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From multichannel to the omnichannel world – Delivering unified, seamless customer experience

Written by Itika Saxena | Jul 27, 2020 2:19:58 PM

The successful 2020 retailer will also build a true omnichannel operation that allows customers to interface through any channel of their preference on a 24/7 basis, anywhere at any time.”

PwC and Kantar Retail’s study titled ‘Retailing 2020: Winning in a Polarized World’ indicates the need for brands to accurately deliver a fully integrated shopper experience from start to finish. This enables the customers to experience retailers as a single brand consistently in both virtual and real worlds.

Can we use Multichannel and Omnichannel interchangeably?

The answer is no! Most of us often get confused with the terms multichannel and omnichannel. Let’s understand what these terms are and why omnichannel customer experience is essential.

Even though both these strategies involve selling across multiple channels in terms of physical stores and digital platforms, the major difference lies in how integrated and seamless the customer experience is across these channels.

Multichannel marketing spans across multiple touchpoints including web, social media, mobile, web chat, direct mail, brick and mortar stores, e-commerce, and so on, but these channels work in silos and are independent of each other.

On the other hand, omnichannel customer experience connects these touchpoints to deliver a consistent, personalized, and unified experience for customers or potential customers. It also includes the brand’s own website’s UX, lead flow, sales process, and customer service.

The following statistics show why omnichannel customer experience is essential:

  1. Companies with the strongest omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers, compared with 33% for companies with weak omnichannel strategies - Aberdeen Group Inc.
  2. Omnichannel is preferred by 9 out of 10 consumers.
  3. 84% of the consumers go out of their way to spend more money with a brand that provides great experiences – Gladly’ s 2020 Customer Expectations Report

How to create a successful Omnichannel strategy

An omnichannel marketing strategy should focus on creating consistent buying journeys across various touchpoints.

Conclusion

Successful implementation of omnichannel strategies has become basic and imperative. Such strategies boost customer experience and ensure channel consistency. This in turn leads to increased loyalty and retention among customers and better revenue growth.

Organizations can also try and identify the potential of artificial intelligence while implementing omnichannel strategies for customer engagement. This could be possible in functions like customer support and operations, engagement channels, and so on.

 References
  1. PwC and Kantar Retail’s study titled ‘Retailing 2020: Winning in a Polarized World’
  2. https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/customer-experience-2/what-is-omnichannel-marketing/
  3. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2013/12/31/why-omnichannel-strategy-matters/
  4. https://www.uctoday.com/contact-centre/delivering-an-excellent-omni-channel-experience/
  5. Gladly – 2020 Customer expectations report