Our daily lives are increasingly integrated with technology as it advances. We are blurring the lines between what we do online and in real life. Marketers, salespeople, and customer service representatives must adapt as people's behaviors change. Instead of developing a desktop experience, a mobile experience, a tablet experience, and an Apple Watch experience, we should create an omni-channel experience that customers can access wherever they are.
Our goal in this post is to explain what omni-channel means and how you can use it to create profitable marketing, sales, and service strategies.
The omnichannel approach is a lead nurturing and user engagement approach in which a company gives customers and prospects access to its products, offers, and support services across all channels, platforms, and devices.
For example, a company may offer support through Facebook Messenger, live chat, email, and phone instead of only its desktop website.
You can reap a variety of benefits by adopting an omni-channel approach to marketing, sales, and customer service. Among the advantages are:
Your customers will be able to reach you wherever they are with an omnichannel retail, marketing, or service strategy. It is no longer necessary for them to search and search in order to find you. Regardless of where they are, your team or products are just a click, an email, or a direct message away.
Having your product available on multiple platforms and channels makes it much easier for your prospects to make a purchase when they're ready to buy. By offering a multi-channel retail experience, you make it easier for them to purchase from you again or renew their subscriptions, ensuring recurring revenue.
If your customers feel they have several ways to reach your customer service and sales teams, they will be happier in the long run. Or if they can buy your product easily no matter what device they use or what platform they prefer. To reduce customer churn and keep them returning, customer satisfaction is key.
Your business's success depends on providing your customers with an omnichannel experience. So, what is the omni-channel experience?
A seamless, integrated, and cohesive customer experience is created by marketing, selling, and serving customers across all channels. Customers should have the same experience regardless of the platform or method they use.
No matter where the customer shops, whether online, by telephone, or in a brick-and-mortar store, the experience should be seamless.
A multi-channel experience should be distinguished from an omni-channel experience. It all boils down to the degree of integration between your business' channels and platforms.
The user has access to a variety of communication channels that aren't necessarily synchronized or connected in a multi-channel environment. An omni-channel experience, on the other hand, involves not only multiple channels, but connected channels so you can seamlessly move between them.
Omni-channel and multi-channel experiences differ in two ways:
Multi-channel experiences are what most businesses invest in today. They have a website, a blog, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account. Each of these platforms is used to engage and connect with customers. Customers still lack a seamless experience and consistent messaging across each of these channels in most cases.
The omni-channel experience accounts for all platforms and devices a customer can use to interact with the company. It also creates an equally efficient and positive experience across all channels.
In retail, it is especially important to create an omni-channel experience. How much you sell depends on whether you have an omni-channel retail strategy.
Businesses use omni-channel marketing to market their products and services across all channels, devices, and platforms using unified messaging, cohesive visuals, and consistent collateral. Through omni-channel marketing, you can reach customers where they are with relevant and on-brand offers.
Omni-channel marketing combines the strengths of each communication channel to deliver a more effective brand message. Additionally, they can reach target buyers at the right time, increasing their chances of converting them.
By using omni-channel marketing, companies can optimize their marketing messages based on their customers' perspectives and interests. On Instagram and Facebook, you might only target users with a specific interest and create collateral that appeals to them.
It's important not to do omni-channel marketing on a whim. Creating an omni-channel marketing strategy ensures brands deliver content at the right time to their prospective buyers.
Continue reading to learn how to implement an omni-channel experience in your company. We will even highlight some brands that are already creating omnichannel experiences.
Omni-channel marketing includes consistent messaging, visuals, and positioning statements across all channels, platforms, and devices. You can ensure a seamless brand experience for your customers by presenting your brand the same way across all platforms.
It is important to remember that omni-channel marketing campaigns also have a positive impact on your sales and service departments. Why? Your customers will know to expect a similar shopping and customer service experience when you're on all the channels and platforms they use.
It takes time to create an omni-channel experience. Don't worry about being everywhere all at once; you'll get there eventually. Prior to moving on to other platforms, nail down your website and social media channels. Engage with those who reach out to you via those channels by posting consistently.
Users will notice if you consistently engage with them on Instagram but don't respond on Facebook. Your brand will appear inconsistent and unprofessional if you focus on one and ignore the other.
You can make use of a shared inbox to organize your social messages, emails, and chat threads. In some tools, such as Marketing Hub, you can even link your social campaigns to your CRM, so you can keep track of visitors and leads.
You may not need to take this step depending on your industry and product. Consider creating an app if you sell consumer products or offer a SaaS tool - or if you would benefit from one otherwise.
If you run a small company, you can hire a freelance app developer. You should make sure you have a legitimate reason for offering an app, and you should think through every feature. To learn how to make an app and how to do it successfully, read this article.
3. Every step of the way, strive to solve the customer's problem
Adding a new channel to your omni-channel strategy should be done to solve for the customer.
Establishing an omni-channel strategy isn't just about making more sales or getting more visibility for your company. However, it's also about making sure your customers have an easy and hassle-free experience. Your messaging in each channel and your engagement with users should reflect the problem you are solving for your customers.
Use the same messaging across channels to create a consistent experience. Ads you run on various social media platforms should have the same messaging, for example. So long as the overall message remains the same, you can change the wording.
It is important not to overuse boilerplate content, however. Your site might be penalized by search engines and social media platforms if you have duplicate content issues. Don't just copy and paste everything. Use a consistent brand voice that allows you to mix it up without looking inconsistent instead of always using the same phrases.
When you engage with customers on certain channels - whether through an ad, an organic post, a private message, a phone call, or an email - you should always end the engagement with a call to action. Of course, the CTA should be device- and platform-appropriate.
A social ad, for instance, should link to your mobile website, not the desktop version. Close your email with a link to schedule a meeting, not one that triggers an automatic app download (your customer may not be using a mobile device to check their email).
You should ensure that your CTA doesn't throw off the customer and that it only extends the seamless experience you've already provided.
Discussing the theory and practice of omni-channel customer experience is one thing. Seeing brilliant companies who are already implementing it is something entirely different. These are a few that we admire most:
Down to the tiniest detail, Disney gets omni-channel right. The entertainment giant's beautiful, mobile-responsive website sets the tone for the entire experience. Even its trip-planning website works well on mobile - that alone is uncommon.
With My Disney Experience, you can plan your entire vacation, from dining reservations to Fast Passes, once you've booked a trip. The mobile app allows you to find the attractions you want to see in the park, as well as view their estimated wait times.
With its Magic Band program, the entertainment company takes it one step further. With this tool, you can unlock your hotel room, store photos taken with Disney characters, and order food online. You can even integrate Fast Pass to keep your vacation moving.
As a customer of Virgin Atlantic, Robert Fransgaard shared an account of his outstanding experience with Virgin Atlantic's omni-channel customer service.
His anecdote tells of a personal experience he had with a representative named Dan. After being unwittingly exposed to Robert's frustration over a missed engineer appointment, Dan encouraged Robert to contact him directly in the future if any problems arise.
It wasn't Dan who suggested calling customer service or posting another tweet to get attention. Dan provided Robert with personalized service across the company's different marketing channels.
When it comes to consoling customers who have had a poor experience with a company, a personal touch like this can make a huge difference.
Despite Virgin's leadership in omni-channel marketing, this account seems to best illustrate what can happen when employees and channels work seamlessly together.
Bank of America is committed to developing its omni-channel strategy. As one of the biggest brands in their field, they're setting the standard for a dynamic experience, which - as of today - allows everything from check depositing to appointment scheduling to be handled by their mobile and desktop apps.
Bank of America still has a long way to go. Currently, users cannot apply for loans or handle other more complex banking needs from their phones. The company's commitment to omni-channel ensures that other activities, such as paying your bills or depositing a check, do not require that level of hassle.
Oasis is a U.K. fashion retailer that's fusing its ecommerce site, mobile app, and brick-and-mortar stores into a simple shopping experience.
In its stores, you'll find sales associates using iPads to provide you with accurate, up-to-date product information on-the-spot. Additionally, the iPad serves as a cash register, so associates can ring you up from anywhere in the store. To top it all off? In the event that an item appears to be out of stock, the staff can immediately place an online order for you to have it shipped directly to your house.
You can see why many consider Starbucks' rewards app to be one of the best omni-channel experiences available.
As a first step, you receive a free rewards card that can be used whenever you make a purchase. Unlike traditional customer loyalty programs, Starbucks allows you to check and reload your card over the phone, website, in-store, or on the app. Real-time updates are made to the card or your profile across all channels.
Have you ever stood in line to get a coffee and realized there wasn't enough money on your account? Once you swipe your card, the cashier will know it has been updated.
Did you ever order something online, only to discover that the restaurant hadn't prepared it by the time you arrived? It's awful when that happens. If I have to wait for my order anyway, what's the point of an online ordering system?
With its online experience, Chipotle aims to eliminate that frustration. With its mobile ordering app and online ordering system, you can place an order from anywhere.
Are you on the go and need a quick way to order? By creating an account, you can save your favorite orders for quick and seamless ordering. Would you like to take up requests from everyone around the office? When you arrive, place an order for the entire team online.
Making the customer's life as easy as possible is the goal of omni-channel. Chipotle's easy-to-navigate tools make on-the-go ordering easy, and it provides that service well.
Sporting goods retailer Orvis has won awards for its omni-channel strategy. You might wonder, how? It knows how to communicate effectively with its target audience because Orvis understands them.
Using first-party data, Orvis discovered that its target audience was primarily older affluent customers. Although this demographic hasn't fully embraced digital technology yet, they have shown a genuine interest in ecommerce tools.
Consequently, Orvis provided tablets with pre-installed CRM and ecommerce tools to help employees. In addition to ordering out-of-stock products, these tools can charge customers both online and in-store. A tablet can be used by customers to learn more about an offer and find a rep if they need assistance with a product.
It not only improves customer experience, but it also helps Orvis' marketing team gather information about customers. When employees walk into a store, they can recognize loyal customers thanks to CRM tools on the tablet. The marketing team can use this information to deliver a more effective offer based on their shopping habits and purchase history.
China's VIP.com is a leading ecommerce marketplace. Using its platform, retailers sell goods to the company through a B2B website.
The way VIP.com connects retailers with potential leads provides an omni-channel experience. Customers in the retailer's area receive push notifications when retailers post new products on VIP.com. Alternatively, VIP.com can deliver the order to these leads directly.
Companies looking to deliver an omni-channel experience can benefit greatly from geo-location data. Users will be asked for permission to access their location when signing up for a product or app. VIP.com takes advantage of this information by delivering offers that are relevant and timely to customers.
Even though brick-and-mortar bookstores may be a thing of the past, Barnes & Noble offers its members and customers the traditional brick-and-mortar experience while remaining agile. Your experience will be similar, if not identical, regardless of whether you use the Nook app, mobile website, desktop website, or physical store.
An in-store cafe for customers to read adds another layer to these omni-channel experiences. In addition to accessing the store's products on whatever platform they choose, customers can also enjoy a traditional cafe experience.
Spotify is another great example of an omni-channel product experience. Not only does the company have a web app, a desktop app, and a mobile app, but it also syncs between all apps when you open them simultaneously. The desktop app will display the song currently playing if users are listening to Spotify on their phones.
An omni-channel retail strategy increases reach, reduces friction, and boosts sales by making your products and services available across all channels and platforms. There will be brick-and-mortar stores, app-based options, and online platforms in an omni-channel retail experience.
An apparel brand, for example, might sell its products on its website, app, Instagram's "Shopping" tab, Amazon, and in brick-and-mortar stores.
Business-to-consumer (B2C) industries such as clothing, consumer goods, food, and beverage are primarily affected by omni-channel retail. By allowing prospects to request demos, request quotes, or schedule consultations across various channels and platforms, B2B companies can simulate an omni-channel retail environment.
Consider creating an app that allows prospects to tour your product on their phone, adding a "Request Consultation" button to your Facebook profile, and using Facebook Messenger to provide quick quotes to prospects.
Another way to connect your retail experience is through payment links. HubSpot Payments lets you embed payment links into emails, quotes, invoices, text messages, and even chats.
In either a B2B or B2C environment, omni-channel retail is most effective when paired with omni-channel marketing.
Using omni-channel marketing, companies align their messaging, goals, objectives, and design across all channels and devices. Providing a better customer experience can be a valuable asset for businesses using omni-channel marketing.
Every company must develop its own unique omni-channel experience infrastructure, and you'll need to work closely with several departments in your company to develop this strong strategy.
Consider the following stakeholders when building your program:
As soon as everyone understands your omni-channel initiative's goals and objectives, you can begin planning your transition. If you involve these departments early on, it will make the transition to an omni-channel way of doing things easier - it will save you time and headaches down the road.
To build a coherent, aligned experience across multiple platforms, your strategy should consist of a strategic plan. Since this is a relatively new emerging concept, there is still time to start small and expand.
The scale of some of the integrations described above may make omni-channel experiences feel out of reach for smaller companies, and omni-channel user experiences still have a long way to go.
The world is not so far away from omni-channel being accessible to all brands. As technology has advanced over the past decade, there's no doubt that even the smallest businesses will be able to engage directly with their customers - no matter where they are, what they're doing, or what device they're using.