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Multi-Channel Marketing
According to a recent study from Google one person who was looking for a new car interacted with the company they purchased their new car from over 900 times digitally before making a purchase. This level of interaction sounds extreme, but if you think about making a purchase online, especially one as expensive as a car, how many times do you search for information? If you include more direct interactions like visiting dealer websites or going to the manufacturer’s site directly, the number of interactions quickly shoots up. As digital marketers we need to be across as many channels as practical, making it easy for a customer to see us, wherever they look.
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The challenge arising from the mobile-first world is NOT ‘how do we find out what customers are doing?’. Modern marketers are drowning in data, metrics, ROI indicators, and statistics. The challenge is working out what information is useful, filtering out all of the rest and then deciding where and how to use it.
Firstly you need to have clearly defined business goals. KPIs that actually matter are a good place to start. Then you need to look at your current marketing and see what’s working. Find out where conversions are coming from at the moment. Are they all from your Facebook page? Or do you only get customers from selling door-to-door?
Don’t Worry About Spreading Yourself Too Thinly
Once you’ve done that you need to test new channels. Use what you already know to guide you. If Facebook works for you, then perhaps test other social channels. If cold email works, then maybe try direct mail. Look for similar or complimentary marketing channels, that can build on your expertise and existing success.
Never stop doing what you do well, but you should dedicate a percentage of your budget to testing different marketing channels and ideas. Nothing stands still in digital marketing, so it’s not good enough to have one revenue stream anymore because in one or two years that stream might not exist anymore. You need to AB test different marketing channels like you would with a landing page or a new CTA. Try a new channel, give it a month or so, then if you don’t see any progress, drop it and move on to the next one.
Testing Marketing Channels
Target recently found that their ‘omni-channel’ customers spend three times as much money with them than those who shop on a single channel. This shows how spreading yourself across a number of channels can do more than just find new customers. It can increase the revenue of the ones you already have.
With 98% of customers now starting their journey on mobile, it isn’t enough for you to stick with what’s working now. Testing new channels and platforms should be something you’re doing every month to keep up. This month we plan on testing paid Twitter ads. What are you going to try for the first time?
How can we help?
Do you think you use enough marketing channels? What does your data say in Search Console?
We are Spectrum Group Online, and we offer strategic and tactical consulting so you can monetize your online presence. Call us for a complimentary 30-minute consultation to discuss your website’s user experience and translate that into sales.
Photo credit – Top: Pexels
Photo credit – Bottom: Pixabay
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