The world is changing. Customers expect to gain more than a simple product or service: A seamless, personalized experience, without having to do any work themselves. This can seem daunting for marketers and customer experience managers who don't know where to start, but fret not!
In this blog post, I will share 6 ways that you can improve your company's omnichannel orchestration of everything from marketing campaigns to customer care interactions with prospects and customers alike.
1) Invest in improving your customer data quality
The first step towards improving your omnichannel is getting a good handle on all of the information coming in about your customers- especially their behaviours online. You'll need great tools like HubSpot, Google Analytics (just to name a few) that allow you to track where your customers are coming from, what they're doing on your website or app, and how much time they spend there, and which marketing channels bring them back to you.
Everything starts with investing in the right tools that automate your customer data quality assurance. Starting here means less work to do down the road, and will also enable you to keep tabs on your CRM with a more accurate picture of what customers want from you.
Omnichannel is built around a better customer experience- but you need to understand your customers to be able to build better experiences for them.
My take-aways on how to get started:
Understand what customer data quality means to your company. Start small but with the most business-critical information first and then gradually start improving the quality. Remember, Rome was not built in one night.
Define a set of standards for how you want the data to be, then make sure it's being processed accordingly
Track errors and identify trends in where they're occurring so that you can fix them
Create a process to check for compliance with those standards on an ongoing basis
Measure your success by monitoring improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs) such as accuracy, completion rate, or cost per transaction or lead.
Use analytics tools to analyze the data and share insights with stakeholders across the organization who have responsibility for different parts of the customer experience
2) Personalize your content in all channels
The age of digital personalization means you need to deliver personalized content. Your prospects want a one-on-one experience with your brand, which starts by making every interaction between your company and customers more human, whether via email, chat or even social media. The easiest way to do this is to have a system in place that helps you know who your customer is, and what they are looking for.
It is your responsibility to make sure customer needs are being met. It is our responsibility to create happier customer experiences through accurate, reliable and friendlier data.
To do that requires a system with the ability to automate and personalize the content of each interaction. For instance, if someone inquires about a specific product on your website, they may get an automated response asking them for more details before providing any additional information. If a customer has been waiting for an order to arrive, they may get a chat message or SMS from you asking if there is anything else you can do.
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to your omnichannel needs because every company has different goals and objectives (and budgets for meeting them), which means that the system also varies by organization.
3) Omnichannel strategy
You need to be able to seamlessly move your customer across channels so they're never frustrated or lost.
A successful omnichannel strategy starts with getting cross-channel data right - you have to know what customers are buying, how they're interacting with your brand and where. This lets you understand what's happening in the customer journey, which is vital to providing a seamless omnichannel experience. You can do this by creating a single view of the customer, with all their information in one place (for example, CRM)
The success of your omnichannel strategy depends on how well you can orchestrate all these different channels together and ensure that they work seamlessly with each other. It also requires knowing where customers are on their journey - for example, whether they've just arrived or are about to leave.
This is where the Customer Journey Orchestration platform comes in - it provides tools for mapping, monitoring and analysing all your customer interactions across channels so you can deliver a seamless omnichannel experience everywhere.
4) Customer care interactions via omnichannel
A survey conducted by Forbes Insights found that when customers post a negative comment or complaint on social media it's seen as more legitimate than complaining to call centres in person or over email, with respondents saying they're more likely to take action if encouraged by their social networks.
It's also the most direct way for customers to interact with businesses, and it can be an opportunity for a company to show its humanity.
What are some customer care best practices?
Tip 1: Make sure that customer care agents are equipped to handle any and all queries from social media.
Tip 2: Always respond on social media as quickly as possible, even if it's just a "We're working to address your issue."
Tip 3: Use simple responses for common issues or questions so customers don't have to type out their entire questions every time.
Tip 4: Ask for feedback from customers who have had a positive experience with your customer service.
Tip 5: Utilise social media as an opportunity to showcase the human side of your company, and highlight how it is invested in its customers' happiness.
To summarize, customer care is a critical component of any business. It's not something that should be taken lightly, as it has the ability to make or break your bottom line.
In order to provide one of the most satisfying customer experiences possible, Omnichannel Orchestration needs to become an integral part of what you do every day-- whether this means changing how you work, what you offer or how you interact with your customers.
5) What success looks like?
Choose to work towards a seamless experience across all channels, including mobile devices, with an inherent focus on the unification of communications. Can a customer chat with a bot online and then switch to call a human agent without disruption or repeating themselves? Should a customer be able to start an online purchase on their desktop and seamlessly finish it from their mobile device?
A customer should have the ability to make purchases in whichever channel they are most comfortable using, whether that's by phone or through chat. This will improve your omnichannel experience for customers, as well as reducing abandoned shopping carts.
It's important to analyze your KPI's against the customer experience that you want to deliver. Omnichannel orchestration should be focused on customer satisfaction, and the data can help you know what is working so that your business stays successful even when faced with new technological changes.
6) Arm your people with knowledge
Providing effective tools for your team combined with training will help to provide the best possible customer experience. — which creates happy employees and happy customers.
With the proper tools, data and analytic frameworks, you can effectively collect personalized customer feedback to identify opportunities for improvement. When you partner with the right vendors, the technology will help you leverage customer data and insights.
Achieving the omnichannel experience requires a true orchestration of your customer touchpoints. As we've discussed, there are many layers to consider in order to optimize each channel for an individual customer's needs and preferences.
At the same time, you need not reinvent the wheel every time by building from scratch - rather find solutions that support your possible legacy systems and integrate them seamlessly into your business process.
This article has covered six important points about omni-channel orchestration, including why it's so important that your company implements this strategy in order to stay competitive in their industry.
Take 1: Omnichannel Orchestration is key to customer loyalty and engagement
Take 2: A majority of customers expect omnichannel capabilities from suppliers, with 84% willing to spend more money when companies respond accordingly
Take 3: Omnichannel Orchestration can help reduce costs and generate new revenue streams with the right strategy in place.
Take 4: Omnichannel Orchestration is vital for customer experience and brand loyalty
Take 5: Omnichannel Orchestration can save you money by allowing the sharing of data across channels.
To understand, cater to and keep up with your customers is not an easy task. But it doesn’t have to be as hard as you think.
We work with forward-thinking brands who want personalized customer journeys that will delight their customers at every touchpoint – from the first time they interact until long after the sale is made. Our team of experts can help arm your people with knowledge on how best to engage in conversations using different channels like email marketing, live chat or social media so that we can collectively deliver solutions that meet those wants and needs.
What does success look like for you? Let us know by contacting our experts today.