You Can’t Be Serious! You’re Not Multi-Channel Marketing Yet?

• Which is the best media channel to generate results for prospecting?
• Is there ROI - ‘Return on Interesting’ from your content strategy?
• Will it create a generation of prospective customers?

In this noisy and crowded digital world, engaging customers has become one of the biggest challenges for B2B marketers. Almost every day a new marketing channel emerges. It no longer is sufficient to use a single channel, instead an optimized, multi-marketing channel mix is important to engage customers. 

The Age of Multi-Channel B2B Prospecting 

As with any marketing program, a multi-channel campaign should have a well defined messaging strategy, engaging design, timely and precise implementation. 

According to Chief Marketer’s 2013 Prospecting Survey, 56% of B2B marketers plan to dedicate over half of their marketing budget to customer acquisition. Majority of them were focused on finding prospects that would be lifetime customers rather than leads who would profitable in the first transaction. 

Email Marketing as a Prospecting Tool 

Almost 63% of B2B marketers use email to generate new leads, and around 18% plan to start using email marketing this year. Here are some of the reasons why B2B Marketers use email marketing for prospecting and why you should be use it too.

With new marketing channels available, B2B marketers need to constantly revamp their strategy based on buyer behavior and interaction.  For instance, from 2012 to 2013, the change in channel usage by B2B marketers for prospecting is quite interesting. Take a look:

• Almost 17% of marketers will begin using email marketing
• Almost 12% of marketers will use online registrations and opt-ins, re-targeted ads and social networks.
• Almost 10% will use PPC and display ad campaigns
• Almost 7% will increase usage of email and tradeshows

Whether the focus is customer acquisition or retention, B2B prospecting is a good way to build a string foundation of customers. By using the multi-channel approach, brands can engage and connect with prospects customers through every touch point to create a customer experience.

At Info CheckPoint, our databases have contact details for you to connect with prospects through various marketing channels. 

Use just one database…

Connect with your target market relevantly…

By email, direct mail, telemarketing or through social media platforms.

Look at Touchpoint Marketing through Customer-Centric Eyes!

Multi-channel marketing, evidently drives focus on channels, however, the current approach includes greater emphasis on tactics, strategies and consideration of buyers’ life cycle than on channels.

Touchpoint marketing, on the other hand, takes it to the next level, by mapping visible and invisible interactions or associations, between a customer and a brand. Today, it is all about creating that experience and building close connections with your customers across channels.

Different touchpoint marketing models adopt distinct approaches. 

1. Based on the Buying Stage – This model focuses on touchpoints based on buyer stages such as pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase (in terms of CRM). 

2. Based on the Buying Funnel – This model emphasizes on touchpoints based on the buyer cycle such as awareness, consideration, purchase, service and loyalty. 

3. Based on Customer Experience – This model maps touchpoints to customer experiences, interactions and actions. The buyer cycle here corresponding to marketing goals.

Here’s an example of various customer touchpoints based on the buying funnel:

Buyer Cycle	Customer Touchpoints
	Physical	Digital
Awareness	Word of mouth, PR, radio, TV, outdoor media, print	Digital billboard, email, online ads
Consideration	Direct / Snail Mail	Blogs, third party websites, search landing page
Purchase	Call center, store	Website
Service	Call Center IVR	Chat / IM, Mobile
Loyalty	Promotion through invoices, other purchase material	Newsletter, blog, email

One way to create that connection or provide that experience, is by going the extra mile and giving importance to the finer details of intrinsic value. 

A beautiful analogy is the story that defined the way legendary Steve Jobs thought and lived. When a much younger Jobs and his father were building a fence, he told his son to build the back of the fence with as much as care as the front, even if no one may have been able to see it. The fact that Jobs was concerned about the appearance of circuit boards, although people could not see it, showed how the passionate creator went to extents to create value and extraordinary, customer experiences.

A robust brand identity is one that lingers and makes its home in the mind of your customers. 

When was the last time you delighted your customer? 

Does your brand experience include the ‘back of the fence’ value?

Use a segmented database, to customize and personalize your interaction with your customers!