Multi-channel Approach for Small Business Using Agile CRM

So you’re looking to purchase a TV. You’ve been reading articles about the latest technology, you’ve been searching for reviews, you’ve watched product videos, visited websites… You’ve been receiving product brochures through email and the good-old mailbox. On top of all this, you’ve been using your smartphone to compare prices while standing in line at the grocery store. You’ve made your decision: You’re going with THAT one.

Moral of the story? All these channels played a key role in your decision-making process.

While receiving messages on multiple channels feels convenient and seamless, the story for marketing is quite different. From sending targeted ads based on site visits, to emails about latest offers and social media tweets and Instagram posts, marketing has to make sure that information reaches audiences in the most effective and engaging way.

We need to fully understand the needs of the buyer. And we accomplish this by sending messages to the right customer, at the right time, through the right channel to ensure that we deliver the best solution.

The future is in the hands of small businesses that use a multi-channel approach.

By using a more holistic approach to marketing, forward-thinking businesses are looking to implement a more integrated presence across multiple media channels: Email, telephone, SMS, Web help and social media. To ensure a seamless and successful buying journey, they engage with customers using the most informative and timely campaigns in an effort to elicit the best responses.

In today’s digital landscape, Marketing isn’t short on data; it has the ability to use it in order to extract valuable and actionable insights. In order to improve campaign performance across all channels, Marketing has to manage the flow of data between customer and business.

The reality is that we are living in a digital multi-channel universe, and it’s creating a major shift in the way we execute campaigns. New channels mean new opportunities to reach out to broader audiences. And while traditional channels are timeless, the bigger challenge is to utilize channels that will be most effective.

Creating workflows

The sales journey is multifaceted. Each customer goes through their buying journey in their own unique way. Let’s look at one example:

At the starting point, we’ve captured a lead. They may have filled out a form on a landing page on our website, or have heard about us through their peers. No matter how they became a lead, we send them a welcome email. The email may have a link to a thought leadership piece, or access to our website with even more content.

Have they visited our website again? If they have, we give them a lead score of 10 points. To move them further down the pipeline, we wait for 2 days to create another touchpoint.

If they haven’t visited our website after our initial introductory email, we give them a lower score, and send them through a different workflow to set them through another journey.

Beyond email, many other channels of communication can be utilized: Telephone, SMS, Web, social media and Mobile: all these and others need to work as part of a holistic marketing campaign to assist customers in their buying journey.

The Message

In order to effectively communicate with buyers, we need to send a message that aligns our brand with their needs; a message that reaches our audiences in a personalized way. And when we tie that message to the right channel, we can resonate better with customers.

As Marshall McLuhan said: “The medium is the message.” And this is why it’s critical that we create campaigns that reach audiences exactly through the channels they use and know best.

Agile CRM

Agile CRM makes it possible for marketers to create an impactful multi-channel experience for their audiences. It ensures a consistent experience from one channel to the next.

Agile empowers you to make sure that your website provides the kind of experience that is compatible with your users’ mobile devices. If this is missing, you’re leaving money on the table. With a consistent experience, it becomes possible to track customer behavior and map out a seamless customer journey; so that when potential customers are in the market for our product, they make a decision based on the experience we provided for them.

How effective is your multi-channel strategy? If your small business is lagging behind your competitors, you need to consider a multi-channel approach for small business using Agile CRM.