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What is Multi-Channel Marketing?

Posted by John Foley, Jr. on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 3:02 PM in Business, Marketing

The term “multi-channel marketing” is a mouthful, but the actual reality of what it is and what it can do for your business is certainly far from intimidating. The concept is not new, but as technology evolves, the meaning of multi-channel marketing and all that it embraces also evolves. Multi-channel marketing is all about using various methods (channels) to get your marketing message to the people who matter the most – your target market. It involves the integration of websites, phone, email, texting, print and other available channels to market relevant messages. It’s all about sending the right people the right message using the right channel. By failing to maximize your opportunities using multi-channel marketing, you shoot yourself in the foot and lose out…losing future customers and future profits.

One of the key elements behind multi-channel marketing is consistency in your branding. Using various ways to get your marketing message across to your prospects is pointless if that message isn’t consistent. In fact, if you muddy the marketing waters with different messages to your target market using various channels, you will in fact turn off your prospects.

While it’s easy to get caught up in the marketing game and think only of the message and reaching that target market, there are other points to consider. You have to make it easy for those prospects to contact you. You have to make it effortless to do business with your company. If your prospects experience any speed bumps along the way you are bound to lose them. Think about it – perhaps you perform all your research of companies you want to deal with online without batting an eyelash. But not everyone is so trusting of or at ease with the internet. Those people want to talk with a warm body. They’d rather place a phone call and speak with someone directly to get all their questions answered. In this case, if your marketing messages lack a phone number for your prospects to call, you’ve just lost potential profits.

This is where personalization comes into play. By personalizing your marketing messages to the recipients across the various marketing channels, you are increasing your odds of success. It doesn’t take in-depth market research to understand that a mobile text campaign targeted at senior citizens may fall flat on its face. But a well-crafted direct mail piece might be a home run! Demographics are key to a successful multiple channel marketing strategy. You want your message to be heard, to be understood…but you need it to be received by the targeted group of people via the correct method in order for it to work.

Multi-Channel Marketing is all about a seamless, almost effortless (for the target market) process. Getting your message to your prospects using various channels. Keeping those messages and your branding consistent and understandable. And making it easy for your prospects to contact you to inquire further or step up and make a purchase of your products or goods. Remember, “convenience” means different things to different people. A sound multi-channel marketing strategy will keep this in mind and be able to deliver that convenience to a receptive target market.

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