Omnichannel - communication that follows the client
Joanna wants to buy a new dishwasher. On her way to work, using her smartphone, she browses through offers to compare prices of the device. During lunch, she chooses a couple of available models and checks on her laptop whether they are available in the nearest shopping centre. In the evening, she decides to browse Facebook on her tablet and finally places an order in the store. She will pick up her new dishwasher in two days. She will also publish her opinion on one of the price comparison engines and boast about her new equipment on Instagram feed, hashtagging the brand.
Joanna is a typical representative of the Y generation (also called millenials). For her, everyday communication on many channels and devices with Internet access is a natural thing.
The communication with the client has come to the omnichannel era, and modern contact center systems enable its realization.
Why is omnichannel a necessity today?
According to the Gemius E-commerce in Poland 2017 report, 60% of all consumers buying online are in the 15-34 age group. The number of Polish people of the Y generation is now around 11 million, while in 10 years’ time they will make up 75 percent of employees worldwide, while also being the largest group of consumers on the market. On average, millenials have 3 electronic devices by their side at any given time, and 74% of millenials use the Internet daily or almost daily.
If your company wants to contact clients efficiently, it has to communicate on many channels simultaneously – via the website, hotline, mailing, social media.
If your company wants to contact clients efficiently, it has to communicate on many channels simultaneously – via the website, hotline, mailing, social media.
Omnichannel also provides many benefits for your organization. Thanks to multi-channel coherent communication, the brand is able to develop its own recognition, strengthen client trust and develop sales. Organizations that use the omnichannel strategy are able to increase their revenues by up to 91% per year (emarsys.com, 2016). Omnichannel is therefore a profitable strategy for every organization.
What does the omnichannel strategy mean?
The idea of omnichannel is the interweaving of communication channels with the client. The contact initiated on one platform must be continued smoothly when the client uses another. To ensure this, the company should have easy access to the history of all client contacts with the brand regardless of the channel he/she currently uses.
Therefore, the task of the contact center system in the company is primarily to provide multi-channel customer service in all areas of the organization.
Multi-channel sales involves communication with the client in both offline and online environments. The contact with the client established in the stationary store is further conducted on the website or through teleshopping.
Multi-channel marketing takes into account many points of contact between the client and the brand and builds a coherent message in social media, Internet advertising, mailing or cold calling activities.
Multi-channel customer service integrates communication with the client regardless of the purpose of communication and the company’s operations department. Client information is available during communication to marketing, sales, service or debt collection consultants.
How does the contact center system allow to implement the omnichannel strategy?
Implementation of the omnichannel strategy in company communication is not possible without an appropriate contact center system. Various forms of contact with the client force the consultant to handle multiple channels. Therefore, the role of a coherent contact center system is becoming more and more important. It enables communication by phone, e-mail, text message, chat, web or social media within one application.
This is not just about handling multiple client contact channels. It is very important to integrate the whole communication in one system, which will provide us with quick access to information, automation of tasks and application of effective methods of contact with the client.
It is the individual functionalities of the contact center platform that allow to use the potential of omnichannel to achieve the objectives of the company.
How does a modern contact center platform help to implement the omnichannel strategy?
The most important thing is the uniform operation of many communication channels in a clear and intuitive way.
- Unified Communications Communications provides the ability to conduct conversations via chat, voice and video calls. Connection of channels during a conversation, transfer of files and photos, conducting presentations, remotely controlling the desktop and using any devices are some of the possibilities of modern contact center systems.
- Unified Messaging provides a single mailbox for uniform email, SMS, fax, webform and social media support. Grouping messages into conversations ensures that the issue is always handled by a designated person.
Another issue is the automatic distribution of calls and messages. Nowadays, it is unacceptable to allow a client to wait for communication to be directed to the right team or person. Regardless of the chosen communication channel, the contact center system will ensure quick contact with the designated consultant.
Modern communication channels encourage clients to contact the company outside their working hours. Therefore, contact center systems provide tools for self-service and automatic registration of requests
Outbound campaigns using different communication channels allow to adjust the contact to the client’s preferences and give the possibility to significantly increase the range of operation. Automation of tasks additionally provides us with speed and error-free processing.
In maintaining the consistency of omnichannel communication, the most important thing is an integrated online CRM system with a request handling module. It provides quick access to client details (360 View). These details include profile data, call recordings as well as the history of conversations, requests and orders. This way, regardless of the consultant, the client always has the impression that he/she is talking to a personal consultant and the conversations are short and end up solving the issue at first contact. The integrated CRM system also allows for the segmentation of the client base so that outbound campaigns are directed to the right group of recipients, which increases the effectiveness of marketing activities and increases the number of real sale opportunities.
Consistent reporting and analytics for all communication channels allows you to control the quality of customer service and the effectiveness of individual channels.
Omnichannel - how does it look in practice?
How can the omnichannel strategy be applied? How can a contact center seamlessly integrate all communication channels? Well, let’s take a look at the following example.
Jakub is trying to reach the company’s contact center. He is having trouble operating the washing machine he just bought. He is 10th in the queue, so the system automatically accepts the request. Jakub confirms his data and supplements the information on the issue. The system sends him an SMS and e-mail with the confirmation of the request and a chat link allowing him to contact the consultant directly. After 10 minutes, the system notifies Jakub that the case is being handled by an appointed consultant. Jakub is not the patient type and clicks on the link sent earlier. Authorization is automatic. Jakub starts the conversation on the chat channel. Jakub does not have to repeat all the information – the consultant already knows the details of the request. For more efficient communication, the consultant proposes to include voice channel support in the chat. Jakub, as instructed by the consultant, sends photos of the washing machine and of the messages displayed during the conversation. The consultant, using the company’s knowledge base, quickly solves Jakub’s issue. It turned out that he had not read the manual nor removed the protective transport equipment.
To avoid similar problems, the consultant sends Jakub the manual in pdf format. Jakub, being grateful for help, when a request to evaluate the quality of customer service in the company reaches him by e-mail, leaves a five star rating.
Aby uniknąć podobnych problemów konsultant przesyła Jakubowi instrukcję obsługi w formacie pdf. Ten wdzięczny pozostawia pięć gwiazdek, gdy mailowo przychodzi do niego prośba o ocenę jakości obsługi klienta w firmie.
This is how the omnichannel works.