNICHANNEL
MARKETING AUTOMATION
IMPORTANT?
Combining multiple channels across a brand to form a cohesive omnichannel strategy and
ensure consistency can seem like a daunting undertaking, and understandably so! Omnichannel
marketing automation provides a way to maximize engagement across all of the many channels a
brand has at its disposal, with minimum operational effort.
How is it possible to build such a complex
strategy with minimal effort? Omnichannel
marketing technology allows brands to run all
aspects of their marketing strategy
on a single platform, from concept to
execution. An omnichannel marketing
automation platform allows marketers
to create strategies ranging from initial
touchpoints, such as a first welcome
notification, to complex multi-step
programs. With an omnichannel
platform, all actions are performed in a unified
manner across all channels. By automating
the process, marketing teams can segment
and personalize strategies to be displayed to
various sets of individuals and define when
to deploy what kind of
content, all without sinking
an overwhelming amount
of time into operational
overheads. This leaves
marketing teams free to analyze campaign
performance and make refinements along
the way, to ensure the
effectiveness of their
omnichannel campaigns.
Creating programs that
combine email, text
messages, and social
ads, for example, will
maximize a marketer’s reach. Omnichannel
campaigns should include all of the channels
that an individual can use, including website,
email, mobile, social, and so on. However,
marketers must ensure that each channel
provides a unique value, while still linking into
the brand’s overall strategy. It’s important
that the messages reflect the nature of the
channel they are on, and that the marketing
automation strategies are applied effectively to
the customer journey.1
By automating
omnichannel
marketing processes,
marketing teams can
tailor strategies to
target individuals
Creating programs that
combine email, text
messages, social ads, and
other channels will maximize
a marketer’s reach.
Marketers must ensure
that each channel has its
own unique message, while
still being tied into the
brand’s overall strategy.
WHY IS OMNICHANNEL MARKETING AUTOMATION IMPORTANT? 7
1 https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/11-best-examples-of-b2c-marketing-automation/

OMNICHANNEL
MARKETING AND THE
CUSTOMER JOURNEY

OMNICHANNEL MARKETING AND THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY 9
OMNICHANNEL MARKETING AND
THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
In theory, the customer journey should be linear. In a textbook, for instance, a customer would
progress through a set number of stages from start to finish, with little variation in between.
But when matching theoretical stages with what actually takes place for e-commerce and retail
brands, most customer journeys end up being anything but linear.
It’s crucial to consider the entire journey,
along with the possible permutations,
when automating omnichannel marketing
strategies, as the programs can be configured
to accommodate any scenario. From a single
platform, brands can truly nurture and optimize
engagement by easily adding more channels
or branches to the existing multi-channel mix,
addressing the crucial stages within the journey
where automation will have the biggest impact
and drive the best results.
2 https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/creating-personalized-experience-across-digital-customer-journey/
However, the customer journey is so much more than just fitting contacts into these three
key stages of an omnichannel marketing strategy. It is vital to understand how the customer
experience can vary within each stage, the implications for the customer journey as a whole,
and what each customer sees at each stage.2
The stages of a digital customer journey for retail and e-commerce brands, when reduced to the
most simplified definition, consists of:
CART PURCHASEBrowse

THE BROWSE PHASE:
GETTING BROWSERS
TO BECOME BUYERS

THE BROWSE PHASE: GETTING
BROWSERS TO BECOME BUYERS
In the omnichannel customer experience, the ‘Browse’ phase pertains to any contact that an
individual has with a brand that does not result in them initiating a purchase, and includes visiting
a website, a mobile app, and so on.
THE BROWSE PHASE: GETTING BROWSERS TO BECOME BUYERS 11
By using online and onsite customer behavior
data, the omnichannel marketing automation
platform can trigger timely and relevant
messaging that displays content that relates
to, or complements, the products already
browsed. By looking at the behavior of similar
visitors, the automation system can provide
relevant, valued content, appropriate to
where the customer presently is along their
journey. Marketers should consider how their
organization can best apply omnichannel
marketing automation in the browse phase,
where individuals are actively engaged with the
brand’s experience.

Retention Marketers have a New Channel: The WebOmnichannel Marketing Automation
THE SHOPPING CART
PHASE: EXPANDING
CUSTOMER OPTIONS

THE SHOPPING CART PHASE: EXPANDING CUSTOMER OPTIONS 13
THE SHOPPING CART PHASE:
EXPANDING CUSTOMER OPTIONS
The ‘Cart’ phase of the omnichannel customer experience is where a consumer shows an intent
to purchase by initiating the process, i.e. adding an item to a cart. Here, the message needs to be
carefully managed and nuanced, as 70% of visitors who enter the cart stage never progress to the
final purchase stage.
Using abandoned cart programs, marketers
can encourage the individual to come back and
finish the purchase, regardless of the channel
on which they began the interaction. But how
important can these programs be? Is there
really any point or significant gain in revenue
recovery? Yes! If a business recovers even 1%
of lost customer base, they can increase their
revenue by 10%.3 To further illustrate, if 70%
loss of sales equals 700% loss of potential
revenue, then the importance of abandoned
cart programs becomes integral to recovering
revenue. Marketing teams that leverage the
power of omnichannel marketing automation
platforms can recover that 1%, and turn it into
a positive recovery of sales, even up to a 10%
or greater return.
3 https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/6-abandoned-cart-email-tricks-work/

THE PURCHASE
PHASE: GOING
BEYOND THE
‘CONFIRMATION’ PAGE

THE PURCHASE PHASE: GOING
BEYOND THE ‘CONFIRMATION’
PAGE
Finally, there is the ‘Purchase’ phase of the omnichannel customer experience. If a marketer
thinks their job is done once the customer enters the purchase phase, then they are missing
a very important aspect. The purchase phase is a huge opportunity to cross- or up-sell other
recommended products during the checkout process, because the customer has already made it
very clear they intend to do business.
THE PURCHASE PHASE: GOING BEYOND THE ‚CONFIRMATION‘ PAGE 15
Automated follow-up messages, such as
thanking customers for their purchase or
offering a discount on a future purchase, are
a great start, and tie in perfectly to a broader
omnichannel strategy. Marketers that take
a more predictive, data-based approach
can offer the customer truly individualized
content through their device and platform
of preference, or whatever channel they are
using at the moment. For instance, marketers
can use e-commerce data to build purchase
patterns and predict, or help influence, a
customer’s next move. Omnichannel marketing
automation helps brands create a full customer
profile, offering a win-win for both customer
and marketer. For the best results, the user
experience across all platforms and devices
should work hand in hand with an effective,
timely omnichannel marketing automation
platform.

CONTINUOUS
TESTING AND
OPTIMIZING FOR
ONGOING SUCCESS

CONTINUOUS TESTING AND
OPTIMIZING FOR ONGOING
SUCCESS
As seasoned marketing experts know, “nothing is ever finished when it’s done”, and campaigns
work best when they are continually tested and optimized. Even with automation, marketers have
easier access to data that allows them to continuously refine and optimize strategies – as long as
they choose to use it.
CONTINUOUS TESTING AND OPTIMIZING FOR ONGOING SUCCESS 17
Multi-branch testing lets marketers test multiple campaign elements, identifying the best course
of action for optimization and seamlessly moving to the next omnichannel campaign phase, such
as ‘Cart’ or ‘Purchase’.
What should marketers look for as success indicators? The most obvious answer is sales
conversion rates or usage increase, but other potential metrics include:
• Increased number of conversions from one-off purchases.
• Increased click-through rates on email campaigns.
• Reduced shopping cart abandonment rate, or winning back a percentage of defecting buyers.
Based on the goals and results testing across all channels, marketers can determine the best
alternate strategy and refine programs accordingly.
When testing the best methods for abandoned
cart programs, marketers should not only test
different offers and channels, but should also
test timing and frequency. For example, online
retailer RuLaLa4 now displays an abandoned
cart message to visitors before they leave the
site, rather than sending an email later.
Within omnichannel automation platforms,
segmentation can target win-back audiences
with multiple approaches. Demographics can
be named, segmented by percentage, and then
sent on automated paths, such as sending one
group a ‘come back’ email with information, and
another a ‘come back’ email with an incentive.
Customer action at this point will dictate what
content is served next, and marketers can
analyze each method to see which is most
effective by segment response rates.
They can also test whether a ‘come back’
email works best after three or five days, or,
as mentioned above, whether an immediate
message issued before the customer leaves
the site works better than either of the email
approaches.
4 https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/individual-customer-engagement-at-its-best-how-rue-la-la-uses-
testing-and-real-time-personalization/
CASE STUDY EXAMPLE: USING OPTIMIZATION TO REFINE WIN-BACK PROGRAMS

REAL-TIME
MESSAGING
AND WEB-BASED
TRIGGERS

REAL-TIME MESSAGING AND WEB-
BASED TRIGGERS
Another benefit of automating omnichannel strategies is the ability to create and deploy real-time
messages using web-based triggers, allowing brands to immediately react to customer actions,
increasing engagement at that very moment.
REAL-TIME MESSAGING AND WEB-BASED TRIGGERS 19
Brands can then incorporate customer
responses into the automated program,
customizing how campaigns treat one outcome
versus another, enhancing the entire customer
experience, and providing overall consistent
brand interactions. These brand interactions
should reflect the overarching message of the
omnichannel strategy.
There are key touch points along the journey
where consumers will most benefit from real-
time messaging and web-based triggers. These
include ‘first purchase’, ‘browsed categories but
didn’t buy’, ‘followed brand on social media’,
‘abandoned cart’, and ‘post-purchase’.
By receiving this relevant content in a timely,
consistent, and personalized way, the customer
feels less like a simple sales target and more
like an individual. If a customer looks at dresses
on a site but doesn’t buy one, then receives
a targeted offer on dresses via mobile app or
the social channel where they just followed
the brand, they are being provided a truly
individualized omnichannel experience.
After a purchase, it’s imperative that marketers
enter ‘retention mode’. Retaining customers
is not only less expensive than acquiring new
ones, it also helps to build loyalty and create
brand evangelists.
Most marketers provide a basic post-purchase
experience, such as order and shipping
confirmations or a customer service check-
in, but truly integrated data also provides
powerful opportunities to use triggered
messaging, such as the post-purchase follow
up. By integrating the aggregate post-purchase
behavior of similar audiences, marketers
have an invaluable customer profile to enrich
omnichannel marketing strategies; all of which
can be automated.
If audience retention is a pain point, learn more
by downloading the whitepaper ‘7 Steps to
Successful Retention Automation’.
USE CASE EXAMPLE: AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOWING UP POST-PURCHASE

ABANDONMENT
PROGRAMS AND
WIN-BACK
CAMPAIGNS

ABANDONMENT PROGRAMS AND
WIN-BACK CAMPAIGNS
Billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise will be abandoned in online shopping carts this year, a
scary number for any brand. However, automated omnichannel marketing platforms can allow
marketers to use revenue recovery strategies, such as abandoned shopping cart events, to trigger
smart campaigns as part of their overarching omnichannel strategies.
ABANDONMENT PROGRAMS AND WIN-BACK CAMPAIGNS 21
These campaigns help to encourage customers
who may be hesitant to follow through with the
purchase, to do so with timely, relevant, and
personalized follow-up emails or messages on
other channels.
It’s also possible to optimize the performance
of recovery campaigns by, for example,
adding predictive recommendations.5 With
predictive recommendations, not only are
abandoned products shown, but also similar
products purchased by other customers. This
typically results in far higher recovery rates
than standard abandoned cart campaigns,
with some experiencing 67% higher click-
through rates with emails that contain
recommendations. By combining superior site
tracking and automated responses, brands can
recover up to 30% more carts.
Why should a brand invest in this
type of automation strategy?
Because acquiring new customers is
more expensive than ever before.
New research discussed in the whitepaper
‘Predict, protect, and recover revenue across
the digital customer journey’ shows that 98%
of first-time visitors never convert, and of the
few that do, 70% never come back. In the
e-commerce world, it typically costs a brand
seven times more to acquire a new customer
than to retain an existing one, so a first-time
purchase is rarely profitable. Thus, there is
just as much (or even greater) need to target
returning customers as there is for first-time
shoppers.
5 https://www.emarsys.com/en/products/

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE
OMNICHANNEL MARKETING
AUTOMATION PROGRAM
Reaching the right audience, continually interacting with them on an impactful level,
and ensuring that interaction is consistent and complementary, are crucial. But how can
e-commerce retailers build an omnichannel marketing strategy, and where should they
start? By examining the key areas as outlined, the framework for an effective program
begins to take shape.
One of the first areas to review is the type of marketing technology needed. Ultimately,
the chosen solution should be able to automate omnichannel marketing needs, allowing
personalized communication with customers in real time and on their terms. The
platform should collect real-time, digital, lifestyle, and transactional data to create
unified customer profiles, allowing the development of marketing campaigns that are
data-driven and make the customer feel like the true individual that they are.
The digital transformation e-commerce retailers and brands are seeing today has forced
marketers to change their focus significantly in recent years. Consumers are changing
their behavior faster than most retailers can adapt their legacy marketing approaches
and strategies. In order to remain competitive and relevant, retailers must engage
savvy consumers along their journey across the complex and intertwined landscape of
channels, or risk losing sales.
Omnichannel marketing gives e-commerce brands and retailers the opportunity to
truly engage with their customers across all channels, with a cohesive and compelling
message, as opposed to disjointed experiences and confusing messages. In order to
capitalize on the omnichannel opportunity, marketers should begin to evaluate their
current customers’ journeys and begin exploring an omnichannel marketing automation
platform that can help their customers build a lasting relationship with the brand.
22 BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE OMNICHANNEL MARKETING AUTOMATION PROGRAM

Ready to learn more about the
future of marketing and apply
omnichannel marketing strategies
to your customers’ journeys?
Explore recent Emarsys resources
for practical tips and guidance,
or request a demo to see the B2C
Marketing Automation Solution in
action: https://www.emarsys.com/.
CONTACT US TODAY ON:
Phone: +1 844-693-6277 | Email: us@emarsys.com
@Emarsys Emarsys Emarsys

Whitepaper-Omnichannel-Marketing-Automation-US-English

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