Customers have experienced a mind shift. They expect any desired information or service to be available, on any appropriate device, in context, at their precise moment of need. – Forrester.
We have transcended the era when the sole meeting point between customers and businesses were single channel, in-store. Customer touch points have reached a multi-point spectrum as web stores, social media and mobile apps are means for businesses and customers to meet, interact and exchange value. In Deloitte’s Global Contact Centre Report 2017, survey respondents – leaders who represent over 450 global contact centres – stated that multi and omni-channel customer experience delivery is a strategic focus of their organizations, hence their goal to ensure effortless interactions across every touchpoint. The advantages multi and omni-channel customer experiences present range from increased efficiency to competitive advantage. In the same vein, they present opportunities for the personalization of customer experience and integration of customer data.
To have a multichannel customer experience strategy is to have different – physical and digital – means of meeting customer needs. However, having a multichannel customer experience strategy does not automatically translate to a seamless flow in customer experience across all touch points. There are prevalent examples of friction between actions customers initiate digitally and attempt to continue physically. Such instances highlight the significance of seamlessness in multichannel customer experience. This pursuit of seamlessness is the foundation upon which omni-channel customer experience stands. Omni-channel customer experience management offers synchronized and centralized solutions for businesses to ensure that their customers can reach them easily and conveniently. It is marked by synchrony, integration and centralization of information, delivery and support.
Here are three key strategies for businesses with multiple touchpoints looking to implement a well-rounded omnichannel customer experience.
Inculcate master data management in your customer experience plan
Master data management is aimed at integrating data from different sources towards a single reference point, which can eliminate multiplicity of information sources, and drive cohesive customer understanding. To capture the relationship a customer has had with a firm, and factor in such knowledge at all touchpoints through which customers can have repeat interactions, enterprise-level data management is invaluable. Data management drives personalization and proactive customer engagement.
Invest in a CX technology stack
CX Technology stacks support the implementation of customer experience srategies. They are platforms with integrated tools that manage customer interactions at multiple touch points. With well-rounded CX technology stacks, businesses optimize the ways their customers experience their offerings before, during and after purchase. The most valuable CX technology stacks comprise of solutions that best meet the needs of customers, and adhere to consistent communication, cross-channel information integration and consolidated reporting. RightCom XP, our data and experience management platform, has a stack of SaaS products that power the customer experience goals of businesses, inclusive of queue management, digital signage and customer feedback aggregation.
Hire a Chief Experience Officer
In June 2019, HBR released an article making the case for the role of a Chief Experience Officer, to lead customer and employee experience management in firms eager to gain competitive advantage. With the potential to drive a 50 percent increase in customer purchases and a five fold rise in referrals, the value of customer experience surpasses its peripheral positioning in many organizations. To deliver an excellent customer experience – one which efficiently handles the complexity of multiple touch points – the role of a Chief Experience Officer is critical. The Chief Experience Officer streamlines and aligns customer experience strategies, leading the deliberate adoption of solutions that drive value during all interactions between customers and brands.
The successful 2020 retailer will also build a true omnichannel operation that allows customers to interface through any channel of their preference on a 24/7 basis, anywhere at any time – PWC, Retailing 2020: Winning in a polarized world.
PWC’s report on “winning in a polarized world” forecasts that the demand for omni-channel experiences will become more acute in 2020. Drawing from the match of rapid technological innovation and rising global middle class population, the retail-focused report stresses that omni-channel experiences offered by brands will define success. Indeed, coupled with superior customer understanding, global market knowledge and agile business models, the winning businesses of 2020 remain those who are present for their customers “on a 24/7 basis, anywhere at any time.”
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