What is Omnichannel Marketing For Cannabis?

Just like any other brand or business, cannabusinesses rely on a savvy marketing approach to build brand awareness, establish customer loyalty, and drive growth. But unlike most other businesses out there, a cannabis brand has to work especially hard to get its marketing messages out there. Because there are certain limitations on cannabis marketing, innovation is a must – and that’s where omnichannel marketing comes in.

The consumers of today expect a high-quality, personalized experience when interacting with businesses online, and the increased availability of online marketing channels is making that easier to deliver. A growing number of businesses are tapping into the power of omnichannel strategies to create the best possible customer experience and achieve better marketing results.

What is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel marketing crafts a seamless experience for customers by integrating branding, online and offline touchpoints, and messaging throughout the stages of the customer journey.

What makes the omnichannel approach so unique is that it places the customer at the center of all marketing tactics, ensuring that a positive and consistent experience is provided via each and every channel.

What is an omnichannel strategy?

At the heart of an omnichannel strategy for marketing are three core elements:

• A clear and consistent brand vision and tone that is easily identifiable for users
• Personalized messaging tailored according to interests within the target audience
• Quality content based on both past interaction with the user, as well as their current position in the customer journey

By incorporating these three principles, a brand can effectively strengthen brand recognition while also increasing user engagement across various channels.

What’s the difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing?

Omnichannel vs. multichannel marketing is often the subject of much debate, with many people assuming that the terms can be used interchangeably. However, the two methods are actually distinctly different.

While it’s accurate to say that both marketing concepts utilize multiple platforms to interact with consumers, that’s where the similarities end.

Multichannel marketing employs an independent strategy for each individual channel, viewing the user’s interaction as something that begins and ends there.

In contrast, omnichannel marketing recognizes that a customer’s journey can span several different channels. As a user moves from one channel to the next, the interaction isn’t complete but rather continuing. So, the goal of an omnichannel approach is to make the overall experience as streamlined as possible, so the channels can serve as touchpoints on a path that eventually leads to conversion.

The Benefits of an Omnichannel Approach to Marketing

When you compare multichannel vs. omnichannel marketing, most businesses agree that omnichannel is the preferable option. Generally, this method yields the best results, both for the brand and its consumers.

Consider the extent to which modern-day consumers are bombarded with constant messaging from countless brands. From social media to streaming entertainment, marketing is everywhere. And as a result, many consumers have learned to “tune out” the majority of these messages and be very selective about which brands they decide to actually engage with.

So, when you leverage omnichannel strategies, you can set your brand apart in an outstanding way.

There are plenty of perks to consider when you’re debating the switch to omnichannel marketing, including advantages such as:

An improved user experience

Omnichannel zeroes in on the individual user’s experience across devices and platforms rather than the channel itself. As a result, the customer experience (CX) can be improved significantly. In turn, this can bring in more sales and higher customer retention rates.

A more cohesive brand identity

Branding is a complex subject, but omnichannel methods can help simplify it. Because you’ll be developing a strategy that exists across all channels, you’ll find that an easily identifiable brand tone and image is a necessity. And since you’re prioritizing the needs of your target audience, while also streamlining for the sake of versatility, the overall quality and cohesiveness of your brand strategy will get a boost.

An increase in revenue

Did you know that one of the most effective ways to grow revenue is by increasing the number of touchpoints at which consumers can engage with your brand? Omnichannel strategies encourage engagement across a multitude of channels and touchpoints, simultaneously tailoring the customer experience according to past interactions. The ability to better target your messaging makes it easier to foster customer loyalty, spurring repeat purchases.

More useful attribution data

Data can empower your brand to reach new levels of marketing success, enabling you to optimize your ad spend and craft better, more effective campaigns. An omnichannel marketing approach extends beyond the customer experience and also applies to data analytics, opening up a wealth of information as you track engagement on multiple platforms. You can build a clearer picture of the customer journey, how/when/where your customers tend to engage, and which of your campaigns have delivered the best results.

How to Create and Implement an Omnichannel Experience

In order to leverage omnichannel marketing, brands must develop a strategy that provides a full-fledged experience for consumers. It’s more than just tackling a single marketing channel at a time; instead, you’ll need to see the “big picture.”

Here are a few key essentials for creating an omnichannel strategy:

1. An effective plan for data collection

It’s virtually impossible to design an omnichannel experience out of thin air. First, you’ll need to understand exactly how and when your target audience chooses to interact with brands, the type of messaging they prefer, what products/features they’re interested in, and so on and so forth. All of this will be based on data, so be prepared with the right strategy and tools to collect this data on both online and offline channels.

2. A strategy for data analysis

Once you’ve collected the data, the work isn’t done. After that, you’ll need to actually assess the data and connect it to actionable steps – otherwise, it’s essentially useless. It’s important to devise a data collection and analysis method that allows your marketing teams to work in real-time. That way, it’s possible to make course corrections when they’re needed to refine a campaign, not after the fact.

3. Maps for various customer journeys

Not every member of your target audience is on the same customer journey, nor should they be. In omnichannel marketing, you’ll be devising customer journey maps tailored to each segment of your audience. Generally, it’s most helpful to use buyer personas to develop accurate maps that lend themselves to effectively targeted campaigns.

4. Clear branding guidelines

Whether a customer is shopping at your brick-and-mortar store, scrolling your social media page, or browsing your website, your brand identity should be easily discernable and absolutely consistent. You want it to be easy for users to recognize your brand, especially because you’re operating under the assumption that they’re traveling across different channels.

5. Testing and optimization

The most successful marketing campaigns are the ones that take advantage of efficacy testing, viewing it as an opportunity to make strategic improvements to improve overall results. Particularly in omnichannel marketing, regularly testing your campaign performance is key. That way, you can be confident that you’re maximizing your ROI and making the right decisions going forward.

Explore Omnichannel Marketing with MMX

Omnichannel marketing can empower a cannabusiness to unite its channels and tactics to create a cohesive strategy that checks all the boxes while refining the overall customer experience. And with Marijuana Marketing Xperts on your side, you can implement an omnichannel approach that works for you. We’ll help you develop a seamless experience using social media, device ID targeting, and other strategies, connecting you to your target customers both online and offline.

Discover how an omnichannel approach could be exactly the solution you’ve been searching for – contact Marijuana Marketing Xperts now!

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Noni Cavaliere