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What is an omnichannel strategy, and how can it help multi-location businesses? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Rachel Bucey, General Manager of SEO at Wpromote, on Quora:
Successful omnichannel strategies drive purchases across various points of sale, including online, in-store, mobile and catalog. Today’s consumer is often influenced by a diverse set of marketing tactics, regardless of their ultimate method of conversion. As many as 50% of in-store purchases are affected by digital, a trend predicted to grow to 58% by 2022. Multi-location businesses can leverage omnichannel marketing to support incremental revenue gains in the following ways:
- Seamless Online/In-store Consumer Experience: Ensure that customers receive an easy, intuitive brand experience, no matter their purchasing method. By offering conveniences like BOPIS (buy online, pick-up in store), online/instore returns and exchanges, consolidated customer account and order history data, and access to in-store inventory information online, businesses can foster lifetime cross-channel customers and brand advocates.
- Strategic Local Strategies: Establish a solid, integrated local foundation through complementary paid and earned media tactics, including Google My Business listing optimizations, location page enhancements, location extensions, local inventory ads, district/regional Facebook targeting, and structured citation syndication. One of the most elementary, yet crucial elements of a local search strategy is consistent and accurate NAP (name, address and phone number) information. Avoid altering the appearance of your location information at all costs to demonstrate its efficacy and reliability.
- Robust Approach to Attribution & Tracking: Sync point-of-sale data with your digital marketing platforms to better understand the effects of online advertising on in-store revenue gains. Adopt data-based attribution across the board for a more accurate understanding of the customer journey and predictive lifetime value, and consider performing store holdout tests to more definitively prove digital’s incremental impact.
- Amazon Optimization: Amazon has surpassed Google in frequency of product searches and purchases. If your product is featured on Amazon, prioritize feed optimization and A+ content creation to ensure increased visibility and purchasing potential.
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