Did you know that 75% of customers want a personalized purchasing experience? Omnichannel customer service meets this demand. Widespread in the retail sector, it's become the star of connected customer service.
Combining the digital and the physical is essential when communicating with your customers. In this article, let's look at the strengths of omnichannel customer service with some valuable examples.
What Is Omnichannel Customer Service?
Omnichannel customer service involves combining every communication channel available (traditional and digital) to streamline the customer experience before, during, and after the purchase of a product. Purchasing channels have significantly evolved, and an increasing number of them exist. Today, you can offer a better customer experience than your competitors. Combining traditional and digital channels would be best to streamline your customers' experiences.
Customer satisfaction is one of your main concerns. With this in mind, omnichannel customer service could be an incredibly effective solution to satisfy your ultra-connected customers. Omnichannel services offer customers an unparalleled choice during the purchasing process. For example, you could offer your customers:
The chance to talk with a chatbot and then continue the conversation via email.
To track package returns in real-time on your website or web-based application, according to their demands.
More available stock at the point of sale (and therefore fewer customer cancellations).
Buying through Express Click & Collect.
Buying online but returning items in-store.
Etc.
What are the advantages of omnichannel customer service?
Omnichannel customer service has many benefits compared to multichannel customer service. In other words, omnichannel customer service:
Improves the customer experience: interactions are streamlined and more coherent at every point of contact. Allows for a better understanding of the buyer persona: Communication channels like messaging on social media or forums create a record of interactions with the customer. Allows for the collection of most common customer transcripts to understand the target customer better and offer them a better purchasing journey with the best possible customer service.
Allows customers to participate in customer self-service: the process where they resolve their problems or find answers to questions without contacting a customer support agent on the phone or via another channel.
Ensures that a record of customer queries is available across all channels, allowing maximum personalization of the customer experience and ensuring constant customer satisfaction.
Strengthens your brand image for sustained long-term growth.
Improves communication processes and reduces operational costs, optimizing your customer service agents’ productivity. Customers will be able to get answers to simple questions much more easily.
How to Measure Omnichannel Customer Support Performance
Measuring the User Experience
User experience is the primary indicator for understanding the quality of your omnichannel customer service. More specifically, follow the DCX (digital customer experience) rather than simply the CX (standard customer experience). DCX considers how easily customers can access information and buy products or services online.
For example, many buyers check the availability of products online before going into a store, which can influence their decision to visit a physical store. To maximize customer satisfaction, it's essential that stock availability is visible to optimize the customer experience on every digital platform.
Measure Operational Experience
Consumer demand during the pandemic has accelerated the transition towards services like e-commerce and online purchasing with in-store pickup. It's important to tighten up these operational systems to avoid customer frustration. Evaluation should include analyzing process efficiency and employee training to ensure that omnichannel operations are as fluid as possible.
Measuring Engagement
Given that many consumers use their devices to compare products, even when in-store, it's worthwhile measuring customer engagement on all channels. Companies need to ensure that all available information is pertinent and personalized, allowing customers a coherent experience, whether online or in-store. To do this, you need to implement technologies that facilitate information access and encourage customer engagement.
How to Implement an Omnichannel Customer Service Strategy
To implement an omnichannel customer service strategy, you need to focus on 3 tools:
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool: This tool integrates customer data, tracks exchanges, and manages customer accounts; the core ingredient of any omnichannel strategy.
A single platform for every service: The principle of omnichannel customer support is to offer customers a way to interact with your brand on every physical and digital channel. Your company's services need to be accessible on a single platform where you can find customer data (marketing, customer service, physical sales, transactional, etc.).
A personalized journey (with or without artificial intelligence): To offer customers a streamlined omnichannel experience, you need to predict their behavior and record their purchasing journey.
It's also essential to follow these steps so that your newly implemented strategy works for your company in the long term:
Create a customer-focused culture: If your current company culture isn't customer-oriented, there's no point in implementing an omnichannel customer experience. You have to cultivate a culture that prioritizes customer satisfaction. This is the direction that this kind of initiative has to take.
Drive change from within: Changing mindsets within teams will help to nurture this new culture where "the customer is king".
Train staff members: If necessary, train your staff and employees to use the new tools and healthy communication methods (NVC, customer reminders, active listening, etc.).
Roll out tools: Rolling out CRM, an omnichannel platform, and AI if you need to optimize the customer journey.
Continually improve your omnichannel strategy: The digital world constantly changes, and you can't rest on your laurels. Integrate quality monitoring (QM), collect customer feedback, train staff on new digital methods regularly, and perform monthly competitive intelligence.
Examples of Omnichannel Customer Service
Apple
Apple offers omnichannel customer service integrated with its website, mobile app, physical stores, and social media. Customers can schedule appointments online for repairs in-store, receive notifications via the app, and interact with tech support on Twitter/X. This coherent approach offers a streamlined experience at every step of the customer journey.
Sephora
Sephora uses an omnichannel strategy to offer an integrated purchasing experience. Customers can use the mobile app to check the availability of products in-store, receive personalized recommendations, and access makeup tutorials. In-store advisors can also check customer purchase history online and offer a tailored service.
Starbucks
Starbucks offers an omnichannel customer experience through its mobile app, allowing customers to order in advance, earn loyalty points, and pay via phone. Customers can also access exclusive promotions and receive personalized notifications, strengthening brand loyalty.
What Are the Differences Between Multichannel and Omnichannel?
The differences between multichannel and omnichannel lie mainly in how customer interactions are managed. In multichannel approaches, a company uses several communication channels to interact with customers: telephone, email, social networks, etc. However, these channels often function independently, resulting in incoherent customer experiences.
In an omnichannel approach, however, all communication channels need to be connected to offer a streamlined and coherent customer experience. Customer interactions are centralized on a single platform, allowing agents to follow the customer journey across different channels and ensure uninterrupted service.