Today, omnichannel (or omni-channel or omni channel) has become a hot buzzword in business, marketing, and technology circles. The concept first gained attention in the retail sector, as retailers sought to link offline, in-store shopping activities and online shopping. During the past twelve months, many marketing pundits have expanded the concept and now use it to describe an approach to marketing that applies to many types of enterprises.
The term omni derives from the Latin word omnis, which means “all” or “universal.” As used today, omnichannel marketing usually means providing consistent, personalized, and contextually appropriate messages and customer experiences on all relevant communication channels and devices.
Some experts contend that true omnichannel marketing requires companies to capture customer interactions in all channels and then make the interaction data useable by allcommunication channels and platforms on a near real-time basis. For example, when a customer or prospect visits a website, the website needs to be “aware” that the customer/prospect just interacted with the brand on the company’s Facebook page.
The ultimate objective of omnichannel marketing is to tell a continuous story and provide a seamless experience that plays out whenever and wherever a customer interacts with a brand.
Few, if any, companies have achieved this level of omnichannel integration, but ominchannel marketing is clearly becoming an important priority for many enterprises.
