Today’s consumers are empowered with an abundance of digital technologies at their fingertips, and expect personalized and consistent retail experiences across different touchpoints.
An omnichannel strategy differentiates brands and businesses from their competition. For customers, it is not just about the product or service itself; it is about the overall journey the business takes them on. So, if omnichannel is the way of the future, how can you create a future-proof strategy?
- Redefine the relevance of physical stores: There is a common perception that physical stores have lost their relevance. That isn’t true. Retailers could redefine the role of physical stores to encourage brand loyalty and make the purchase journey an enhanced one. They can provide an immersive sensory experience (touch, feel and smell etc.,) and highly personalized customer service.
- Empower associates to create personalized experiences: The first step towards engaging customers with personalized experiences is through human touch. Associates who are friendly, knowledgeable and appropriately represent the brand can be key differentiators for omni-channel success. Yet taking this a step further, the associate could also be empowered by implementing mobile technology.
For instance, New York-based fashion brand Lilly Pulitzer equipped its store associates with tablets in early 2015 as part of its push to improve the in-store experience and enable customers to make mobile purchases. This created a customized shopping experience for its customers.
Omnichannel vs. multichannel: What’s the difference and who is doing it?
Most retailers are now multichannel, where they sell their products across more than one channel. Very few, however, are truly omnichannel. Discover what it means to be considered an omnichannel business.
Future-proof strategy: All touchpoints must be addressed
If your future-proof strategy doesn’t address the collision of mobile, e-commerce, and brick-and-mortar, you can’t win.
Similar to Lilly Pulitzer, retailers can maximize their investment on in-store mobile technology by utilizing the devices to achieve numerous goals – such as imparting product knowledge, transaction processing, social reach or inventory management.
- Know the customer: Omnichannel retail should track and unify all customer engagements – be it an anonymous visitor or a repeat customer. A customer profile dashboard with inputs from social and mobile will help retailers generate a holistic view of the customer that can be used to create targeted and personalized marketing campaigns. This leads to greater customer retention, opportunities for up-selling and cross-selling, and most importantly, more personalized experiences for each customer.
- Develop a customer journey framework: Creating a digital customer journey map that enables retailers to understand how clients and prospects connect with the brand and product(s) would be a valuable asset. The framework not only shows all of the different stages that customers experience as they interact, but also helps identify areas for improvement and the right technology to support engagement throughout the customer life cycle.
- Improve customer service: A customer’s experience doesn’t end once the purchase transaction is completed. They may return or exchange the merchandise or experience issues with installation. For instance, when it comes to returns, customers want a hassle-free process regardless of the channel used for the purchase. A variety of return methods can enhance the customer’s omni-channel experience.
- Generate key metrics and real-time analytics: Since omni-channel retail deals with multiple touchpoints, massive amounts of customer data can be generated through mobile apps, social media, e-Commerce and websites. Data mining and analytics dashboards are needed to shape up the raw data for meaningful information, which can be leveraged later to develop insights or gain a deeper understanding of how customers interacted with the company and made purchases.
To move ahead of the competition, retailers need to capitalize on omni-channel strategies and adapt to the changing expectations of their customers. Further, they need to follow shifts in technology and personalize the customer experiences in order to squeeze value out of customer data. This data can provide real insights into purchase behavior and enable retailers to better enhance the customer journey – from start to finish.
Your customers are managing 85% of their relationships online. Omnichannel CX can provide everything they want – and more.
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Most retailers are now multichannel, where they sell their products across more than one channel. Very few, however, are truly omnichannel. Discover what it means to be considered an omnichannel business.
