Marketing Trends

In Part 1 of the Omnichannel Marketing 101 Series, we went over exactly what omnichannel marketing is, not only including its actual definition, but how it differs from multichannel marketing, its importance, and examples of when, where, and how it’s used. In Part 2, we outlined the steps to getting started on an omnichannel campaign. From those two blogs, we hope you’ve seen that omnichannel marketing’s an excellent way to gain and retain customers, and that it’s maybe not as intimidating as it sounds, but does require research, planning, focus, and sometimes, a team of experts like us!

Now, we’re giving you the inside scoop and sharing just a few of our secrets (yes, our secrets!) on best practices for creating an omnichannel campaign that powers a unique customer experience and cultivates company success.

Omnichannel marketing is often used by the telecom industry to conduct various tasks, such as helping customers make payments and send out new launch notifications. As a result, telecom companies can quickly boost revenue and drive engagement.

Travel

These sound very similar, and although they’re both great trends and important marketing tactics, they’re not one and the same. While omnichannel marketing, like we said above, is multiple marketing touches along the buyer’s journey, creating unified and steady messaging, multichannel marketing is interacting with potential customers on various platforms – but not necessarily messaging that’s tied together seamlessly and consistently. Multichannel marketing could mean you’re using print ads, retail locations, a website, promotional events, product packaging, and WOMM, but they may not all convey the same communication.

Here’s a trick to easily remember the difference:

• Multi means many (simply enabling each touch point), and casting the widest net to connect with the most customers
• Onmi means all (all touchpoints convey the same message to all customers), which focuses on building stronger relationships between consumers and brands

Omnichannel marketing can be great for many aspects of your business. Like we said, it can and will, if used correctly, attract the right people, at the right place, at the right time. In the digital age of 2021, it’s more important than ever to utilize technology to accurately find and target these recipients. Use omnichannel marketing to do the following for your company…

• Boost customer loyalty: Ensuring consistent messaging across all platforms, and going further to offer personalized experiences for each audience member, creates a better brand image and increases customer satisfaction
• Improve brand recall: Making sure your brand is represented in the same way across platforms and devices can produce better customer recollection
• Increase revenue: Content personalization, WOM marketing, and again, consistent messaging, can help retain and attract new customers
• Utilize purchasing patterns: 73% of shoppers use multiple channels during their purchasing journey, so capture your current audience and expand your content to reach a broader scope of your customers

Example of Omnichannel Marketing

To help you better understand how omnichannel marketing works, we’ve put together an example of omnichannel touchpoints along the customer journey, below:

Customer receiving text message about sales promo while in store -> Customer receiving an empty cart email at checkout -> Customer receiving retargeting digital and/or print ad

Most new movers are within the younger demographic – couples between the ages of 18 and 34 who have one or two children. These small families have various needs, from childcare, to physicians, to dinner. They’ll be looking for several new businesses to rely on and buy from, and if you treat them well, they’ll return to your business again and again. But…to even get this chance, you’ll need to be the first business to catch their eye.

First impressions are everything when it comes to new movers. Not only are they meeting their new neighbors for the first time and deciding who they’d most likely ask over for dinner or get drinks with, but they’re seeing and judging businesses in their area and deciding which ones they’ll give a chance. With one glance at your website, mailer, or advertisement, they’ll decide whether they want to look further into your company, or not. That’s why it’s so vitally important that you have a solid brand that’s accompanied by excellent marketing, such as mailers, emails, and display ads.

The best part about establishing your brand with new movers is that, if you reach out to them correctly, they’re likely to develop brand loyalty. These new residents are looking to establish a routine wherever possible. After all, humans are creatures of habit.

Once they find that hair salon, Italian restaurant, or grocery store they love, they’re liable to adamantly stick with it. “They don’t need to be convinced or heavily marketed to because they already enjoy your products and prefer them even to competitors with similar offerings,” (SproutSocial). But, in order to acquire brand-loyal customers, your messaging needs to be relevant to them, inspire trust, include special offers, and be delivered where customers will notice it (whether that be in the inbox, mailbox, or social feed).

The Buy Out

Now that you understand the new mover potential, here are some of the best techniques to acquire them:

• Use Omnichannel Campaigns like those that Strata offers – using a combination of direct mail, digital ads, emails, and more, can catch and keep the attention of potential customers.
• Think about what will set you apart from the rest of the competition. Use free gifts, rewards programs, personalized landing pages (PURLS), and free samples/analyses to entice.
• Ensure your messaging is on-point and relevant to the customer. Use personalization wherever possible (ex: Amy, come by and try our delicious pizza!) to catch their attention.

And, while omnichannel marketing may be the best way to reach new movers, it doesn’t have to break the bank. Omnichannel campaigns like our SmartMove and SmartMove Lite products can be completely customized based on your budget. And, even though it takes multiple touches to create a lifelong customer with brand loyalty, a few touches to that potential customer are better than none.

So, are you ready to capitalize on the 40 million people moving each year? We can help you reach your new neighbors first, before the competition, and make a lasting impression. Contact us to see how we can help you get started.

This digital age has, like we concluded above, had a significant impact on the way we market to potential customers. Today, there’s a lot more to think about when it comes to reaching the correct audience, where and when it’s best to.

Before the digital age, marketing was simpler. Customers were targeted in a more generalized manner and only at times that would make sense to market to them. They were watching TV? They’d see an ad. They were on the train? There’d be a sign in front of them. They were driving? They’d pass a billboard. Different than now, they weren’t as constantly bombarded with information. They could choose to stay away from it entirely, really, if they wanted to.

Back in the day, companies marketed their “manufacturing prowess” – their skill at creating their product. There was no need to create a brand identity or use trendy messaging, because their product worked (and worked well), and that was all it took to convince customers. Companies also worked to reduce costs and limit choices for their customers. And the bigger the better – the more “well known” and big-business you were, the more trust people had in your company.

Fast forward to today, and things are a bit different. Now it’s all about “reducing friction” – making sure that it’s easy to understand, acquire, and/or sign up for your product or services. We’re still all about reducing prices, but not at the expense of quality. Marketing today is less about big companies and large corporations, and more about establishing a brand, a mission, and a community of customers and/or users. Lastly, it’s all about the two-sided network effect: “the effect of an improved user experience creating more demand, leading to more supply and more supply facilitating more demand — a staple of the digital age.”

As we said before, in this new age, consumers and companies can tap into and understand each other far more than before, through research, online tools, social media, analytics, and more. This, along with convenient and common communication platforms, creates a better experience for both sides, for the most part. Because of instant gratification and constant connection with technology, customer service is always on. Customers expect your company to always be available, at a rapid speed, no matter what hour of the day, and if you are or not, they’re bound to leave a review that lives online forever.

Digital hasn’t only given the customer greater access to you – but you greater access to your customer. You now have the ability to meet them with digital ads and other messaging on specific channels you know they’ll be.

Since it’s become a more exact science to meet your customers exactly where they are, meeting a large potential market – in their new homes – can be more accurate than ever before. New residents are in such a unique stage as potential customers, actively looking to establish brand preferences. Statistically, 70% of new movers make a decision on a company within 2 months after they’ve relocated. With this small window, it’s as important as ever to send them the right ads, messaging, and other digital communication to reel them in. In addition, “new movers are 2.8 times more likely to search for ‘How To’ articles after moving.” Make sure your digital messaging and communication is rich in content and out there for these new movers to find. Producing informative and unique content, whether it’s on social, in blogs, or in other online articles, establishes a level of trust that other companies may not be able to provide.

Additionally, you’ll want to make other digital connections with these new movers through social media, online assistance, digital display ads, and loyalty program offers. Try to stay “top-of-mind” without overwhelming them. Especially right now, when face-to-face interactions are extremely limited, ensure they know you’re there for them through reliable communication, and remember that there’s a human, not just an “additional customer” or number, on the other side. Create authentic, memorable experiences for potential customers, like gifts, unique social media communications, and more. Consistently target these possible customers through unique and eye-catching digital ads to slowly but surely establish brand presence. Lastly, let these potential customers digitally “get to know” you and your team by providing an “about us” page and/or personal bios.

Strata’s Digital Connection to New Movers

Strata knows how important it is to digitally reach new movers, first, and create lifelong, loyal customers. SmartMove Lite quickly establishes connections and makes a first and lasting impression. We do the work on the back end to establish who, where, and when you’re targeting these customers to ensure that you’re reaching them before the competition. Then, all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the results.

So, are you ready to start turning your new movers into new clients? Contact us to start brainstorming your new mover digital strategy.

Personalization is always a top priority – but even more so going into the new year. With the emergence of numerous online product design tools and platforms, customization is projected to be at an all-time high in 2021. More and more people are working remotely and that type of environment closes off the outside world and limits opportunities for connection. As a result, now, more than ever, finding ways to connect in a personalized manner is crucial. It’s an easy way to replace the face-to-face interaction we so dearly miss and let’s be honest, personal connections with potential buyers and current clients makes all the difference. But how do you get started? It’s relatively easy.

Start by figuring out what type of communication you want to use based on their preferences, interests and behavior. Since we can’t exactly use body language and other indicators to communicate, we must depend on tone and language. Then, tap into their behaviors and interactions through ads, social platforms, and other analytical tools. Finally, test and track what’s working and what’s not. At the end of the day, it can’t be a one size fits all approach, especially when you’re dealing with new marketing technology.

Noun: An intent-rich moment when a person turns to a device to act on a need to know, go, do, or buy.  

Micro-moments might be a new concept for you – and that’s OK. To get started, meet your customers where they are in their buying journey, whether that’s in the awareness stage, the consideration stage, or making their final purchasing decision. It’s important to respond quickly and catch them right away, wherever they may be in the process. After all, people lean heavily on instant gratification now that everything is a click away. There’s limited time during these micro-moments, and we don’t want you to miss out.  “When we act on our needs in the moment, our expectations are high and our patience is low. This makes the quality, relevance and usefulness of marketing more important than ever.”

Omnichannel Marketing is on the Rise

2020 brought customers even more options to communicate with companies – whether that be by website, app, social media, email, text, etc. But true communication success is turning customer acquisition into customer retention – and that’s done by setting up proper and correct communication channels through omnichannel marketing. First and foremost, it’s about your customers, so focus on them when capitalizing on omnichannel marketing. This could be through above-and-beyond customer service, efficient navigation, specials for loyal customers, or simply creating well-rounded user experience that’s consistent in both visuals and messaging. Behavior, on the other hand, is the key to understanding any customer – and that’s the fundamental to creating your channel – knowing how customers will react. Since many people switched to an online presence in 2020 (43% to be exact), an omnichannel approach has basically become mandatory. And, as a result, we’re expected to see a bigger emphasis on multi-channel attributions, community efforts, and video within marketing.

So, What Trends Should You Focus On?

First things first, make sure you understand your company’s pain points, current marketing strategies, and overall goals to ensure you’re fully grasping what changes need to be made and how to implement them. Make, sure you know your target audience, and keep up with the way they shop and research your products and services. Along with this, it’s important to stay relevant – research, research, research – predict what’s to come, and work on fully understanding these upcoming changes in not only the market but in consumer behaviors. Keep track, listen, observe, and absorb.

2021: Be Prepared

As we said before, changes in 2020 happened at rapid speed, and it wasn’t always easy to prepare and keep up. We hope that we’ve provided you with some insight for 2021 that you may not have had going into 2020, because, as they say, hindsight is in fact…20/20. Ready to say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021 marketing? Contact us, and we’ll help you brainstorm and execute your next campaign.

After the unpredictability of 2020, we can only hope for the best in 2021. Hopefully, there’s one thing we can predict for the upcoming year – the direction of digital marketing. We’ve become a digital “all the time” culture – and it’s not something that’s going away or slowing down – especially with how we’ve adapted to communication with no direct contact. This contact-less communication has contributed to a growth in digital and direct marketing ads and companies are spending more money on these resources than ever before.

When it comes to digital marketing, we’ve really defined and refined our strategy, mostly because of the effects of Covid-19. With an increase in digital marketing, we knew this was the time to really hone in on our digital strategy. We gave people a deeper look into who we are and the culture of Strata through these digital outlets.

However, with digital content comes digital overload. We all know what we’re talking about here. Maybe it’s the hundreds of emails you see when you get back from a vacation, or it’s the bombarding of notifications from various apps. Either way, digital overload means the need for direct marketing. A physical postcard, envelope, or package rather than an email or PDF file can cut through the digital noise and create a unique experience.

With customer experience comes brand experience, and customers want a brand that they can trust and understand. Rob Krischker, a member of our Strategic Sales team says it best: “(My motto is) to provide peace of mind to my clients that their job is in good hands.” Your brand can make or break recognition and trust from your customers.

This year, we had plans to refresh our brand no matter what, but 2020 made us take a much deeper look into what really mattered. It opened our eyes to truly understanding what our story was, where we wanted to go, who we wanted to help, and how we wanted to be seen.

We not only crafted a more appealing look for our brand, but polished our services to increase customization for our clients. We created a brand that would resonate with both long-standing, new, and future customers, while thinking through what would be recognizable, eye-catching, and readable.

2020 made us take a deep look at our company culture. The people, the lifestyle, the appearance, and everything in between. Which raised the question; how can we best portray and build the culture of Strata? What do we stand for and what do we want most for our employees?

Working from home definitely created some distance between us, and our first priority was to mentally and physically stay connected and stay positive as a company. The remote experience can be hard on some, and easier on others. This can make the employees having difficulties wonder what they’re not doing correctly to thrive. Working from home isn’t convenient and energizing for everyone, and can impact not only work ethic but the entire culture of a company. It’s important to keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to new practices and processes during times like this, which is exactly what we’ve done.

We come from a small, but big-hearted company. Our people are what makes this company thrive, so being flexible, understanding, and continuing to bond with each other makes all the difference during difficult times. At-home work may not be quite the same as face-to-face interaction at the office, but with the right communication tools and frequent check-ins, it’s a close second. Not to mention we can do it all while in our pj’s! (as least on the bottom half).

Right away, we implemented happy hours, virtual check-ins, several communication tools, and physical mailers for holidays and special occasions. We pride ourselves on high morale, an attribute that fuels us to work harder.

Although you may be tempted to utilize a trick play, it’s usually best to stick to the playbook. Here are the most common display ad sizes, with “leaderboard” size being the most popular (and we’re not surprised!).

And of course, along with leaderboard ad size, there are a few more MVPs. As a general rule, you should include the following sizes within any campaign:

While we’re not telling you to call an audible at the last second, there are still a few things to consider before kickoff. To eliminate the chance of a fumble, keep these practices in mind when finalizing your ads:

• Acceptable file types include JPG, GIF or HTML5
• Your max file size should be 150KB
• Ads should be static or animated, non-expanding, non-rich media
• JPG or GIF back-ups are required but shouldn’t be larger than 120KB
• JPG or GIF back-ups must be submitted as files vs. embedded tags
• 1 pt. borders are required and must be a color that’s different from the creative
• Stay away from transparent backgrounds and anything that blends into screen content
• GIF ads with partially black or white backgrounds need a border that’s different from the background
• Strobing, flashing, or other distracting backgrounds are discouraged
• Animation length should be 30 seconds or shorter
• Animated GIF ads must have a frame rate of 5 frames per second or slower

Just like a good trade adds to an already prosperous team, display ads are even more effective when combined with omnichannel tactics like direct mail and/or email. In a study conducted by USPS, research showed that when combining direct mail and digital ads, 68% of industry professionals saw increased website visits, 63% noticed increased response rates, and 60% observed increased ROI.

The Hail Mary

If we haven’t convinced you that good data cuts down on waste, we have some stats to back it up. Currently, the growth in global ad spend is projected to reach $793 billion by 2022. Yet, marketers today estimate that they waste approximately 26% of their budgets on unproductive digital strategies. And, to make things worse, studies show that 76% of marketers fail to use behavioral data for online ad targeting. When looked at all together, most of these downfalls point to one central problem: failure to pull accurate insights from marketing data and to apply them toward strategic decision-making. That’s where the power of good data comes in. It not only provides insight, but helps drive your strategy.

That’s right, we said it, and we’re not taking it back. Data vendors are invaluable, but they’re not all created equal. If you think your vendor is leaving the “cool” territory and approaching the “creepy” zone, there are a few important questions to ask them, like, “Is your data properly permissioned?” or “Are your audiences sourced from ‘known’ data signals?” Find more useful questions in this article, and you’ll be better prepared to decide if you’ll accept their pickup-line, or give them the old, “it’s not you…it’s me (but it’s really you)”.

Now that you know how cool (not creepy) and important data is when it comes to digital advertising, let’s put it to good use! If you decide to work with Strata, we’ll help you make actionable insights, plan and strategize, and take your next digital advertising initiative to the next level. Want us to turn your good data into targeted messages geared towards the right people at the right time? Contact us today.