Want A Thriving Business? …Focus On Omnichannel Customer Experience!
Due to bringing a lot of success to business retailers, Omnichannel Customer Experience is a crucial perspective in the retail industry today, especially in improving the customer’s shopping experience.
Current consumers expect a seamless experience and as long as this experience does not require too much effort, customers will want to use this service again, which will not only help create customer’s loyalty but also enhance brand value.
So, what is Customer Experience and Omni-channel Customer Experience? Follow these steps to unlock the secrets:
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1. What is Omnichannel Customer Experience?
The time, money and effort that businesses spend on attracting as well as analyzing and evaluating customer satisfaction – all aim to meet the needs of consumers. But it is not enough if you do not care about another equally important factor – the Customer Experience. How do you understand this? Let’s take a look at their definitions:
Customer Experience (CX)
Customer Experience – CX includes all customer interactions with your brand. It is evaluated based on: the customer’s overall experience with buying, paying, interacting with the Sales team, customer service, commenting, the ability to continue to use the product, and the success rate of the customer introducing the product to others (in many different forms).
It is the customer experience for all brand-related channels, including specific products, such as bespoken software company or applications. CX can be considered a term that covers everything of the same brand and how the user perceives them.
Basically, the CX refers to the user’s perception of:
- Customer service.
- Advertising activities
- Brand reputation
- Sales process.
- Fairness of pricing
- Delivery process
- The user experience (UX) of each product.
The goal of a CX consultant is to help business strategies tie in with a customer’s overall experience and their true sense of satisfaction.
and…
Omnichannel Experience?
Multi-channel sales are not enough, shop owners need to create a consistent experience across sales channels, bringing maximum convenience to their customers. And then, Omni channel Experience appeared as a splendid solution.
Customer experience, it is not just an online experience or experience at the store. Instead, it focuses on providing customers with the experience of a blend of different layers, a perfect customer service layer, a layer that interacts directly with in-store products and an optimal online payment process layer.
In a nutshell, the effects on customers can be labeled as speed, demand, in addition to accuracy and value received over the money spent.
Related post: How Omnichannel Customer Experience can Improve your Brand?
Is Omnichannel Customer experience important?
98% of companies surveyed by Forrester Research (one of the largest research and consulting firms in the world) have shown that customer experience is very important in marketing or communications strategies. Meanwhile, 28% ranked this criterion first in their priorities.
The “customer/user experience” theme is becoming ever hotter for the Customer Service Manager, Marketers, etc., in their marketing efforts to attract and retain customers in the retail market today.
A customer experience is called GOOD when it allows customers to:
- Get a friendly, professional experience and timely support from that company.
- Overall, the customer will be satisfied after experiencing the purchase, interacting with the gadgets of the product/ website.
In order to meet the demands of customers, retailers need a solution that helps data synchronize between channels, so that the information is consistent, seamless, and connected. And those are the experience that Omnichannel provides. From there, retailers will be able to serve their customers better to quickly make them become loyal patrons.
Omnichannel Software
A Retail Management System streamlines separate sales channels to provide seamless shopping experiences anytime, anywhere.
2. The benefits of Omnichannel Experience?
Marketing
Another study has shown an interesting number: 70% of customers stop buying a brand if the customer experience is limited, while more than 80% are willing to pay more to have a better experience for the user.
We are moving in the era of information and the era of experience. And of course, in this age, media professionals seem to be getting more and more difficult with new challenges, now and in the future.
But now with the Omnichannel trend is on the throne. Creating a seamless experience is easier than ever. This is also one of the major advantages for marketers with marketing strategies in launching campaigns to satisfy their customers’ demands.
Related post: Top 25 Omnichannel Retailers and What to learn from them
Customer Service
– Gain greater customer insights
Omnichannel such as chat, social media, forums, and even webinars, leave a recorded written customer trace. Depending on what you do with this data, accumulating customer information in its context can give you a wider scope into how your clients interact with your brand and their different needs across the various channels.
Such information can allow you to tweak and improve your customer service to better cater to your clients.
– Maximize agent productivity
An agent can only attend to one customer at a time when on the phone. While other channels such as this listed above can serve anywhere from a couple of customers (chat) to hundreds and even thousands at a time (webinars and videos).
Distribution (Fulfillment)
Once again, Omnichannel Customer Experience brings benefits to the distribution.
Proper quantity, timely delivery is important in online sales because it affects the satisfaction of the buyer.
According to a recent study, 48% of customers refuse to continue shopping on e-commerce sites that have been slow in delivery. However, in reality, 63% of businesses admit that they don’t deliver on time due to many objective factors.
Consequently, Omnichannel as a solution ensures customer satisfaction in this case. This module arranges and manages orders professionally for delivery on time and the right quantity to the buyer, and collects the seller’s money if required (COD – Cash on delivery).
Thus, the seller can sell goods, gain profits without losing processing time and delivery while buyers are satisfied when receiving products on time so that the distribution is running smoothly.
Related Post: What is Omnichannel Distribution in the Retail World?
3. Omnichannel CX Strategy
Then, how to implement the Omnichannel CX strategy? Here are a few business suggestions that can improve the customer experience:
Combine channels into one – Experience sync
Instead of letting the channels work independently, find ways to link them into a single, mutually supportive block. The goal is to create the best, most convenient experience for your customers.
Get rid of the thought that there are online and offline experiences. Your customer just wants to have a unique experience. This experience anchors customer touchpoints and supports other experiences.
Although large retailers have hundreds of traditional stores, they are still experimenting with short-term sales spaces called pop-up stores.
Target, for example, develops a pop-up shop during the 2015 holiday season.
This strategy has given them the opportunity to test new technology and create a unique brand awareness experience. The retail chain provides the buyer with a radio frequency identification (RFID) code to select the product, rather than the shopping cart. To order, the buyer scans their RFID code, and the product is automatically added to the cart.
Target provides buyers with radio frequency identification code for product selection
Multi-layer building for the brand experience is the optimal way to enhance customer experience. It lets shoppers see that every interaction with a brand is important.
Work with your team to share knowledge across departments, use data to personalize the shopping experience, engage online and offline interactions so that it works as a one and synchronizes the CX.
Related Post: Omnichannel Software for Retailers
Use a customer journey map to optimize the experience
Using diagrams and scripts will help you “visualize” the customer journey, thereby identifying which parts of the itinerary need to be adjusted.
By clearly seeing each point of contact (social review, live chat, customer service representatives, online channels, eCommerce websites, surveys …), you will easily explore the remaining gaps and quickly find the solution.
– Optimize the experience
Understanding what potential customers undergo when interacting with the brand will greatly assist in the process of optimizing the shopping journey.
The end-to-end management approach means you can introduce improvements to accelerate the transition without removing anything about the experience. Want to expand your list of loyal customers? Let’s start with a positive experience.
The next solution begins with identifying the pain points in the shopping journey to neutralize it as well as helping the customer move quickly to the next stage.
For example, if potential customers wait a long time to get their questions answered, social networking needs, then this is a low point and may force them to search for alternatives. You can address this by setting up a notification every time a brand’s social media account comes up with a good message, which in turn has timely feedback.
– Develop a customer-centered content strategy
Improving marketing initiatives through customer-oriented content will help you easily create relevant content and value to your target audience.
Content that appears at the right time will improve the brand’s reputation, increase influence, foster confidence and build strong relationships with customers.
To succeed in a customer-centric content strategy, you will need a good understanding of the target market and customer response when making a purchasing decision … This requires the comprehensive development of buyer’s picture, research on customer’s preferences with diversified content and form of distribution.
– Find and fill in content gaps
What kind of content your customers are excited about?
Which group has less resonance?
When you analyze the influencing factors based on feedback, you can develop a content strategy to increase your chances of success.
Depending on the target audience, different types of content will be appropriate. This requires you to really understand their concerns and how to best deliver the content.
Popular channels may include market research, surveys,… But the potential learning opportunities come from competing researchers as well. Take advantage of it to learn relevant things from their successes and shortcomings to apply for your business.
– Identify the “leak point” in the customer journey
Detailed customer journey helps businesses easily identify as well as minimize the “leak point”
“Leakage points” occur when prospective customers are less satisfied with part of the purchase journey and eventually leave. It is similar to the pain point but more specific about where and why customers do not complete the transaction.
For example, if many customers complained about the difficulty of performing the payment steps, this was a leaking point. This is the same as dislocating a potential customer to a competitor that has a better customer experience. Be proactive and do not wait until the customer is dissatisfied, respond negatively and then embark on the improvement.
– Refining and upgrading existing strategies
Keep experimenting and improving, never give up on optimizing your customer journey smoothly. Learn more about your customers’ emotions so they can provide more value and make them really happy.
Once you have discovered the pain points of the customer, you will easily overcome them, creating an exciting journey. You should also consider and analyze your successes, knowing where you are doing well to help develop effective strategies in the future.
– Personalize customer experience wherever possible
When you have a good understanding of the customer, it is important to apply to personalize the customer-brand journey.
Do not just focus on the customer instead, it should be based on the context they are experiencing. This will help you to make recommendations, advice, and services that are most satisfying and customer satisfaction.
Remember that today, customers have a better understanding of financial conditions and options than ever before. If you do not personalize the approach, you will be alienated immediately. But conversely, you are holding the perfect tool in hand to raise the level of brand loyalty.
Existing customers want to be unique, so the business that wants to succeed is forced to create an atmosphere that matches the level you care about them. Retailers can create relationships by remembering the name, saving the customer’s history, and then designing the brand experience based on the client’s interests, interests, and behavior.
Mix experience at contact points into a unified experience. That is the key to customer satisfaction.
4. The best examples of Omnichannel Customer Experience
Let’s see how Nike enhances the customer experiences!
Nike confidently implemented the Omnichannel CX – Create Seamless Shopping Experience – An experience that combines retail store, eCommerce, and mobile customer journeys – seamlessly.
The Store and the Online World are connected
Nike has created a fully integrated, ‘seamless’ retail environment.
Seeking digital excellence in both customer frontend and technical backend. One part of the solution was to set up new interactions while expanding on product details. The other part was to deliver these experiences through leading-edge technology.
To better connect consumers and products, Nike also launched an adaptive environment that engages the consumer respective to their journey. Three custom-built multi-user, multi-touch terminals expanded the brand experience with product information and online purchasing options.
They have continued focusing on groups and analyzing users matching with their concept while strengthening insight into today’s consumer expectations.
Related Post: 3 Best Practices of Omnichannel Retail 2018
Blending Concept and Technology
The core task of technology was to develop and install three stand-alone terminals, communicating via an underlying middleware and server infrastructure – within just ninety days.
Each terminal has a custom technical stack.
Additionally, the terminals are integrated with the existing store’s ERP catalog and eCommerce shop to inform real-time product availability. Design and development in Unity guarantee high performance and flawless usability as well as overall stability. Backgrounds, animations, and videos perform in Ultra-HD with 4k resolution.
Mobile Connection
Nike developed the mobile-connect feature for purchasing and sharing via the customer’s mobile device.
The way Nike runs it is to access the mobile-connect feature gained via a captive portal. This solution allows for perfect and integration with the retailer’s mobile phone app. Customers’ smartphones connect to support their journey as they move to the retail environment. Connected users can receive content via a simple touch on their smartphones.
Image and Social: The impressive Media Wall
A multi-touch, multi-user wall displays campaigns, products, and related social media, creates a spectacular experience for customers shopping at the store.
This installation allows multiple interactions across an ultra high definition surface spanning 9m2. The wall assemblies live updates from Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, with rankings and scores from international and local soccer teams.
Customers can immediately push this rich content media to their smartphones. Additionally, customers are encouraged to leave their mark by taking a selfie which is instantaneously discoverable through a custom hashtag to make the experience more attractive.
Customization and Purchase: The Replica Kiosk
Nike fans can find, customize and order their favorite products via a digital retail kiosk with a 65″ touch display.
Customers can see product availability in real-time for both in-store and online purchase. Online purchases are completed on the customer’s smartphone via mobile-connect; in-store purchases are carried out via a connection to the cash desk. This helps to expand the available assortment while making use of the shop area efficiently.
Interaction and Comparison: The Nike Bootroom
To enable customers on continuing shopping journey and ease employees, a 65” interactive surface with multi-touch is created.
Nike products are comparable with real-time availability for size and color, detected by the ERP system.
This installation is comprised of product videos, league statistics, and comparable shoe data. Product detection is informed by RFID technology connected with 3D-cameras, supporting user interaction and positioning.
For the goal of enhancing the customer experience in the future
Nike’s Digital Retail Experience narrows the gap between two retail worlds that have been separated for far too long – physical and digital.
An A to Z and seamless customer experience is one built strategy of Magento Omnichannel POS solution, considering store, mobile, and online-shopping experiences. A new generation of retail is defined. It brings new features, tools, and content together and increases sales.
