Updated On: 11th Nov’19
In a world, where experience determines the extent of customer satisfaction, omnichannel is a much-needed factor that influences the experience. Providing the perfect omnichannel experience depends on multiple factors. Before designing an omnichannel strategy, business owners should ask the following questions:
To educate business owners and help them devise the perfect omnichannel strategy, we have tried to answer the above questions in this blog post. Without further ado, continue reading to know more about designing an omnichannel strategy.
For more return on investment (ROI), one is required to measure and make changes in the omnichannel strategy. To enable a business owner to do so, analytics applications such as Pointillist and SAS provide meaningful information on relevant key performance indicators (KPIs). Such applications can help a business owner keep a close eye on omnichannel analytics be it offline or online interaction with a potential customer.
SAS Analytics
Offline and online channels represent different marketing avenues. It can be a banner advertisement in a brick and more store, storefront, Twitter banner or post, Facebook banner or post, etc., no matter which platform it is, the core messaging goal should be consistent.
Using the same brand imagery across different channels is highly recommended. A more recent innovation in the internet of things (IoT) has enabled brands to introduce personalization in the offline world using beacons. The core messaging should be the same and by introducing personalization in an ecommerce website for better conversion.
After a meticulous analysis of the use case, one needs to find important touchpoints and ensure that the flow is directed towards user experience and conversion. To elaborate this further, we would like to mention two examples – Walgreens and Amazon.
Walgreens – The second largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, Walgreens has introduced an MD Live app through which a user can pay to have a live chat with a physician. And if necessary, the physician can also directly write a prescription. The prescribed drugs can be purchased at one of the store locations.
Amazon – Amazon launched the cashier-free chain of grocery stores known as Amazon Go, which gives the best experience with the amalgamation of online and offline commerce. A person can walk into the Amazon Go store and buy anything he/she wants. Once a product is picked, the billing is done automatically.
As in the above two examples, mobile is the epicenter for real-time interaction. Amplifying the customer behavior, the culture of immediacy is driving mobile first interactions. Customers expect businesses to participate in the culture of immediacy through mobile services. Mobile has provided customers with unprecedented access to information, simplified the way customers can evaluate and buy products.
Although customers still value the human connection and want technology to enhance the connection and not replace sales and service representatives.
The transition from offline to online can reduce sales in the long run, if omnichannel-friendly policies are not formulated. In our research, we came across several brands that are working towards improving their omnichannel experience but lack policies to impart a superior omnichannel experience. Be it any policy such as privacy, return, refund, reward points, etc., relevant changes are to be made that blur the distance between offline and online.
Elaborating some strategies for a successful omnichannel transformation:
In order to deliver an excellent customer experience, businesses should scheme the customer service journeys by striking an optimal balance of speed, transparency, and interaction with each channel or the multiple touchpoints. Every point of the customer journey needs to be optimized rather than focussing on individual touchpoints. The success of the omnichannel strategy entirely depends upon rightly understanding the customer based on their digital behaviors and then offering the right channels. Acc. to research by Mckinsey, digital customers can be identified onto four different personas:
The least percentage of consumers who prefer to live in the non-digital world shop in brick and mortar stores.
Devising customer journey services primarily for each segment and persona profile helps to differentiate the engagement strategies and the necessary investment for each channel.
To successfully accomplish the omnichannel strategy, the business should resolve these areas first:
Companies should apply test, fail, adapt the methodology to design the customer journey. The methodology involves tactics like design thinking, live testing of prototypes, ideation with customers to jointly build customer journeys.
Besides defining the customer journeys and segregating the role of each channel, it is very important to have a strong hold on the economic implications. The economic implications could include cross channel assortments, pricing decisions, customer relationship management and finally handling the delivery scenarios.
Crafting a balance between these factors and optimizing them to achieve a winning strategy becomes complex. Follow the guidelines to ensure it:
In all, the most essential key requisites for a successful omnichannel experience: