O2O marketing is a marketing strategy that guides customers from the Internet to physical stores.
With the development of the Internet and many customers using websites to gather information about products and materials, it has become widely used.
We will introduce what O2O marketing is, specific measures for O2O marketing, how it differs from omnichannel, and success stories of omnichannel in BtoB.
What is O2O marketing?
O2O is an abbreviation for “Online to Offline” and is a marketing measure to guide customers from the Internet (=Online) to physical stores (=Offline).
With the development of the Internet, many consumers and customers now use websites to gather information about products and materials.
As a result, marketing measures have become necessary to guide customers from the Internet to physical stores.
A typical example of O2O marketing is “discount coupons” issued via websites, emails, smartphone apps, etc.
In addition, we are collaborating with e-commerce sites and games, and utilizing location information and SNS.
O2O marketing is sometimes confused with omnichannel.
While O2O marketing refers to “guiding customers from the Internet to physical stores,” omnichannel refers to “making it possible to make purchases in the same way anywhere without distinguishing between e-commerce sites and physical stores.”
O2O marketing is widely used in BtoC businesses.
Similarly, in BtoB, where customer purchasing behavior is changing due to the development of the Internet, there are success stories such as improving customer prospects through the use of SNS.
Specific measures for O2O marketing
Specific measures for O2O marketing include the following.
Issuing coupons via websites, emails, smartphone apps, etc. is a typical O2O marketing measure.
Issuing coupons is an incentive to encourage customers to visit physical stores.
Additionally, the incentives offered are not necessarily of monetary value. For example, apps for restaurant reservations and taxi dispatch can be considered O2O marketing measures in the sense that they provide convenience to customers.
One example of O2O marketing is to increase the motivation of customers to visit the store by incorporating a game-like feel, such as gaining points on the app by visiting a physical store, and ranking up based on the number of points.
There are also measures, such as Pokemon GO, that use smartphone location information to distribute points and coupons to customers who visit a specific location.
One type of O2O marketing is to use SNS to encourage customers to visit physical stores by disseminating customer reviews.
Difference between O2O and omnichannel
O2O marketing and omnichannel are sometimes confused because they both aim to link the Internet and brick-and-mortar stores.
Although O2O is sometimes considered a form of omnichannel marketing, there are differences between the two.
O2O marketing is the act of directing customers from the internet to physical stores.
Omnichannel marketing, on the other hand, does not direct customers.
The aim is for customers to use e-commerce sites and brick-and-mortar stores without distinction, and to be able to enjoy the same convenience no matter which site they use.
For example, a major department store in the United States centrally manages inventory across the United States, so even if the physical store does not have it in stock, they can order it to be delivered to their home from another store that has it in stock.
Major shoe shops in Japan allow customers to order products on their e-commerce site and then try them on at their nearest physical store before purchasing.
O2O marketing is a measure that encourages customers who have not yet visited the store to come to the store, so it is expected to be effective mainly for new store visitors.
On the other hand, omnichannel is a measure to increase customer convenience, so it can be said to be effective in retaining customers.
O2O marketing BtoB success story
O2O marketing is widely used in BtoC businesses.
The development of the Internet has led many customers to use websites to gather information about products, and this is true even in the case of BtoB. For this reason, various companies are working on initiatives to introduce O2O marketing to BtoB.
Lenovo, a Chinese computer manufacturer, uses the SNS Linkedln to narrow down its search for high-quality potential customers.
In many companies, approaches to customer companies are carried out by both marketing and sales departments, but because the approaches are different, the customer data of both departments may remain separate.
Lenovo leverages Linkedln to enable unified use of customer data between marketing and sales departments.
This expanded customer touchpoints and allowed the measures of both departments to work together, successfully increasing customer prospects.
◆Summary
◆ O2O marketing is a measure to guide customers from the Internet to physical stores.
◆ There are various examples such as issuing coupons, using games, location information, and SNS.
◆ While O2O is about guiding customers from the Internet to physical stores, omnichannel aims to be able to use both with the same convenience.
◆ BtoB companies are also making progress in introducing O2O marketing.