5 WAYS TO IMPROVE OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
An omnichannel retail strategy prioritizes the interests of the customer by making sure that every channel is consistent and delivers valuable information to the brand’s audience. 72% Of adults prefer digitally communicating with companies according to Marketingsherpa. This means that serving customers will require the use of all routes made available for digital communication.
The competition is catching up too. 87% of retailers believe that an omnichannel marketing strategy is very important for their success (Brightpearl). Improving the omnichannel customer experience is paramount for building a successful retail outfit. But first, what is omnichannel customer experience?
Omnichannel customer experience is the outcome of a customer-centric approach through which a company provides a seamless, unified, and contextual customer experience. Irrespective of the device, channel, or platform used for customer interaction. It consists of the different channels that digitally connect a customer or prospective customer to a product and/or service provider. It goes beyond interaction. There needs to be consistency across platforms to make the customer experience as convenient as possible.
Customers need to be able to interact with retailers across various routes regardless of the device they use. The various channels for communication are email, web, social media platforms, live chat, and voice (dial-for-support), etc.
Free business tip, the email is the most overwhelmingly used channel by customers so tap into that. So how can a business improve their omnichannel customer experience you say?
IMPROVE THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE
People are searching and making purchases on mobile. It is important to see to it that everything about your business is mobile-friendly. Make things easy for customers to navigate. Make webpages stylish but keep them simple and unambiguous. Make sure the customer service support pages are mobile-friendly. REI is a company that understands this principle well. They understand how much of an opportunity the mobile channel represents. REI is a retail brand. They realized that 75% of their customers visited their website or mobile app before making in-store purchases. Their response? They equipped their sales teams with mobile devices to help customers make purchases. Their stores also provide free in-store Wi-Fi for customers. This allows customers to gather information on their phones before making purchases.
RESPOND! RESPOND! VERILY I SAY TO YOU RESPOND!
Be as responsive to customers as possible and cut down response time by as much as possible. This will keep customers from switching.
According to [24]7, 47% of customers would switch to a competitor within a day of poor customer service. Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company (inventor of the net promoter score) in his research postulates that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. Track and respond to customer questions and queries. Provide avenues to resolve customer queries in a short time. Keeping to good response time will also impress prospective customers who are simply making inquiries. Findings by the Aberdeen Group show that 89% of customers hate repeating their queries. Responding to customer queries on time will keep them from repeating themselves. Customers want their answers in a short time and only a few companies deliver that.
The average response time for leading businesses is 157 minutes. Only 8% of businesses respond within thirty minutes. If a brand can tally its response time to within at least thirty minutes, they put themselves in the upper echelon for customer experience.
YOUR SALES TEAM IS YOUR ARMY, KEEP THEM ARMED
If there is a sales team, make sure that they always have all that they need to be functional. These are the representatives of your brand. Arm them with mobile devices and gadgets that will help them keep in touch with the customers. It will also help them store product information, consumer preferences, and customer data. For example, REI arms its sales team with mobile devices. This allows customers to make selections and make purchases.
OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Be everywhere. Be in their faces. Enable customers to find you across all platforms. Everything about this approach is to make the consumer comfortable. Sympathize with them and try to understand their plight. Be visible, be conspicuous, and stretch a helping hand. Provide top-notch customer care service across all platforms. Consumers are constantly making inquiries, make sure you are listening and doing your best to unburden them.
LET THEM KNOW
Keep customers in the loop. Tell them about special offers, shipping offers, and discounts. Talk to customers about when their package will arrive. Customers value knowing and being sure about when their packages will arrive. Ease their fears.
Use content to keep them in the loop. Talk to them about creative direction, talk to them about the intangibles. Curate articles that feed them with information relevant to your brand and product. The more they know, the more they’ll feel a part of your brand.
IN CONCLUSION
Consistent quality in service across multiple channels will impact revenue. Omnichannel customer support is an opportunity to serve customers by being consistent across all platforms and keeping the convenience of the customer in mind. It boosts the image and credibility of the firm. It is a system for forward thinkers and innovators. Omnichannel customer service enhances the value of a brand to the customer.
