The Magic of Multi-Channel Customer Marketing

Transcription

1 The Magic of Multi-Channel Customer Marketing Today, keeping in touch with customers requires a multichannel strategy. Here s how to get started with coordinating, prioritizing and running your multi-channel campaigns

2 Introduction We are multi-screen creatures. We move sequentially between computer, smartphone, tablet and TV or use them simultaneously, according to context and in order to be more efficient. As businesses communicating with customers, it s imperative that we understand this fundamental aspect of the user experience and tailor our marketing strategies accordingly. In other words, keeping in touch with customers requires a multichannel strategy. When done right, multi-channel interactions amplify the brand When done right, multi-channel interactions amplify the brand just the way that orchestrating different instruments together yields a much richer musical experience than any single instrument playing alone. By cohesively managing an orchestra of campaigns across multiple channels , SMS, push notifications, Facebook Custom Audiences, etc. brands create a powerful presence in the lives of their customers. The emphasis, of course, is on managing cohesively: when dealing with customer-centric, multi-channel communications, the difference between seamless and elegant and coarse 02

3 and overbearing is akin to the difference between a philharmonic orchestra and the cacophony of toddlers knocking pots and pans. Obviously, we prefer the orchestra. Why Multi-Channel Customer Marketing is More Effective Channel Preference An orchestra of campaigns creates a powerful presence Different people are more receptive to communications via different channels. Facebook, mobile push notifications, , text messages, and phone calls some people are simply more accepting of messages arriving through certain channels, while others find those same channels annoying. Determining which channels are preferred by which customer personas is a powerful way to improve the response rates and uplift of your customer marketing campaigns. There are also the circumstantial aspects of each channel; for example, it could be that you have an obsolete address for a customer, while that same 03

4 customer might spend hours every day on Facebook. Channel Different types of messages work better over different channels. For example, SMS text messages work best for short messages that have some urgency associated with them. s are obviously better suited for longer messages and in cases where the visual design plays an important role in the message. Facebook is best suited to social communications or messages that are designed to go viral, etc. Different types of messages work better over different channels Multi-Channel Variety Our brains are wired to automatically differentiate between information that we need to notice and retain versus information that we can discard immediately. Without this ability, we would be quickly overwhelmed with information and unable to function. Because our brains are able to ignore or discard most marketing messages, especially in this era of marketing overload, advertising must be repeated to get the audience s attention. Repeating a message via different channels is much more effective than repeating it via a single channel. 04

5 Multi-Channel Synergy When multiple channels are used in such a way that they complement and support each other, individual campaigns can generate better than expected results. For example, if there is no response to a push notification within a reasonable amount of time, we can use another channel to reinforce the message without annoying the customer with multiple messages of the same type. This is the magic of multi-channel, where one and one make three. Multi-channel marketers don't think of a push notification and a follow-up as separate marketing messages. Instead, by focusing on the desired result, each customer is touched however many times is necessary in the best channels for him or her. Rather than looking at open rates or other metrics for individual channels, stay laser-focused on campaign success by measuring overall effectiveness across all channels. This holistic approach yields the true picture of marketing success from multi-channel synergies. Sometimes the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts 05

6 The Pros and Cons of Available Channels COST Low ATTENTION DESIGN ANNOYING Here is a summary of the relative strengths and weaknesses of some commonly-used channels, according to these attributes: SMS Push notification Low Low Low Low Low Cost How expensive is it to communicate with each customer via this channel? In-app/on-site Low Low Attention How effectively does this channel grab the attention of most customers? Design How much flexibility and creativity is available to deliver high-impact messages via this channel? Annoying How invasive or irritating do customers perceive this channel to be? Google Facebook Twitter Direct mail Call center Low Low 06

7 Channel Comparison and Best Practices MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES Preferred by most customers. Competes for attention with Keep an up-to-date address list. many other s; requires Greatest reach: 93% of Internet users use , while only 70% use social media. The perfect fit for rich media, outstanding creative to rise above the clutter. No control over when the customer will read the . Always provide an unsubscribe link. Know and adhere to regulations (e.g., the CAN-SPAM act in the US). images, videos, clickable links, etc. Even non-spam s Use a good mix of text and images. Customers regularly check their inbox. frequently get caught by spam filters or inbox promotions folders. Keep total size small (less than 1 MB). Great tool for content marketing: is the best tool for sharing lists require close Even though is long-form, 07

8 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES blogs, articles and long-form content. attention to ensure that obsolete addresses don t negatively impact sender reputation. remember that you are aiming at five-second attention spans. Don t overdo it! Deliverability reports are generally unreliable. Make s personalized, relevant and of high value to the customer. Invest in good, engaging, content; don t limit yourself to buy one get one free. 08

9 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES Immediate delivery. Limited feedback on whether or not message was viewed. Use with your most engaged customers who have a proven interest Close to 100% deliverability. in your messaging. ly-personal channel SMS est view rates of all channels: 83% of texts are opened within 3 minutes. and can be perceived as intrusive if not done correctly. No rich media text only. Consider sending only to opt-in users. Use in marketing scenarios when time or location is of the essence (e.g., No spam filtering. More people are ignoring SMS alerts and reminders). response rates: up to 45%. now that IM (WhatsApp, Skype, etc.) has become so popular. Link each SMS message to a dedicated, personalized landing page. Always provide an opt-out method. Take time zones into consideration. 09

10 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES Zero cost. Easy to disable. Use best time of day best practices for users to get messages. Immediate delivery. Requires that users install your mobile app. Utilize location knowledge. PUSH NOTIFICATION 100% deliverability. Users can t avoid looking at it it Competes with many other app notifications. Keep it short; include a clear call-to-action. appears in their most valuable digital real estate. Perceived as less intrusive than SMS. 10

11 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES Reaches your audience when Can only be shown when the Use for opt-ins, personalized they are most engaged; customer is already using the recommendations, reward program communications are in the app/site limits the audience notices, feature updates, app-ratings. context of the application/ site. significantly and doesn t help IN-APP/ON-SITE MESSAGING Realtime delivery. ly actionable. drive customers back to your site/app. Take great care with your micro-copy. Ensure that your messaging and creative remain consistent with the look and feel of your app/site. Easy to show rich media, images, videos, etc. No cost. 11

12 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES volume (large audience). Expensive. People like getting relevant offers and communication, but hate getting Addresses the user in a neutral Many users exhibit banner targeted. Use retargeting sparingly. environment. blindness. Good customer experience trumps GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK Can potentially use Google data for even better targeting. Customers spend a lot of time Retargeting and other forms of personalized advertising may be perceived as creepy by some customers. being tracked show highly-personalized messages that resonate with your customers. here so reaching them is easy. Deliverability metrics and good analytics are available. 12

13 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES volume (large audience). Expensive. The more granular your target FCA audiences, the more personalized and Addresses the user in a neutral environment. Big limits on design. effective these ads will be. FACEBOOK CUSTOM Ads feel more native. Impossible to include dynamic content (e.g., customer name). Roll out new creatives frequently. AUDIENCES Strong social element easy to interact with. Can potentially use FB data for Despite the native feel, FB users may develop a blindness for these ads. Set your Facebook campaigns to only run at times that you feel are optimal for each audience. even better targeting. Customers spend a lot of time here so reaching them is easy. Deliverability metrics and good analytics are available. 13

14 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES volume (large audience). Expensive. Experiment with Twitter s Primary, Lookalike and Exclusion targeting Addresses the user in a neutral Big limits on design. methods. environment. Does not support dynamic The more refined your segmentation TWITTER TAILORED AUDIENCE Customers spend a lot of time here so reaching them is easy. content (e.g., first name). is, the more relevant your Twitter Ads will be. Strong social element easy to interact with customers here. Because it s relatively new, users ignore it less. Deliverability metrics and good analytics are available. 14

15 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES DIRECT MAIL Can reach customers without known online addresses. Circumvents the noise of online marketing overload. Expensive. Old, annoying, often thrown in the garbage before being read. Open/view rates not measureable. Non-ecological. Use for sending special event invitations that are formal and fancy (VIP cocktails, etc.) 15

16 MAIN PROS MAIN CONS BEST PRACTICES Very personal. Expensive. Use for VIP customers. CALL CENTER 100% measurable. Difficult to scale. May be perceived as extremely intrusive. Use to get the kind of customer feedback that you won t get from any other channel. 16

17 Creative Ways to Use Multiple Channels Here are some ways you can use multi-channel marketing to improve campaign results. Of course, there are countless others this is where a marketer s creativity and ingenuity come into play! Sequential Messaging Across Channels Run campaigns that present a sequence of messages, like telling a story, across multiple channels. For example, we can use the 97% open rate of SMS messages to deliver a short teaser regarding a subsequent campaign message to come via , and thus dramatically increase the open rates of that when it comes half an hour later. Message Blast Send the same offer via every channel at once. This works best for a great, limited-time offer that is highly focused to a niche segment of customers for 17

18 example, big spenders who you know are very interested in a particular product category. It s also very effective when you want to make sure that every customer in the segment sees the offer, somehow, on the same day you send it. Channel Competition Run campaigns with the same message/call-to-action via different channels, to different random segments of a target group to see which ones work better. Known as A/B/N testing, this approach can reveal which types of messages work best over which channels for your various target segments. 18

19 Multi-channel Marketing May Require Organizational Change A final thought on moving towards multi-channel customer marketing: you might need to make some changes in the organization to really make it work. In too many companies, different customer marketing channels are managed by different marketers, sometimes even by different departments. Within these silos, marketers typically maintain their own databases. Coordinating your channels is key for success This presents a big problem for executing effective multi-channel marketing, because customers will be receiving different (sometimes, even conflicting) messages via the different channels. Instead of the channels working together, fragmented messaging of this kind can have very negative results. One of the keys to successful multi-channel customer marketing is managing all channels in a coordinated way, within the same framework. It is critical to maintain a single-customer-view customer database. Additionally, it is ideal to 19

20 have a single campaign management framework for scheduling, executing and evaluating all customer campaigns via all channels. This assures full coordination of which customers are receiving which messages via which channels. The World s Most Advanced Customer Marketing Cloud It is ideal to have a single campaign management framework Even the smartest marketers struggle to measure and increase business value from customer marketing, and are under increasing pressure to do so. Optimove is the only customer marketing cloud that connects customer marketing to business results with predictive customer modeling, multi-channel campaign automation, real-time hyper targeting, and self-optimizing personalization. Ready to see how predictive customer marketing can help you grow at record speeds? Request a personalized demo today! info@optimove.com Copyright 2016 by Optimove 20