Why Multi-Channel Marketing Automation Will Still Rule in 2020
No eCommerce store will last long without taking advantage of multi-channel marketing automation. This statement will hold even more truth in 2020, but what actually is multi-channel marketing automation? Read on to learn about the fundamentals – and find out how it can help your eCommerce store flourish in the coming year.
What is Multi-Channel Marketing Automation?
OK, let’s strip it away. Marketing automation is a term for online communication with prospects and clients that utilizes various platforms to automate the entire marketing process. The word “multi-channel” indicates that multiple channels such as email, SMS, web push notifications, and more are being used to distribute this communication.
At first, marketing automation mainly consisted of email marketing. However, it then quickly developed into a wider set of channels, and thus, became the multi-channel approach that we know today.
Why Multi-Channel Marketing Automation Is So Useful?
Multi-channel marketing automation platforms are commonly used by eCommerce stores for communication on a grand-scale with prospective and current clients throughout the entire customer journey. These platforms allow for planning, coordinating, managing, and measuring marketing campaigns all the way through the sales funnel, (i.e., starting from the awareness phase, to nurturing leads, converting them into customers, and then retaining them with follow-up communication).
Multi-channel marketing automation platforms allow users to specify the above process in detail and execute their plan automatically on a massive scale, streamlining the process and limiting the possibility for human error. It results in much higher efficiency of campaigns.
Key Benefits of Using Multi-Channel Marketing Automation
Using multi-channel marketing automation brings many benefits to eCommerce stores, but here are the top three:
- It allows you to connect with customers and prospects on their favorite channels, keeping up with today’s mobile-centered, constantly-on-the-go users. This results in an increase in customer engagement and higher conversion rates.
- It facilitates an increase in the customer base and significantly lowers customer acquisition costs.
- It allows for attributing your success to specific metrics by providing you with detailed reporting on everything connected to your eCommerce marketing campaigns.
Challenges of Multi-Channel Marketing Automation
For inexperienced users, multi-channel marketing automation can also have some downsides. It may be challenging for some organizations to keep a consistent message – and a cohesive branding – across the various channels. This challenge is generally followed by difficulty shaping the entire customer experience to be consistent and up to the same standards.
Also, knowing which channels to use and when to use them requires some experience and should be based on hard data. The same goes for the appropriate format of content on each of the channels. For example, the content of messages sent via email versus SMS must be very different.
Finally, each channel has different metrics and different methods of analyzing them. So, you’ll need to dive into the numbers to understand what they mean and how they interconnect and affect results.
Conclusion
If you’re not distributing your messages using multiple channels, you’re going to miss out on reaching a large portion of your audience. Make implementing multi-channel marketing automation your new year resolution! However, bear in mind that doing it right requires consistency and some good analytical skills.
Want to learn how to be successful with multiple channels? We’re always sharing tips and tricks on this blog, so make sure to check back regularly
