When it comes to marketing, one of the hottest topics for major retailers and other brands is Omni-Channel shopping. This is a practice where people are using multiple different tools to complete their shopping. For example, someone may be walking through a retail store at the mall while looking up reviews or sales on their smart phone. Conversely, someone may be doing research on their PC at home, and then come into a retail store to make the final purchase. Rather than ignore this trend, Google AdWords recommends that brands embrace it.
The reality is, people aren’t going to be giving up their electronic devices anytime soon. In fact, they are only going to become more popular and more powerful in the coming years. That doesn’t mean, however, that offline brands can’t use this to their advantage.
According to one example listed by AdWords, Macy’s has begun combining their digital and retail marketing efforts, and they have seen much success. In fact, since they made the move, their stock has gone up by 240%. Here is what Serena Potter, a VP of digital media strategy at Macy’s had to say about what they were doing:
“We used to have two separate, siloed budgets. Now we really only have one marketing budget. We look at what’s the best way to spend that; whether it’s digital or offline and focus on how they work together to deliver the most sales and the best customer experience.”
There is a lot of evidence that this type of marketing is a much smarter choice. In fact, according to a recent study by IDC, omni-channel shoppers actually have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who just shop using one channel. If you own a retail store of any type, this means you really need to start selling and marketing online as well. The important thing to keep in mind is that it doesn’t matter where the sales are coming from, as long as they are coming.
Of course, in order to properly capitalize on the multiple platforms, you need to be able to properly measure where conversions are coming from. Naturally, Google AdWords is recommending that you use their advertising platform since they include a significant number of reporting features that can help you to see the information you need. Google does indeed help businesses with this in an easy to understand way.
If you haven’t already, consider looking into how harnessing omni-channel marketing can help improve the overall sales and profitability of your business. No matter what you’re selling, the right digital marketing strategy can be helpful.
