Omni-channel engagement: Where do you start?
Omni-channel, Millennials, Gen-Z are buzzwords that you have heard before and hear almost every day in multiple contexts. But in this maze of fast evolving technology, growing online platforms and retailers, a mobile first economy, it can all become daunting, forcing a business to delay investing in and benefitting from engaging with clients of both digital and non-digital channels.
A survey done by the CMO club on gathering understanding of omni-channel adoption in the market, it came to light that:
55% of companies have no cross-channel strategy in place. (The CMO Club)
Further: 64% of marketers cite lack of resources and investment as their top barrier to omnichannel marketing. (The CMO Club)
So its clear ,while we spin the word around, reality is the benefits of this great approach are far from any materialisation.
So What Exactly Does it Mean to be Omnichannel?
Today’s consumers shop across multiple channels and multiple devices. They may find something online and then head into the store to make the purchase. Or conversely, they may be at a brick-and-mortar location, see an article of clothing they like but not in the correct size, and then pull out a tablet to check inventory and make the purchase. Any number of scenarios like this exist but the most important aspect of omnichannel is that each of these channels are interconnected to provide a seamless experience and connected purchase journey.
In multichannel marketing, a company may use different channels to interact with the customer but each channel is managed separately with a different strategy, which is a barrier to harmonised customer experience. Omnichannel is centred around the customer and ensuring that customers can easily and seamlessly navigate between each company touchpoint to make a single purchase.
At Acquiral, we believe in breaking down these barriers. In UK we have over 80 million mobile subscriptions and majority of these subscriptions are smartphone users. This means a business can engage with them online, on social media, via email etc. but we often overlook the most easy path. Connecting over a SMS – this is not just limited to a notification for delivery or a message to confirm an appointment. SMS enables you start speaking your customers and prospects right at the top of the funnel.
Start with a survey, gather feedback from the prospects and customer alike about your products/services using SMS as the medium to reach them, it’s one of the least invasive forms of communication. Build your engagement to allow interactions on other channels through a multi-channel approach covering traditional, email, and social channels for gathering feedback. Once you have had an understand of how people are responding on different channels. Once a baseline structure is established, move towards omni-channel tools allowing you to blend interactions.
This will provide your organisation the required data to start making informed decisions of how to invest in various digital channels for marketing. With Acquiral you can use existing engagement models leveraged for gathering feedback to start marketing to your clients. This will drive alignment, better allocation of resources and faster ROIs on your marketing spend.
Embracing true omni-channel engagement though requires a business to eventually sell and service their customers on the channels where they want to be reached, don’t limit customers to just a website or brick & mortar. let new age technology with bots & AI help you deliver sales from multiple sources