The Omni-channel Evolution
In today’s landscape, even before COVID-19 hit, one fo the biggest and fastest growing marketing trends among brands was adopting the omni-channel approach. Now with COVID making it more difficult for brands to reach their consumers through more traditional offline channels, the omni-channel and connected digital approach is more prevalent now than ever.
When a brand’s marketing channels are not connected, not communicating with each other, and not agile enough to update across each other in real-time, that can lead to setbacks beyond just being able to reach potential new customers. COVID-19 has shown us that a lack of omni-channel strategy and capabilities can lead to retention problems. There has been a recent shock to brand loyalty. With the change in customers’ shopping behavior comes a change in needs and a change in limitations. Looking at some of McKinsey’s findings in their article “The Great Consumer Shift”, we find that 36% of consumers are trying new brands that better meet their new-normal needs and limitations. The most relevant key drivers of this brand-switching trend are availability of products, convenience and accessibility of products, and value (i.e. better pricing and promotions). By both leveraging their current capabilities (i.e. location and inventory information) and injecting investment into high-powered analytics, brands have the capability to connect the dots and harness those key drivers across channels. This will make brands (that can afford it) better able to provide streamlined accessibility to products, real-time inventory information, and personalized promotional offers to consumers. People want personalization across every touchpoint, ensuring that their money is being spent effectively according to their preferences.
In a world where we as humans are all scrambling to navigate our way out of a huge crisis but we still have important consumer needs, having a personalized shopping experience handed to us means there’s one less area where we are feeling around in the dark. The growing expectation among consumers for the future is that personalization and customization will exist across ALL CHANNELS, and that their customer experience will be unified. According to BCG article from June 2020 (entitled “Three Personalization Imperatives During the Crisis”), brands can leverage this trend by activating just-in-time personalization. This can be achieved by using advanced analytics and increasing test-and-learn capabilities, and will enable brands to sense quick shifts in demand in real time.
But to do it right, brands need to invest in technology and data analytics capabilities that can enable omni-channel to work the way it needs to work. For brands with hefty capital investment budgets, it is in their best interest to adopt an omni-channel marketing and engagement strategy in order to stay relevant and competitive. And the question remains: what of those brands that cannot afford the investment? Who will get left behind as the necessary shift to omni-channel continues?
Sources:
https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2020/three-personalization-imperatives-during-covid-crisis
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