How To Adopt Omnichannel in 2023

In 2023, marketers will have to adapt to economic changes at a fast pace. According to the IMF, global economic growth is projected to slow from an estimated 6.1% to 3.6% over the next year. Pair that with the changes in iOS policy, impending cookie phase-out, as well as other changes, and we will be encountering a unique set of challenges.

Creating cohesive integrated buying experiences through an omnichannel approach can be the solution marketers are looking for here. That is because this method creates a consistent user connection with the brand, based on multiple touchpoints from physical stores and events to mobile in-app advertising and over-the-top video integrations. Plus, it turns out to be cheaper and cleaner than single-channel marketing.

Our marketing experience, which includes advanced AdTech approaches like omnichannel,  allows us to share insights advertisers and marketers might find useful. In this short text, we’ll try to explain the basics of omnichannel, highlight its benefits with numbers, and offer our advice on how to use it effectively.

Omnichannel in a Nutshell

The reason this method appeals to marketers is that it saves energy for businesses to be able to deliver consistent and effective messages within multiple verticals by improving customer experience and retention. Each campaign works to build a unified experience with the brand as users switch between devices and channels. In this way, omnichannel brings personalized and consistent messaging while enhancing the overall effectiveness of the advertising. 

In marketing, brands will normally include in-app, web, social media, TV, and various offline channels’ advertising while utilizing an omnichannel approach. However, as we are specialized in CTV (OTT), desktop, mobile, DOOH, and digital audio verticals, we will confine ourselves to those here.

Best Performing Channels For 2023

Based on our statistics, we believe the best-performing channels in the year ahead might not be classic web or in-app advertising platforms.

CTV/OTT with its big living room screen advertising is the perfect match for brand awareness and brings all the benefits of regular TV to the table. But unlike traditional TV, CTV/OTT has around a 95% completion rate with its non-skippable ads that viewers watch before their shows. Programmatic technology is there to quickly pivot messaging, while incremental reach unlocks niche cord-cutting audiences and the ability to precisely target specific households. CTV advertising also works well with e-commerce-integrated creatives like QR codes. 

However, it’s not CTV that we’re most excited about. Through digital audio content, which includes radio, podcasts, music streaming, and audiobooks, marketers can really make a difference. The reasons for that are simple. In 2022, 74.0% of US internet users, or 222.7 million people, listened to digital audio, according to eMarketer. That means people switch from traditional formats like radio but won’t stop listening to audio content as it has a great engagement rate with listeners and is easy to consume. Advertisers can benefit from unique community targeting options from digital radio stations that cater to local audiences. 

Digital-out-of-home (DOOH) has a lot to offer too as it quickly becomes a reality rather than the future of outdoor advertising. With an omnichannel approach, marketers can use deterministic data from mobile devices for precise measurement and advanced targeting options based on time of day, weather, or location to meet their audiences outside. Beyond that, modern techniques allow for transparent measurement of DOOH campaigns through online purchase attribution, after-ad influence, or brand lift studies.

How Is Omnichannel Better Than Single Channel?

  • A holistic targeting approach. Omnichannel takes into account users’ previous or parallel engagements with brands, leading to more immersive campaigns with multiple touchpoints. 
  • Higher personalization. There is a level of individualization based on age, income, interests, or location that can only be achieved by omnichannel marketing. When you provide this relevancy, customers respond better to it, they purchase greater amounts, and they come back more often.
  • Higher engagement rates. Based on our data, omnichannel campaigns result in an engagement rate of 19%, in comparison to 5.4% with single-channel campaigns. 
  • Higher order rate (conversion rate). On average, omnichannel campaigns get a 0.83% conversion rate, while single-channel performed at around 0.14% in 2022.
  • Higher spending rate. Users that interact with omnichannel campaigns spend on average 13% more compared to single-channel engagements.
  • Higher retention rate. Omnichannel has a 90% higher customer retention rate than single-channel performance.
  • Higher click-through rate. Omnichannel performs 17.27% higher CTR over a single-channel campaign.
  • More sustainable advertising. Advertising accounts for 5 to 6 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions. While print marketing in the form of advertising posters, brochures, and flyers consumes an enormous amount of paper, digital marketing strategies involve large volumes of data being transmitted and a significant amount of energy being consumed. Lowering the carbon footprint is becoming a goal for many brands. For instance, they have recently been tending to switch from billboards to DOOH campaigns to save energy as a part of their omnichannel approach. 

How to Make Omnichannel Work? 

  • Big screen first. We believe an omnichannel campaign should start with the biggest screen in the viewer’s home. The technology works better when advertisers follow users to smaller devices programmatically, be it laptops, tablets, or smartphones. 
  • Combine first-party and third-party data. First-party data is the king of any marketing strategy but it really thrives when you combine it with third-party data. Take your own targeting data, integrate it with demographic and behavioral insights from external data sources, and make programmatic buys more efficient. Combining FPD and TPD also contributes to good retargeting.
  • Appropriately target your messages. Omnichannel digital marketing thrives on personalization. One of the effective ways to direct your message is to segment your subscribers into smaller lists. Assigning contacts to different categories, based on similar traits, makes it easier to send personalized messages. These characteristics could include demographics, age, gender, marital status, location, campaign engagement rate, and shopping behavior.
  • Test and measure each campaign iteration. Your marketing efforts will gradually evolve as you process more and more customer data. The BidMind platform has all the right tools and insights into your campaign effectiveness, starting with an overall performance dashboard to advanced reporting like the most profitable campaigns chart. Use these testing components to see which audience segments respond better to different messaging or creatives.