What does the future of marketing look like? No, I'm not talking about the sci-fi concepts of advertisements beamed into your brain while you sleep, or every wall in a house being a television. Realistically, it consists of a seamless experience across multiple mediums, with the ability for a user to pick up right where they left off from, even on a different device. This is the concept of omni-channel marketing, which differs from multi-channel in that it refers to the strategy rather than the method. Think of it this way: your cell phone may have the functionality to connect to your other devices, such as your computer and tablet, so anything that you start doing can easily be transferred elsewhere. This is an omni-channel approach: several devices working in harmony to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, where there is no pre-defined start or end.
This proposition is very convenient, but how can it be applied to marketing? Imagine receiving a phone call containing additional information immediately after you sent a text message to a keyword – this sort of omni-channel approach can overcome the character limit of the text message while ensuring that you have a phone nearby to receive the call. Consider being able to automatically follow someone on social media whenever they download your application. By relying on the situational awareness of the user, companies can craft effective, non-intrusive campaigns to spread information. Despite the relative newness of the concept, omni-channel marketing has a lot of potential, as it can leverage the latest in consumer technology to create the best experience possible. A perfect example is the world of wearables: with the dramatic rise in smartwatches in 2015, just think of how the technology can be leveraged from a marketing perspective a few years from now.
Regardless of what the future brings, there are plenty of opportunities for you to implement an omni-channel strategy in the here and now. Marketing automation, while not absolutely vital in implementation, can reduce a significant amount of the workload when it comes to running a campaign. Automation software can react to user behavior and push them through the appropriate channel, even if it consists of many different forms of communication; so long as one method of communication begets another, it qualifies as an omni-channel approach.
The advantage of this technological advance is more than simple convenience; by ensuring that every method of communication can work alongside every other, a unique approach to brand awareness is created and can be maintained. Instead of the old urban standbys of advertising on buses and billboards, omni-channel applies the same thought process across several digital mediums, translating traditional marketing practices into the realm of technology.
The use of automation can help you develop and implement an omni-channel marketing strategy, and SimplyCast offers a robust suite of applications through its SimplyCast 360 platform to allow the sending of messages over such disparate methods as fax, telephone, email, and more. Get ahead of the game and implement an omni-channel strategy by signing up for a free 14-day trial today!
