Brands need to find ways to leverage both online and offline channels to achieve the best marketing results. This is where the concept of offline-to-online marketing (O2O marketing) comes into play.
Let’s look at some offline to online tips to make your marketing more effective and ROI-driven.
Table of Contents
Use QR codes to bridge the gap between online and offline
Collecting consumer information offline
Develop a cross-promotion strategy.
Leverage beacons to engage consumers offline
Introducing digital elements into physical stores
Ensure consistency across all channels
Use immersive technology in the offline world
Encourage online actions
Implement smart packaging
Conclusion
Use QR codes to bridge the gap between online and offline
Even though digital advertising spending is skyrocketing, brands are still actively investing in traditional advertising.
Global TV advertising spending was nearly $160 million in 2021. For print advertising, this figure stood at $48.78 million .
However, traditional advertising has some drawbacks.
Suppose you place an advertisement for your new range of products in a major newspaper. Now what? You may never know how many people bought your products after seeing the advertisement.
Traditional ads on TV, print, billboards, etc., are not trackable and calculating their ROI can be challenging.
QR codes solve this obstacle by making your pharmacies email list traditional advertising campaigns more actionable and trackable.
You can create a QR code for your e-commerce website and put it on your print ad. Readers can scan the QR code to visit your website and purchase the products.
QR code on packaging
Since dynamic QR codes are trackable, you can see how many people scanned your QR code to visit your website. Therefore, you can evaluate your campaigns and see how they are performing.
Collecting consumer information offline
Data is the fuel of today. Collecting first-party data can help marketers run targeted marketing campaigns and achieve better results.
However, collecting offline consumer data can be complicated and requires manual work. It includes manually entering customer information such as name, address, phone number, etc., which is inconvenient and time-consuming.
Here are two things you can do to seamlessly collect information from offline consumers:
Request minimal information to make the process quick.
Incentivize consumers to share their data.
Once you collect customer data, you can send them targeted offers to encourage repeat purchases.
Develop a cross-promotion strategy.
Marketers often run separate campaigns for digital and offline channels. That's a mistake!
Your offline and online marketing campaigns should be in sync and promote each other.
Integrating your digital and traditional marketing channels has numerous benefits:
Hassle-free data collection
Customer Journey Mapping
More sales
Higher ROI
Let's understand this with an example.
Suppose you are an electronics brand that publishes an advertisement in the newspaper promoting your new range of products. People can purchase the products online from your website or offline from your stores.
QR code coupon on bags
The ad can include your store address and a QR code to send people directly to your site. And on your website, you provide the locations of all the stores where the new product range is available.
This way, people can purchase your products regardless of the channel and touchpoint.
Leverage beacons to engage consumers offline
Beacons are Bluetooth devices that send push notifications to mobile devices in a specific geographic area (called a geofence). Leading brands like Target, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Walmart use beacon marketing to increase traffic and sales.
Most beacons have a range of about 30 meters. When a person enters the geofence and their smartphone's Bluetooth is on, the beacon sends them a browser notification. You can customize the notification message to suit your marketing needs.
For example, Walmart installed beacons in its store and parking lot to send personalized offers and notifications to shoppers. Similarly, CVS Pharmacies used beacons to send refill reminders to customers.
Beacons are cost-effective and easy to set up. Therefore, they are an attractive option for hyperlocal marketing. More than 50% of the top 100 brands use beacons in their stores, and the beacon market size is projected to reach $31.61 million by 2026.
Introducing digital elements into physical stores
Digital experiences in physical stores have become a major retail technology trend. It is also known as phygital retailing.
Retailers can introduce digital elements into physical stores to offer an immersive shopping experience.
Amazon Go (Amazon Fresh in the UK) is a classic example of fictitious retailing.
Amazon Go
Customers can pick up items and leave. Payment is automatically made through the Amazon Go app. Shoppers do not need to queue or wait at the checkout counter.
You can use QR codes, kiosks, AR/VR and other technologies to introduce digital elements into your stores.
Ensure consistency across all channels
The terms "multichannel" and "omnichannel" are often used interchangeably, but they are disparate concepts.
A multi-channel strategy comprises online and offline channels, such as physical stores, eCommerce, etc. Offline and online media are not necessarily integrated. When you integrate and unify all channels, it becomes an omnichannel strategy.
Let's understand the omnichannel concept with Sephora, a leading cosmetics brand.
Sephora is a D2C brand that sells a wide range of beauty and cosmetics products on its website. Shoppers can also consult a beauty expert or join Sephora’s growing community to interact with other consumers.
The Sephora website also has a “Stores” section where you can locate all Sephora stores.
In stores, Sephora has installed several tablets. Shoppers can use tablets to access their Beauty Bag, try on items virtually, and add items to their wish list. They can then purchase the items in-store, on the Sephora app, or on the website.
Sephora Store
In conclusion, ensure consistency across your online and offline channels. This includes consistency in your branding, tone of voice, staff behavior, and everything else.
Use immersive technology in the offline world
Technology can make offline experiences immersive and memorable. Communication on channels like newspapers and billboards is often one-way.
As a result, users are unable to engage or participate, leading to low engagement.
Immersive technologies like AR, VR and QR codes can make your offline campaigns more engaging.
Magnolia Market used Augmented Reality (AR) to take customer engagement to the next level. They offered an AR store, which allows users to view 3D models of the products in their homes, offices, and other environments.
