My recent article in Forbes took me back to a day when Barnes and Noble was the ubiquitous bookseller on Main Street USA and Amazon was a blip on the horizon. I was interviewed by the B&N CEO to be the new head of digital services.
During the interview, I asked him: “Why aren’t you putting bn.com on all your shopping bags?”
The shocked look on his face said it all, but just to be sure I understood, he informed me that retail stores and online shopping were two completely different businesses, always would be, and boom! I beat him to the door.
Fast forward to today. Omnichannel marketing — the use of physical and digital storefronts to reach consumers with a unified experience — is a fundamental strategy of modern retailing. Brands that aspire to this approach seek customers via multiple channels: direct mail, TV ads, YouTube channel, website, telemarketing, social media, mobile site, and storefronts. Instead of the brick-and-mortar approach to which Barnes and Noble was clinging — where cannibalization of store sales was the bogeyman — omnichannel strategies assume that consumers will move from one channel to another.
In the aftermath of the pandemic that ate the classroom, the omnichannel strategy of building a coherent and flexible consumer experience across devices, platforms, and channels has something to teach higher education.
Here’s the complete article.
Hi Ann, appreciate this piece. We are an example of a new omnichannel higher ed provider. We call it a holistic, personalized hybrid approach combining online, residential, experiential learning at locations around the world. Just launched in Miami with 23 students looking for a better and more affordable alternative to college. We’d love to tell you more. Thanks! ivan@themyx.com