CMI Media Group

Many organizations today grapple with the challenge of transitioning from multi-channel marketing to a true omnichannel marketing environment. Consumer brands identified the need for omnichannel early on as exponential growth in ecommerce led the way to new retail models – sell direct to consumer (DTC), buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS), buy online, return in store (BORIS), buy now, pay later (BNPL) – among the most common. With consumers in the driver’s seat as to how, when and from whom they purchase, the challenge became clear: how do you get the right message to the right person at the right time in a dynamic environment?

For business-to-business (B2B) organizations, moving to an omnichannel environment presents an even more difficult challenge with the potential for tremendous opportunity. B2B typically involves a longer sales cycle than DTC, demanding consistent brand messaging over a longer time, often to multiple stakeholders (influencers, decision makers, etc.). Highly regulated industries add another level of complication beyond privacy considerations. Regardless of industry, B2B companies must influence key business decision makers, support their sales staff, and educate end consumers about the benefits of their offerings. Consistent messaging across multiple channels – and the ability to tie B2B omnichannel with DTC omnichannel – unifies the marketing, sales and buying experiences. This can result in a “push and pull” opportunity where customers are actively seeking the brands being advertised.

Customers Rule – Omnichannel is the Answer

Multichannel marketing focuses on an organization’s product or services. In this model, organizations target their customers through multiple online and offline media channels – but typically, not in a coordinated or cohesive fashion. While this marketing model worked for a time, the evolution of digital marketing channels created a much savvier customer with higher expectations. Today, customers expect organizations to understand who they are and where they are in their relationship with the organization while marketers have larger data sets available for targeting customers in various parts of their journeys.

  Regardless of industry, B2B companies must influence key business decision makers, support their sales staff, and educate end consumers about the benefits of their offerings  

Omnichannel addresses this challenge by focusing on the customer and enabling organizations to develop a digital[1]first strategy in communicating key information about its goods and services. Digital first considers all available media channels, selects which are appropriate for the audience and develops consistency of messaging across those channels. It is also nimble, with the ability to adjust messaging based on the customer’s actions. This agile environment requires a technology infrastructure to track and manage customer interactions. It also requires a company culture focused on continually improving processes to create the optimal customer experience. Omnichannel goes beyond the scope of media to include the people, processes, and technologies necessary to create a true customer-centric organization. It enables the customer to experience continuity of messaging across online and offline media with significant results. According to a recent Forbes article, “Research shows that brands with a strong omnichannel strategy retain, on average, 89 percent of customers, in comparison to 33 percent of companies with a weak omnichannel approach.”

Tackling the Omnichannel2 Challenge through Innovation

CMI Media Group addresses the omnichannel challenge by enabling our healthcare and pharmaceutical clients to reach their target health care providers (HCPs) with relevant messages across a variety of online and offline marketing channels (email, direct mail, banners, custom programs, audio, video, social media, etc.). Leveraging information about an HCP’s media preferences and interactions – including information obtained from our clients’ sales force – we orchestrate a series of relevant messages across multiple marketing channels, creating a true omnichannel experience. Through a combination of artificial intelligence and predictive models, we ensure each HCP receives the right information at the right time, in a relevant marketing channel. This focus on individual HCPs has proven extremely successful, evidenced by campaign metrics that far exceed those found in traditional media campaigns. CMI Media Group also provides pharmaceutical sales reps with full control over media. By giving Reps access to activate messaging journeys based on their interactions with HCPs; this capability fills a gap where, since the pandemic, many HCPs can no longer welcome sales reps in their medical offices. CMI Media Group will soon extend our proven omnichannel capabilities to a DTC model. This capability will enable our clients to surround patients and caregivers who are likely in need of our clients’ treatments with relevant messaging. By informing consumers about available treatments for their conditions, they can take an active role in discussions with – and potentially influence – their HCPs.

The combination of Omni channel marketing for HCP and consumer audiences will allow healthcare marketers to employ outbound media tactics for brand awareness and to influence HCPs and patients throughout the sales funnel. By marrying B2B and DTC omnichannel marketing, our clients will have the ability to create holistic messaging journeys to inform both HCPs and HCPs’ patients or caregivers about their offerings.