Why omnichannel CX has become a business imperative
Post-pandemic, the retail industry has had to change in order to meet customer expectations. Businesses now understand the importance of digital transformation, and a well thought-out omnichannel strategy is helping brands to provide exceptional customer experiences.
Today’s customers don't want a predefined path of how they interact with a brand – they want to do what they want, through whichever channel they choose. Omnichannel enables them to shop and engage with businesses however it suits them, from anywhere in the world in a matter of moments.
On top of that, brands are now able to cater for the growing expectations of millennials by providing experiences through AR/VR and other AI-driven shopping experiences.
The key pillars of an omnichannel strategy
According to McKinsey, omnichannel shoppers represent one-third of all shopping journeys. This highlights the need to synchronise online and offline channels to deliver a consistent experience to the end users.
To put this into practice, a carefully considered omnichannel strategy should focus on three key pillars: data, content and delivery. I look at these pillars as a way to communicate and interact with customers. Data is your customer’s voice – what are they telling you? Content is how you respond to that – how can you give them what they want? And delivery is where you take action –?what will you do to make sure they’re satisfied with their experience with you?
Ultimately, people are loyal to a brand that knows them and provides contextual experiences. If your data strategy is on point, regardless of whether engagement is online or offline, you will be able to capture that interaction. Then, you’ll be able to deliver relevant content with contextual experiences via the channel of your customer’s choice.
The challenges in omnichannel
With so much competition for customers’ attention, it’s imperative that you provide both?contextual experiences and consistent messaging across every channel they use. Some of the common omnichannel challenges I see are:
领英推荐
●?????Inability to create a seamless customer experience. For the best customer experience, brands should have a single view of the customer so they can deliver a consistent experience. But, some organisations struggle to connect different data sources together across online and offline channels. This often leads to a siloed view of the customer and drives a fragmented customer journey. For example, products purchased online not able to be returned in store with a process as seamless as it is to post them back to the warehouse.
●?????Inability to measure performance and KPIs. As lines between online and offline blur, brands are finding it harder to measure the effectiveness of different touchpoints. However, you need to be able to gauge how effective every touchpoint in the customer journey is, not just the online ones, so it’s necessary to find ways to do that.
●?????Inability to deliver the right messaging through the right channel. Customers expect a contextual experience no matter what channel they’re using. A well delivered and integrated omnichannel solution is key to overcoming this.
Powering organisations into the omnichannel space
Adobe has always been at the forefront of customer experiences. We’ve developed solutions that provide all the tools and applications necessary to power customers into the omnichannel space, built with the end-user in mind.?Such solutions let organisations create a single view of their customers by streaming data in from all the different avenues through which customers interact with them.
We’re heavily investing in this space to make sure our customers always stay ahead in their omnichannel journey, and we’re driving brands to the top of their markets as a result.
Be at the forefront of innovation in customer experiences with Adobe. For our latest openings, head to our careers page here.
Global Mobility Manager @ Aurecon | Top 100 Global Mobility Innovator | Top 250 Mobility Professional | Global Mobility Champion of the Year
2 年Thanks Fahad M. for sharing and I love a good graphic too, to bring it to life. Question, if I may - you mention in your article that McKinsey quoted, omnichannel shoppers represent one-third - do you see this growing and if so by how much and over what period of time?
Creating impactful Early Career Development Programs. SEEKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES due to redundancy.
2 年I love this article Fahad M. I get excited at the thought of using our products to deliver Omnichannel University Programs!!
Employment Branding Lead - APAC & JAPAN at Adobe - Let's create experiences that matter.
2 年Thanks for sharing, Fahad. Very insightful.