Omni-Channel Strategy: Benefits, Challenges, and Brand Examples

This report provides a detailed analysis of omni-channel strategy in digital marketing. It begins by defining the concept and its importance in enhancing customer experience, differentiating it from multi-channel approaches. The report evaluates the benefits, such as customer-centricity and integrated online/offline experiences, alongside challenges like data integration issues and consumer identification difficulties. It showcases how brands like Sephora, Disney, and Value City Furniture have implemented omni-channel strategies. Furthermore, the report discusses essential criteria for tailoring an effective omni-channel approach, including market research, maintaining consistent brand competence, and ensuring data accessibility across all channels. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of strategic management in maximizing the value of omni-channel marketing efforts.

MN2325 Digital Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
Evaluate the benefits and challenges of omni channel strategy in providing enhanced customer
experience...................................................................................................................................1
Demonstrate at which points of the omni-channel journey different brands are and why..........2
Discuss the criteria brands need to consider in tailoring their omni channel strategy................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing refers to the use of online platforms to promote product and services to
render them to the ultimate customers. Online platforms include social media, mobiles , websites
and many other channels are used to attract consumers to buy products and acquire services.
Organisations use various strategies in order to gain competitive edge in the market in which it
includes omni channel strategy means marketing, selling and serving customers with a
uninterrupted distribution of product and services on all the channels in order to give its
customers an integrated experience with our brands. It is very important that customers gets a
services equally seamless whether it is through physical mode or virtual mode to drive more
sales and traffic it improves overall experience of the customers. But there are differences in
omni channel and multi channel experiences that user have various communication channels
which diverse its reach while omni channels have few channels but they are connected to provide
seamless experience to its customers (Kautish, and Sharma,2019). In this report an analysis is done
about the benefits and importance of omni channel strategy in enhancing customer experiences
and different criteria used in marketing products and services.
TASK
Evaluate the benefits and challenges of omni channel strategy in providing enhanced
customer experience.
Now a days customer expect uninterrupted services from all the business to get satisfied.
If the businesses fail to provide the services to the customers as per their need they are gonna fail
in the marketplace, so it is very important to have an omni channel strategy as this provides
benefits to both customers and the business.
a) Benefits of omni channel strategy Focus on customer value:Omni channel strategies put the customers needs first. As
customers are an important factor for any business to lead a marketplace (Ampountolas,
Shaw, and James, 2019 ). This strategy helps a businessman to provide uninterrupted
services of channels to their customers which derive customer to retain with business for
long. Amazon has derives a market by adopting omni channel strategies by focusing on
its customers needs the alexa feature in their application to purchase through voice and
many other features which is inspiring many other companies as well.
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 Integrating online and offline experiences:It is very important to have online and offline
access both to have a wide and satisfied customers range which will help in achieving
increased ales and revenue for the business. Examples of such connectivity are
MacDonald's and Foster's Hollywood by allowing discounts and promotions to their
customers online which they can avail and show them to their physical store to avail the
benefits hence this provide a connectivity to the customer of different channels at once.
b) Challenges of omni channel strategy Inability to integrate data: It is difficult for the marketers to integrate the data at
different channel for seamless experience of the customers due to which customers face
problems in acquiring the useful informational needed by them which effects business to
lack their product and services reach to customers and develop their market share (Liu,
Perry, and Gadzinski, 2019).
 Identification of consumer:It is difficult for the business to identify its customers
whether they are fake or not because customers change channels frequently which makes
its possible to identify. To solve the problem they can use cloud based microservice
architecture and service integration.
Demonstrate at which points of the omni-channel journey different brands are and why
There are different brands which have used omni channel strategy to muster the shares in the
market which are as follows- Sephora:It is an international brand which muster the benefits of both online and offline
experience to its customers. It is a well known brand in the list of best omni-channel
marketing retailers. As in offline experience they provide customers with free makeovers,
beauty tips, informed salesperson and online it allow its customer to have access of its
purchase records and online tutorials of how to use and many other information which
allow customers to have a great experience overall and building a brand reputation in the
market. Disney:One of the known when comes to omni channel marketing is Disney. They have
set their websites which enables the people to visit their website and plan the whole trip
without even getting over their physically and helps them to locate different rides and
wait times for each of them (Matarazzo and et.al, 2021). The wristband is a new application
which allow user to unlock the hotel rooms, enter the park, charge food and goodies for
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hotel rooms it is a great experience overall and is consistently gaining popularity and take
it to new heights of success.
 Value city furniture:They have mustered a omni channel strategy to develop digital
marketing platforms for the people who want to choose their furniture online and then
have a test drive of it in physical mode at nearby stores which enables customers to know
which furniture they want to purchase and what not. This application helps the users to
choose and add the products to their cart even doing an offline shopping and make the
salesman know the list of your choice to show all the items which you are looking for .
Discuss the criteria brands need to consider in tailoring their omni channel strategy
In order to be successful it is very important for the business to adopt various strategies
and criteria to know the market and determine the changes from time to time so that they can
implement the changes and make the business grow (Vafaei and et.al, 2020). Research the market : It is important for every business to conduct time to time research
about what are their target market, what are the expectations of the customers with the
brands and how to reach and acquire the market as we cannot rely upon the past surveys
of the market as market are dynamic in nature and they changes from time to time and the
businesses also need to implement that changes in order to succeed and acquire market
share. Consistent brand competence: Maintaining brand core values are crucial as this enables
a business to grow more and acquire a wide share in the market as core competency of
any brand is the features which makes them different from others so business should
consistent with their core features throughout all the operating platforms and if any
changes are made in the same them must be made in the other areas as well to maintain
core competency consistent throughout all the areas as well.
 Accessibility of data at all channels: To enable the accessibility of data at both online
and offline mode will enables the successful implementation of omni channel strategy
(Wiener, Hoßbach and Saunders,2018). Technical area of any business need to be strong
enough to provide the information to the customers at different channels properly in
order to increase the visibility of the products being offered. Personalize messages to
interact with the customers.
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CONCLUSION
This report have provided a look at the importance of the digital marketing and the strategies
used by the business in marketing their products and services to their ultimate customers. An
analysis is done on the omni channel marketing strategy which is the marketing strategy for the
seamless chain of distribution to the customers and how they are different from multichannel
strategies. Evaluation of the various benefits and challenges of omni channel strategy faced by
business and how they effect customer experiences ,different brands criteria used omni channel
strategy and how they are succeeded with its implementation and how they used this to acquire
market shares and lastly the different criteria to be considered by brands for tailoring the strategy
in order to maintain the value of the business with its proper management of strategy in all the
operating areas of every business.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ampountolas, Shaw, and James, 2019. The role of social media as a distribution channel for promoting pricing
strategies. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights.
Kautish, and Sharma,2019. Managing online product assortment and order fulfillment for superior e-tailing service
experience: an empirical investigation. Asia pacific journal of marketing and logistics, 31(4), pp.1161-
1192.
Liu, Perry, and Gadzinski, 2019. The implications of digital marketing on WeChat for luxury fashion brands in
China. Journal of Brand Management, 26(4), pp.395-409.
Matarazzo and et.al, 2021. Digital transformation and customer value creation in Made in Italy SMEs: A dynamic
capabilities perspective. Journal of Business Research, 123, pp.642-656.
Vafaei and et.al, 2020. Designing a sustainable multi-channel supply chain distribution network: A case
study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 251, p.119628.
Wiener, Hoßbach and Saunders,2018. Omnichannel businesses in the publishing and retailing industries: Synergies
and tensions between coexisting online and offline business models. Decision Support Systems, 109,
pp.15-26.
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