Multichannel Marketing vs Omnichannel Marketing

Multichannel vs. omnichannel—what’s the difference between them? The team at Aspen Automotive will help you see what makes each of these marketing philosophies unique. While you engage with customers across many channels, how you do so is key. Understand the mindset, and you’ll know to leverage your marketing channels for maximum effect.

Multichannel vs Omnichannel: It’s All a Mindset

The difference between multichannel marketing and omnichannel marketing is largely one of perspective. It’s a perspective, however, that shapes the reality of your marketing quite distinctly.

Multichannel Marketing

Marketing SearchMulti means “many.” In multichannel marketing, the multiple channels are not integrated with one another. This may sound like a negative, but it depends on the context. There will naturally be some channels that will not align with each other all the time, and certainly not for every customer.

Consider when a customer clicks a link to your website to schedule automotive service. Then, they see a postcard about new cars at your dealership in their mailbox. While both these channels are designed to raise awareness for your brand, they’re not designed to work with each other to reinforce a message.

Omnichannel Marketing

Email ReminderOmni means “all.” Omnichannel marketing allows the various channels to work together and create a harmonious experience for the customer. The customer can pick up one channel where they left off on another without losing the “plot,” so to speak. What does that look like in practice?

It could look like a customer who clicks on a social media ad for automotive service and arrives on your website to set up an appointment. However, they are distracted and leave before doing so. Then, they receive email reminders and direct mail reminding them of their intention—and it’s all on brand and aligned around a message targeted to them.

Is Omnichannel or Multichannel Marketing Better?

It depends on what your goals are as an enterprise, and what your goals are for each piece of marketing. Obviously, it makes sense to integrate whenever possible—to create a seamless experience for customers as they are guided to your website (and remarketed to, if necessary).

However, some elements of a marketing campaign simply won’t work together hand in glove. To use the earlier example, a billboard cannot possibly be tailored to appeal to every customer’s motives for doing business with you, and the various media they engage with online and in their mailboxes.

In other words, your campaign will depend on multichannel marketing—but it should strive to create an omnichannel experience whenever and wherever it makes sense to do so.

Let Aspen Automotive Build Your Omnichannel Experience

When you choose Aspen Automotive for your direct mail marketing, you’ll get the building blocks of an omnichannel marketing experience. With website links and scannable codes that lead your customers to your website, direct mail can be the first step in your omnichannel strategy.

Want to learn more about multichannel marketing vs. omnichannel marketing and explore interactive technologies at Aspen Automotive? Reach out to our team when you’re ready to get started.