3aboutIf, before the age of digitization, traditional marketing has still been based on the fact to be seen by appropriate target groups in catalogs, on posters and flyers, television or radio advertising, to bring customers into the stationary stores, in the course of time every trader has discovered the potentials of an online store and online advertising. Unfortunately, however, many of them are still treating online and offline as separate disciplines. It almost seems as if many companies are still in a readjustment process, trying to figure out how to cover all channels with an efficient strategy and how to make optimum use of the interdependencies. Consequently, there are timely changes and optimizations, in favor of the achievement of objectives through clear measurability, which motivates the growing budget shift from offline to online advertising, making performance marketing and a well thought out omnichannel strategy the alpha and omega for trade nowadays.

Efficient Integration

Successful omnichannel marketing uses synergies in online and offline channels to exploit potentials and to increase the efficiency of marketing activities, because today’s customers hardly differentiates between online and offline, moving simultaneously in both worlds. For that reason, the customer journey and the performance of its marketing activities have to be analyzed and evaluated on a uniform data basis as an integrated approach is essential.

It is recommended to proceed step by step - from the definition of objectives to the channel selection, the budget distribution, KPI definition, the tracking selection and implementation, as well as campaign analysis. As long as there is consistent communication via all online and offline channels, besides measured marketing activities, the efficiency of your marketing budget will increase. The high degree of transparency and flexibility in online advertising makes it possible to optimize the budget distribution any time by calculating the optimal marketing mix.

Nowadays, consumers grab more and more often their smart phones or tablets to learn about products or compare prices ("ROPO - Research Online - Purchase Offline") prior to starting their shopping spree in retail stores. To meet the buyers exactly where they are located in that specific moment, a network of all channels is inevitable - even better when combined with optimum measurement. That’s simply because the in-store and online trade, combined with an optimum omnichannel marketing strategy, complement and inspire each other and allow traders to benefit from it.

The better your SEA campaigns is tailored to your TV campaign, for instance, the higher the conversions as well as the efficiency of your marketing activities. You pick up the user wherever he is lingering around at that specific moment, and especially in retail you should include your logistics and purchasing activities in the planning as well as the measurement of your multichannel marketing.

Online and offline merge

If one of your products from the online store is sold out, you can adapt the warehouse management and shift those sold products from the retail stores to the online shop. That way, you can deal with the entire process – from advertising to the ordering process and fulfillment - and increase both the effectiveness of your campaigns as well as customer satisfaction. You get a consistently positive user experience and this approach of course works vice versa, too.

Obviously, online and offline trade increasingly merge, despite media discontinuity making this route more difficult. A deliberate multi-channel strategy for your performance marketing is therefore a must to meet the demands of your customers and to reach them anytime on different devices via different channels.

The intelligent integration of online and offline trade not only increases your sales but also creates valuable synergies, while strengthening customer loyalty, not only regarding your brand, but the stores as well.

By Daniela La Marca