What are Omni-channel sale points?
There’s a lot of talk around our ability to market on various channels: Advertisers can promote their products or services across Social networks, RTB and exchange platforms, Search ads, Native and much more. At the other end of the funnel, the users are expected to act, usually make a purchase.
Here’s the catch: If you did your part, your users can and will purchase across different assets: Your site, app, Facebook’s messenger, eBay / Amazon / other marketplaces, and even (god forbids) an actual store!
In a nutshell, that’s the omni-channel challenge we are now
facing.
Issues:
Cross tracking: This new, Omni-channel sale points world is baffling. Initially we had just one funnel to measure conversion, then a few, then even more than that. All funnels ended in the same event on the same asset: a purchase on our site (or a mirror app, pointing to the same inventory). in the omni-channel world, users can start the funnel on one device and end it on another, and do so across different assets!
For example: A user can start their journey on their desktop on your Facebook page, switch to a tablet to view your site, and end up downloading your app on their mobile device, finalizing the purchase there.
External assets tracking: currently there’s no unified solution for tracking users’ journey on eBay / Amazon, Facebook etc. That means that you’re not aware of the complete user journey.
Budgeting and advertising: This is a derivative of the above issue. If you can’t track, how can you calculate ROI and direct resources where they are most valuable?
Segmentation: In the old days you could segment your audience by preference (the pages they’ve watched on you site, etc.). How can you segment on different assets?
What should you do?
First realize that there will be some gaps that can’t be bridged. You can’t fully understand the value of your Facebook page as a part of user journey. That is especially true if they didn’t click on a call to action and got through to your site. “View throughs” are important, but can’t be measured.
Try and estimate the effects of views on sales: The numbers of views on your Facebook posts or tweets naturally fluctuates. See if the peaks correlate with an increase in revenues (sometimes there ca be a delay
of a day or two. Perhaps even more, depending on the industry and purchase cycles).
Make sure that the user experience is seamless. All channels should offer the best experience you can offer: same prices (unless you offer a channel discount, such as 5% on all mobile app purchases), same inventory, similar features – especially regarding discoverability features (filters, categories, images).
Maximize and optimize the differences to your advantage. There still
are differences between channels. Use them:
Apps usually allow for a more streaming purchase funnel as users a already logged in. Push notifications are a valuable tool when used wisely (and a complete and utter turn off otherwise, use with care!). See more on apps in my post
Sites load faster, and don’t need to update versions. Use that for A/B testing, bigger banners etc.
eBay / Amazon / other marketplaces make a good place to emphasize remnant stock, leftovers, etc.
Facebook apps / messenger platform means that users a logged in from the get go, and are identified by name. Use a personal tone with your guests there.
Make use of 3rd party tracking and
reporting: If you’ve implemented all the relevant pixels on your site, you should get reports on various efforts and campaigns. Even though not 100% accurate, look for trends and shits in the numbers. If Google Adwords’ absolute numbers of conversions increases, it safe to assume that at least some of it relies on that new campaign you launched the other day.
Finally, make sure that you do track funnels, but allow for an incopmlete journey (for example: if a user starts her funnel with items in the cart, even though you don’t know the prior steps). Google Analytics has a
very impressive (and free) tool for funnel tracking.
Still not sure? feel free to contact us for help