Cross-channel, multi-channel & omni-channel: what’s what?

Today, customers have access to a variety of offline and online channels (stores, messaging apps, connected objects, etc.) They can now identify a product on a brand website, try it in store and finalize their purchase on the brand’s app from their smartphone during their commute.

Let’s take a look back at other marketing strategies and understand how to meet today’s customers’ needs.

Multi-channel: the starting point

A multi-channel strategy is about offering an experience during which customers benefit from different contact points to engage with a brand (physical store, smartphone, tablet, live chat, emails, social networks, messaging apps). These touch points are offered by the brand throughout the customer journey but they are not connected to one another, they are totally independent of each other.

Multi-channel allows brands to have a broader audience, communicating with, and selling to, more customers. Its downside: it creates frustrations when customers want to seamlessly switch from one channel to another while still benefiting from their previous context (the brand knowing their customer reference, purchase history, etc.).

Cross-channel: the stepwise strategy

A cross-channel strategy offers a customer experience which includes several complementary channels throughout the customer journey. Its purpose is to provide a smooth customer experience.
Click-and-collect and the showrooming feature, popular options usually offered by cosmetics and fashion retailers, are perfect examples of a cross-channel strategy.

• Pros:
  - seamless customer experience.
• Cons:
  - it lacks simultaneity which makes it less advanced than omni-channel
  - it can generate frustration as consumers now tend to use two channels at the same time (researching on a smartphone while in store, browsing a tablet while watching television).

Omni-channel: be ubiquitous

Customers can use different channels at the same time. They can and so they do. They use their smartphone in store to browse the references of clothes they have in front of them, they read reviews about the fabric, fitting recommendations or check the items’ availability. They also compare prices in store and online. They go to the Brand B website while visiting the Brand A store.

Omni-channel is the most advanced marketing strategy a brand can implement. It suggests a greater consistency between channels and allows customers to navigate seamlessly from one to another. It also gives brands the power of real-time information.

Hard fact: 73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions¹.

Prioritizing an optimal omni-channel CX strategy will be crucial for brands this year.

¹ Source: PwC, Experience is Everything: Here’s How To Get It Right, page 5, 2018.