The world of B2B marketing underwent a dramatic transformation in recent years—and unfortunately for us marketers, we no longer have such rigid control of the buyer’s journey. Instead, we’re operating in a business environment dictated by the wants and needs of our customers.
Think about it, the internet has given modern buyers an expansive list of options to choose from—what brands they buy from, what content they consume, which products they purchase, what channels they use, and so much more. The modern buyer knows exactly what they want and they expect their buying experience to be seamlessly tailored to their preferences.
In order to be successful, modern businesses must acquiesce. But, how can marketers comply with the varying preferences of their individual buyer?
Enter: Multichannel marketing.
What is Multichannel marketing?
For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, multichannel marketing is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a strategy in which marketers rely on a blend of channels and methods of distribution to reach their target audience. These channels can range from a brick-and-mortar storefront to a company website to a text messaging app.
This type of strategy is all about making it easy for prospects and customers to interact with branded content—wherever, whenever, and however, they want. And the best part? Multichannel marketing is proven to be highly effective.
Still not convinced? Keep reading—today we cover 50+ statistics all about multichannel marketing.
The Current State of Multichannel Marketing
- 95% of marketers say they know how important multichannel marketing is for targeting. However, only 73% say they have a multichannel strategy in place (source).
- 87% of retailers agree that an omni-channel marketing strategy is critical or very important to their success (source).
- Nearly 60% of agencies and brands consider content marketing to be “very significant” to their marketing strategies (source).
- Approximately 91% of companies with revenues over $500 million are using digital video, making it the top form of digital advertising among organizations of this size (source).
- 86% of senior-level marketers agree that it’s important to create a cohesive customer journey across all touchpoints and channels (source).
- 81% of C-level employees anticipate more digital interaction with customers by 2020, and 66% expect more focus on customers as individuals (source).
- Only 14% of organizations say they are currently running coordinated marketing campaigns across all channels (source).
- 91% of retail brands use two or more social media channels (source).
- 42% of retail executives spend up to half their marketing budget on omni-channel initiatives (source).
- 52% of marketers use 3 to 4 marketing channels as compared to 44% in 2015 (source).
- 30% of marketers are highly confident in their ability to deliver a multichannel strategy, followed by 67% who are only somewhat confident (source).
- 51% of companies today use at least eight channels to interact with customers (source).
- 26% of companies have yet to take action regarding an omni-channel strategy (source).
- 16% of marketers say their marketing technology strategies are actually aligned with their business strategies (source).
- 9% of marketers can currently engage customers across channels on a consistent basis (source).
- 3% of marketers say their different brand functions are integrated well with their marketing technology (source).
Multichannel Marketing Challenges
- 61% of customers have not been able to easily switch from one channel to another when interacting with customer service (source).
- 23% of marketers cite lack of time and resources as a major barrier to implementing multichannel marketing (source).
- 23% of marketers cite lack of board-level buy-in as a major barrier to implementing multichannel marketing (source).
- 21% of marketers cite lack of investment in tools as a major barrier to implementing multichannel marketing (source).
- 21% of marketers cite lack of understanding how to develop multichannel marketing campaigns as a major barrier to implementing multichannel marketing (source).
- 11% of marketers say it’s difficult to roll out multichannel campaigns (source).
- 45% of consumers believe retailers don’t deliver multichannel experiences fast enough (source).
- 46% of marketers cite video as their most effective form of content but 59% indicated that video is the most challenging type of content to develop (source).
- 45% of marketers feel they lack the necessary talent, technology, and processes to master omni-channel brand marketing (source).
From the Customer’s Point of View
- 67% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make purchasing decisions than they did a year ago (source).
- 72% of consumers say they would rather connect with brands and businesses through multichannel marketing (source).
- Nearly 64% of B2B technology buyers indicated that they read between two to five pieces of content before making a purchase (source).
- 82% of shoppers use their smartphones as shopping assistants in stores (source).
- 68% of business owners believe outside reviews (done by some person or entity not related to the company) are the most important indicator of whether or not they can trust a B2B vendor (source).
- Four times as many online consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it (source).
- 98% of Americans switch between devices in the same day (source)
- The number of B2B buyers who will complete at least half of their work-related purchases online will nearly double to 56% by the end of 2017 (source)
- 72% of adults prefer digital communication with companies (source).
- 90% of customers expect consistent interactions across channels (source).
- A quarter of consumers lose interest in a company if it doesn’t use video (source).
- Internet users have an average of 5.54 social media accounts (source).
- 80% of consumers say a video showing how a product or service works is important when learning about the company (source).
- Social media users have risen by 176 million in the last year (source).
- 60% of millennials expect consistent brand experiences—whether in-store or by phone (source).
- 46% of shoppers visit a retailer’s own app or website while shopping in-store (source).
- 49% of consumers buy from their favorite omni-channel brands at least once per week (source).
- 25% of shoppers have made online purchases while standing in a retailer’s physical store (source).
- 62% of consumers who engage their favorite brands on 10+ channels make weekly purchases (source).
- Americans spend 11 hours a day engaging with electronic media (source).
- 86% of shoppers regularly channel-hop across a minimum of two channels (source).
- 73% of consumers shop on more than one channel (source).
The Effectiveness of Multichannel Marketing
- 50% of multichannel marketers say they usually or always hit their financial targets (source).
- 56% of every dollar spent in-store is influenced by digital transactions (source).
- 30% higher lifetime customer values are attributed to consumers shopping across multiple channels (source).
- 13% more is spent by consumers who research purchases in advance (source).
- 89% of customers are retained by companies with omni-channel engagement strategies (source).
- Customer satisfaction is 23x higher in companies who run omni-channel strategies (source).
- Companies that use multichannel marketing experience 3x higher effectiveness rates than those that use non-integrated campaigns (source).
- Customers on the receiving end of omni-channel marketing campaigns spend 10% more than those who aren’t (source).
- Companies with extremely strong omni-channel customer engagement see a 9.5% year-over-year increase in annual revenue, compared to 3.4% for weak omni-channel companies. Similarly, strong omni-channel companies see a 7.5% year-over-year decrease in cost per contact, compared to a 0.2% year-over-year decrease for weak companies (source).
Key Takeaways About Multichannel Marketing
And there you have it—57 of the most important multichannel marketing statistics. Whether you’re looking to secure executive buy-in, hit your marketing goals faster, or just ready to make the move to a multichannel marketing strategy—we hope this blog post helps!
Remember, in today’s era of hyper-personalization, customers are demanding more of your business. It’s time to give them the personalized marketing they want with a multichannel marketing strategy. You won’t regret it.
Contact ZoomInfo today to learn how our contact database can drastically improve your marketing efforts!