Creating Truly Personal Omnichannel Customer Experiences

HOW TO DEVELOP AN OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETING STRATEGY
SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 1
Creating truly
personal omni-channel
customer experiences
WITH EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INSIGHTS
FROM BRIAN SOLIS, ALTIMETER GROUP
S M A R T F O C U S E B O O K

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Customers are more connected and more informed
than ever. Digital marketers now need an entirely fresh
perspective to succeed in a world where customers
and prospects experience their brand in multiple ways
– online ads, websites, the mobile web and apps, blogs,
email, social media, the call centre, web chat, instant
messaging and more. In retail, the customer journey
might also include a visit to a real world store.

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 3
INTRODUCTION
Too often, there is little consistency across these
experiences. A lot of big brands, despite paying
lip service to multi-channel marketing, still
operate web, email, social and mobile channels
independently. Customers might click on a link
in an email and be taken to a landing page with
a very different look and feel. Multi-channel
marketing for many simply means promoting
their eCommerce channels via email shots, social
media posts or SMS messages.
Yet most brands are still on the starting blocks
when it comes to true omni-channel marketing.
Omni-channel is not just another way of saying
multi-channel – it’s a whole new approach,
encompassing technology, marketing and a sea
change in company culture.
Customers and potential customers share some
common desires – they want to be valued, they
need engagement to be efficient and consistent,
they want to be able to trust your business
and to be in control. But there is an increasing
realization that people are individuals – and we
all do things differently. It’s no longer possible to
have one sweeping, scalable marketing strategy.
Empathy and understanding the nuances of
customer motivation is vital.
According to industry analyst and digital guru,
Brian Solis1
, “It is about people. The more we
can study who they are, what they like and they
don’t like, the better we can build personal
journeys that matter.”
This eBook will explain how to build those
journeys and develop an omni-channel marketing
strategy that appeals to each and every customer
and prospect in the way that works for them.
1
Source: Brian Solis, Altimeter Group.
‘What’s the Future of Marketing?’ –
http://www.smartfocus.com/resources/
whats-future-marketing

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 4
WHAT IS OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETING AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
What is omni-channel
marketing & why is
it important?

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 5
Omni-channel marketing is aimed at the connected
customer. It recognizes that consumers have
more control and influence over brands than ever
before and combines the user experience, brand
experience and consumer experience consistently.
Multi-channel marketing has rarely succeeded
in creating a unified customer experience;
marketers now must take the lead in uniting
work on the experience cycle through omni-
channel marketing and integrated channels.
It’s a multi-screen world. Consumers often start
shopping on a PC and then try to complete the
purchase on a mobile device. According to Google2
,
almost a quarter of people that start interacting
with retailers using a PC continue the interaction
on a smartphone or tablet. Consumers are ‘multi-
screening’ on a daily basis, but businesses are not.
Omni-channel campaign copy and design must be
not only integrated but meaningful across multiple
screens, tapping into the context of engagement
on a tablet versus a phone, versus a website. Plan to
make the content work in a way that is natural and
intuitive and native to the screen – using touch and
pinch features on touchscreen devices, for example.
Responsive design is critical if customers are to
have a consistent and effective experience on all
platforms from their desktop PC to their smartphone.
Omni-channel marketing is seamless, integrated
and up-to-date. This means that your IT
department also has a part to play, for example
by aligning internal systems to present a single
view of stock to the customer and updating
prices in real time across all channels. However,
what really sets omnichannel marketing apart is
the human and empathetic approach. The idea
that marketing is a conversation has moved on,
and the ideal for engagement right now is shared
experience of the brand.
2
Source: Google. ‘The New Multi-Screen World Study’ -
http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/research-studies/the-
new-multi-screen-world-study.html
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES?
According to Google2
, almost a quarter
of people that start interacting with
retailers using a PC continue the
interaction on a smartphone or tablet.
25%

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 6
“The traditional funnel no longer works on
connected customers. It’s far too dynamic and
the evolution is spinning the ellipse faster than
your business is adapting its vision, mission
and models to react.”
Brian Solis, ‘What’s the Future of Business?’
Read the Book

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 7
Being human and staying
tech savvy
BEING HUMAN AND STAYING TECH SAVVY

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 8
Watch Brian Solis
discuss the importance
of empathy and the
human element.
BRIAN SOLIS VIDEO INSIGHT
Please open this eBook in Adobe Reader to ensure video playback. Alternatively, watch this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBRapQ1bv9U&list=PL-4Oun-4cqLwhkNEaLpdmx9tYMkNgkJ8r

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 9
Most marketers are good at coming up with
creative ideas and adopting new technologies,
but many miss the human element. Of course,
marketing people themselves are also customers.
But when they dream up marketing strategies
in their professional lives, too often they put
on marketing hats that rob them of empathy.
Personalized content is key, but it’s vital that
personalized offers and recommendations work
for prospective customers.
With the explosion in ‘big data’, marketers can
access and leverage customer data from multiple
channels and data sources, yet we are not really
getting to know who the customer is and how they
use their different screens. There is more insight
and more data as to people and their preferences
and behavior than ever before, however the
infrastructure to extract that data and analyze
it is getting old and needs to be updated so
that it can be applied in a meaningful way.
The problem is that data alone does not tell you
everything. Take the example provided by Peter
Gentsch of BIG3
, of two men; both born in 1948,
both married for the second time, both enjoy
holidaying in the Alps and like dogs. Both are
successful in business. One is Prince Charles, the
other Ozzy Osborne – two very different men.
Many marketers look at demographics and data
sets, but not people.
When you start to look at the people, you can
see what you have been missing. It’s about
adding a human layer so that you feel empathy
and you know who you are talking to.
The best businesses begin with empathy. Omni-
channel marketing uses data intelligently to
present tailored offers to individual consumers
based on their purchase history, social network
activity across multiple channels, website visits,
and loyalty programs.
3 Source: Brian Solis. ‘Tapping Into the Mind of Generation C’
- http://networkingexchangeblog.att.com/enterprise-
business/connected customers-are-invisible-to-marketers-
who-value-demographics/
Two men; both born in 1948, both married
for the second time, both enjoy holidaying
in the Alps and like dogs. Both are
successful in business. One is Prince
Charles, the other Ozzy Osborne – two very
different men.

SMARTFOCUS | PAGE 10
Watch Brian Solis
discuss the role
personalization has to
play in providing great
customer experiences.
Please open this eBook in Adobe Reader to ensure video playback. Alternatively, watch this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyUS2hdXeyo&index=2&list=PL-4Oun-4cqLwhkNEaLpdmx9tYMkNgkJ8r

Social media –
the moment of truth
SOCIAL MEDIA - THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

C-level executives may be pushing for an all-
purpose, scalable marketing strategy across
the website, email, social and mobile channels
to maximize value for money. While the brand
consistency this may bring is welcome, the word
‘social’ is in social marketing for a reason. It is
about engagement and people and the more we
can study who they are, what they like and what
they don’t like, the more we can improve those
communications and build a more personal
journey that matters.
Brands might create engaging content and come
up with great videos and infographics, but miss
the point of what social really means. You are not
the host; you are a participant. Social marketing is
getting caught up in its own silo while every day
the connected consumer community gets larger.

“Customer dependence on social and mobile
will only continue to rise as the influence of
traditional media wanes. The opportunities for
you to engage consumers grow exponentially.
But without study, experimentation, and
investment ,missed opportunities
then become opportunity costs.”
Brian Solis, ‘What’s the Future of Business?’
Read the Book

Watch Brian Solis
discuss the components
of a great social media
strategy.
Please open this eBook in Adobe Reader to ensure video playback. Alternatively, watch this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY-BODNyqQc&index=8&list=PL-4Oun-4cqLwhkNEaLpdmx9tYMkNgkJ8r

There is a pressing need to take the shift from
monologue to dialogue seriously on social media.
The goal is to communicate at peer-to-peer level
on channels that are authentic, engaging and
contain active communities. What’s important
to the people you are targeting? How do they
communicate and why? Too many companies
do a good job of talking at, not with people.
Different generations demand a different approach.
Some marketers struggle to cater to the
‘Snapchat-focused’ Generation Z – 15-20 year-
olds that are always online but less likely to use
mainstream channels.
Yet Gen Z may not be as elusive as we fear –
marketers just need to step outside the traditional
marketing process. Many brands look at new
channels and bring a top-down marketing
approach to them, without necessarily thinking
about the culture of the channel, how people
engage in it, what they value and how they share.
Google talks about the ‘zero moment of truth4
’
when customers who are about to make a
decision about a purchase will ‘Google it’.
They may also ask questions about it via their
preferred social network. Gen Z uses YouTube
like older people use Google, asking questions
about brands and products. What are the
answers saying about your business?
When someone publishes a review and it gets
published and indexed, this is what people who
are asking questions at the ‘zero moment of
truth’ see. This is real market influence. Brands
should consider auditing what those shared
experiences are today and then invest in creating
good experiences that are going to be shared
to their benefit.
4
Source: Google. ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ - “http://www.
thinkwithgoogle.com/collections/zero-moment-truth.html”
COMPETITION RESEARCH
68% of consumers have used
YouTube to browse and research
retail companies4
.
68%

Watch Brian Solis
discuss how to engage
Gen Z and Gen Y
consumers.
Please open this eBook in Adobe Reader to ensure video playback. Alternatively, watch this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJEaPNo-hao&list=PL-4Oun-4cqLwhkNEaLpdmx9tYMkNgkJ8r&index=7

Email marketing is more
important than ever
EMAIL MARKETING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

Most people face an overload of social media,
push notifications, email and instant messaging.
A Lifehacker survey5
found 43% of people now
have four to six inboxes. Marketers developing
an omni-channel strategy need to consider
them all, but in the rush to modernize it may
come as a surprise to learn that email remains
the number one channel that consumers choose
to communicate with businesses.
5 Source: Walter Glenn. ‘How Many Inboxes Do You Deal With?’-
http://lifehacker.com/how-many-inboxes-do-you-deal-
with-477186651
In fact, 77% of consumers prefer to receive
permission-based marketing communications
via email – including the elusive 15-20 age
group – according to a Waldow Social survey6
.
Email remains a vital bridge between a
company, its message, its value proposition and
the needs and preferences of its customers.
Email marketers must use email effectively as
a bridge to other channels, from the website
to social and mobile, as the enabler of a much
more integrated experience.
6 Source: DJ Waldow. ‘Email marketing is Far From Dead’ -
http://waldowsocial.com/email-marketing-is-far-from-dead

“If customers say that they prefer email, even
younger customers, what are you going to do
differently? The answer isn’t to send more emails.
The answer is to know who you are talking to,
what’s important to them and how you could
capture their attention and do something with it.”
Brian Solis, ‘What’s the Future of Marketing?’
Watch the Webinar

Watch Brian Solis
discuss the importance
of email marketing.
Please open this eBook in Adobe Reader to ensure video playback. Alternatively, watch this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ28quKp5lY&list=PL-4Oun-4cqLwhkNEaLpdmx9tYMkNgkJ8r&index=5

You have their attention -
what are you going
to do with it?
YOU HAVE THEIR ATTENTION - WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?
Effective omni-channel marketing uses human
strategies to get people’s attention. Once you
have their attention, what you do with it is
more important than ever before. If you have
connected with people on a human, personal
level, it’s vital to maintain that connection.
The customer data available to today’s
marketers is a gift that should not be taken
for granted. Despite increasing concerns
over privacy, most consumers are still willing
to share information about themselves –
providing they get something valuable in
return. It’s therefore extremely important to
use your customer data to create meaningful
experiences that matter to your customers.

Please open this eBook in Adobe Reader to ensure video playback. Alternatively, watch this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=490-Jx1jWAY&list=PL-4Oun-4cqLwhkNEaLpdmx9tYMkNgkJ8r&index=4
Watch Brian Solis
discuss privacy and
the willingness of
consumers to share
personal data.

The future of engagement lies in creating
shareable experiences. Are people sharing
more positive or negative experiences about
your brand and are any of those a surprise?
Use the connections you have made to work
through these issues in a human way. Most of
the time, people will only share an experience
they did not enjoy. It is time to act and reward
people for sharing positive experiences
because that’s how individuals are influenced.
Invest in marketing which will result in great
experiences and encourage people to share
experiences in channels that reach other
people.
The question to ask is “why?” Why would
people want to belong and interact with
your brand? It is key to provide that meaning
and value. If you’re thinking hard about the
individuals you are appealing to, empathy
will be the result and that will drive effective
communication. Share and articulate why
you do what you do – people are drawn to
Conclusion
It’s an exciting time to be a marketing professional. There is no rulebook for
the new omni-channel world – you can write that book. The future of omni-
channel marketing is about engagement and changing the face of marketing
to appeal to the connected customer who is empowered, influential and
increasingly elusive. Deliver value to empowered customers and you will
foster lasting connections.
“Invest in building communities where the value is much more than
belonging to something, it is about doing something together
that makes belonging matter.”
Brian Solis, ‘What’s the Future of Marketing?’
Watch the Webinar

GETTING STARTED WITH OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETING
ONE
Insist on co-ordination across marketing
channels. The email team must talk to the web
team, the web team must talk to the social
team, and everyone must talk to customer
services. Customers do not see departments,
they see a brand.
TWO
Press pause on your social strategy and prepare
to become more social. Effective social media
is not just about earning likes and tweets and
comments. It is about building a community.
THREE
Don’t allow privacy concerns to delay
development of a secure infrastructure for the
personal data that will underpin an omni-channel
marketing strategy. If consumers perceive a
value in exchanging their data for something in
return,they are often willing to provide whatever
data you need. But that data comes at a cost
and the cost is to accept responsibility for that
data and make it matter.
Getting started with omni-channel marketing

BRIAN SOLIS INSIGHTS
This eBook contains key insights from Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter
Group, and an acclaimed author and blogger who is globally recognized as
one of the most prominent thought leaders in new media.
• Read Brian’s book, ‘What’s theFuture of Business’
• View Brian’s SmartFocus webinar, ‘What’s the Future of Marketing’
• Watch an exclusive video interview with Brian

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Creating Truly Personal Omnichannel Customer Experiences

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