Multichannel marketing uses multiple platforms, traditional or digital, to advertise, engage customers, and sell services. Multichannel marketing provides flexibility for both organizations and customers. Businesses can reach more customers through different avenues, and customers are able to purchase products and interact with companies through the media that works best for them. Marketing channels include:
- Website
- Television commercials and programs
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Facebook and Messenger
- YouTube
- Printed flyers
- Social media
- Phone calls
To successfully develop a multichannel marketing strategy, businesses must:
- Be able to adapt to different channels. For example, if a company has never used Instagram, but their newest products are very popular with college students, they’ll be more successful if they can efficiently shift some of their marketing to Instagram.
- Have a focused goal. While an organization’s strategies may shift depending on the channel in question, they’ll need an overall strategy to remain organized and focused.
- Follow through with customers and communicate well with them. Especially in larger companies, a mismanaged marketing campaign can mean that customers fall through the cracks. Having marketing strategies in place that include consistently maintaining long-lasting customer relationships will help a business in the long run.
Businesses must be aware of their customers’ preferences and the channels they use the most. Multichannel marketing can be tricky because, though businesses want to develop or expand their strategies to reach more customers, they also run the risk of losing customers temporarily if they slow their marketing efforts on one channel.
It can be challenging to manage a large multichannel marketing strategy, keeping a consistent brand focus, and staying on top of the different platforms. Some marketing automation software helps streamline marketing processes and show where the channels connect, helping marketing teams to manage their efforts on one organized platform.
Multichannel marketing is similar to omnichannel marketing, but the difference lies in the center of the strategy. Multichannel marketing puts the company in the center of the strategy, while omnichannel places the consumer at the center.
