75% of Marketers Believe It’s “Important” to Deliver Omnichannel Experience

As marketers further explore the delivery of an omnichannel experience to their customers, new research is highlighting the importance of doing so to achieve key objectives.

Thorin McGee of Target Marketing recently shared the preliminary results of the “2018 Omnichannel Marketing Survey,” and the data pointed toward a growing desire to deliver an omnichannel experience among marketers. When asked “How important is it that customers have a cohesive omnichannel experience to your business in your industry,” the majority of marketers (36.36 percent) said it was “very important.”

Overall, more than 75 percent of respondents indicated that an omnichannel customer experience was “important” in their industry.

“So far, omnichannel is proving to be an essential concern in 2018 for marketers of all stripes, enough that budgets are shifting to handle it,” said McGee. “The early results show that 53 percent plan to spend more on omnichannel marketing in 2018 than they did in 2017, and 7 percent are more than doubling that investment.”

When marketers were asked exactly what they were investing in, the majority (62.34 percent) claimed that they were turning to customer data to improve the omnichannel customer experience.

The Growing Importance of Omnichannel Marketing

While marketers continue to shift their attention toward delivering an omnichannel experience, previous research indicates that customers were already expecting one from businesses.

The “Customer in Context” report from the CMO Council found that 47 percent of customers are already engaging with companies across several platforms, with 42 percent mixing it up depending on where they are or what they want.

About 58 percent said they prefer to engage with a company’s website, while 52 percent turn to email. Thirty percent seek in-person engagement.