Omni-channel marketing, aka multichannel marketing, often materializes as a marketing-software Rube Goldberg machine. In these creations, a business constantly syncs customer data among multiple applications, platforms, or other data sources. The idea is that the customer experience is smoother, less given to redundancy.
Technology consultants relabelled CRM (“Customer Relationship Management) software as “CXM” (Customer Experience Management”) software, to help sell massively complex and lucrative omnichannel marketing projects.
It works in some cases for extremely large and far-flung brands. It actually works scarily well when executed in conjunction with privacy rights violations.
But it’s overkill for the rest of us.
It’s mostly created out of the urge to organize your way into success, instead of innovating.
I wrote the other day that omnichannel is one form of guru-dogma to avoid:
…it’s BS even for most large brands. With the exception of warm advertising (retargeted display ads) to visitors of your very important web pages, it’s probably not for you. Create your content, run your ads, build your funnels – and If the same person sees the same message, content, idea twice, so what?
Then, lo, a perfect case in point arrived in my inbox yesterday. Here’s a screenshot:
In this email, Dux-Soup, the nifty outreach automation tool for LinkedIn, informs me of a training webinar about their “Pro” product.
But.
Do they know if:
- I am already a Dux-Soup Pro customer- right now?
- I ever was a customer?
- I have ever watched their webinars before?
- And if so, whether I have already watched this one?
- Or whether I’ve clicked or seen on their ads on LinkedIn – or Reddit, or Google?
- Or visited their Unbounce landing page?
- Or whether my Twitter bio has the keyword, “marketer?
- Or whether I am a native French speaker?
The answer to all of the above is “no” – they don’t know. And that matters not at all.
All they know is I’m on their list. They don’t know whether I am the perfect target for this communication, but they know that I might be. Et voila.
* * *
By all means, segments your lists. Microtarget. Practice rapid-research-personalization. Also – do move data in to your email marketing system. Pulling it from webinars or wherever else.
But be careful automating, synchronizing, and CRM-implementing, to get your message out on multiple channels and platforms at once. The idea of finely orchestrated outreach on dozens of channels and platforms may be alluring. But as for the technology, processes, and automation behind it – there are better things to spend your time on.
By the way, I just noticed a new product offering from Dux-Soup – “Turbo”. Maybe that’s what happens when you avoid wasting time on omnichannel marketing – you make something new instead.
-Rowan