Today, the four largest messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat, have more active users than the four largest social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn –– 4.1 billion versus 3.4 billion.

It’s a sign of the times. A decade ago, the rise of social media pushed communications into the public sphere, incentivizing businesses to broadcast content to their followers. Now, consumers prefer secure, 1-to-1 communication, or group channels.

Overwhelmed by as many as 63.5 notifications per day, they’re muting notifications from non-essential mobile apps providing a singular function or one-off transaction. Only 12 percent of consumers prefer a company’s mobile app for receiving communications from a business. These shifts in technology and preferences are driving consumers to seek out more secure, authentic communications. 

A powerful opportunity to engage

For companies, this shift represents an opportunity to transform how they connect with customers through personalized, context-rich conversations. …

The data and trends are clear: companies need to provide an omnichannel customer experience if they want to succeed in 2020. 

Yet, countless companies struggle to grasp what omnichannel engagement even means, let alone provide it to their customers.

Let’s look at a handful of organizations that are crushing it on the omnichannel front, but first, we’ll explore what omnichannel is — and isn’t — in today’s landscape.

Omni- vs. multi-channel engagement

Fundamentally, omnichannel means a multi-channel approach to customer engagement that is integrated. That means that whether they are interacting with your business on social media, your website, via an AI-powered chatbot, in-person at a brick and mortar store… their experience is seamless and connected, and they are recognized as the individual they are at each of those touchpoints and beyond.

A multi-channel customer experience, on the other hand, may include wonderful experiences at each of the touchpoints …

What do the clothing brand Patagonia and military nonprofit Team Rubicon have in common?

Their customers and supporters are positioned as the hero in their storytelling. Whether you’re selling a product, services, or social impact, your marketing narrative should evoke feelings of importance for each recipient. 

Below are key insights on how to gain serious ROI through omnichannel engagement from Matt Scott, co-founder, and CEO of CauseMic, a digital cause marketing firm.

For Scott, clothing brand Patagonia typifies the hero approach to storytelling, thanks to their laser focus on their mission: saving the planet. As Scott explains, they recognize that individual customers have a role to play when choosing where to spend their money, and for Patagonia’s customers, that means buying products that are built to last generations, cutting down on excess and over-consumption.

“I think that's a really interesting approach to marketing because what they've done is they've said, …