For many businesses, the term ‘omnichannel’ might not have been in the vocabulary before the onset of the pandemic. On the flip side, offline retailers, restaurants, coffee shops, and even online stores have emerged with a deep understanding of this term. What seemed to have started as a trend during the shutdowns of brick-and-mortar retail has continued to stay in power. Omnichannel presence, for most businesses, has become the absolute necessity to leverage a variety of channels for customer acquisition.
Indeed, omnichannel brand presence is not a passing fad. It was known even before the pandemic but its adoption accelerated after Mar 2020 to leverage multiple customer touchpoints. Companies having omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain 89% of their consumers on average (Source). If you want to benefit from the luxury of omnichannel growth, let’s get down to the basics first.
What is an omnichannel strategy?
An omnichannel strategy refers to the sales and marketing approach that provides businesses an opportunity to deliver a fully-integrated buying experience to their customers. In other words, it unites user experiences across several different touchpoints, be it web, brick-and-mortar, or mobile apps.
The origin of the omnichannel strategy can be traced back to the change in consumer behavior as they make purchasing decisions. Indeed, people still make in-store purchases. But before they do that, they check prices of similar products online, compare different products, research reviews, and look for the brand’s presence on social media. In case your business is not available on all these channels, the limited presence can derail both the bottom line and customer experience.
Consider the following questions to understand the need to adopt an omnichannel strategy for your business:
- Is it possible for your customers to search for products in your local stores, scan them with your app, and then add them to their online shopping cart to buy later when at home in a different size?
- Can your customers search for new product launches on your online store, then explore the same on social media, and proceed with buying the same in-store with a discount coupon?
- Do you use data to find loyal customers and then notify them about new launches similar to their previous purchases?
If they are unable to do so now but you feel they should, it’s time to devise and implement an omnichannel strategy.
What do statistics and numbers say about adopting an omnichannel strategy?
- 90% of individuals having multiple devices (three on average) switch between the devices every day to complete a task (Google research)
- Omnichannel campaigns involving push messages had a 614% higher order rate in comparison to the single channel campaigns (Omnisend).
- More than 35% of customers expect to connect with customer service agents via any channel (Zendesk).
- Organizations having a strong omnichannel strategy retain 89% of their customers on average. The same number is at 33% for companies having a weaker omnichannel engagement strategy in place (Aberdeen).
- Omnichannel buyers have a 30% higher customer lifetime value (Google).
Recommended Read: What is Customer Lifetime Value and How Can You Enhance it For Your Business?
As you can see here, knowing your customers’ needs has become more critical than ever, paving the way to adopt integrated sales, marketing, and customer engagement-driven channels.
The consumer side of omnichannel transformation
A 2020 study by Harvard Business Review found that:
- 20% of shoppers were story-only
- 7% of buyers made purchases exclusively on online portals
- 73% of shoppers used multiple channels
To further confirm the findings, there is another study that said 49% of shoppers who were engaged by brands on multiple channels (10+) made purchases once a week or more. Besides having multiple channels, consumers love to have an integrated omnichannel experience.
In relation to your business, it implies that you can gain the power to retain or acquire your customers by ensuring a seamless transition from one channel to another.
Three pillars of an omnichannel strategy
Many small and medium businesses are often swayed by new marketing strategies that sound promising. Others have a murky understanding of how an omnichannel strategy would create value. To develop and implement an omnichannel strategy in the right manner, you must know about its three pillars:
A clear understanding of which parts of omnichannel to prioritize
While there are several parts of your omnichannel strategy focusing on different channels, it is quite important to align them with your long-term vision. This will help you avoid investing money in a scattershot manner.
Focus on consumer value along with tech
Proper grounding research on your customer’s needs is important to understand how your products will sustain value at scale. Technology adoption for product improvements then comes as a part of solving consumer problems.
Ability to sequence investments as per your omnichannel strategy
Before you advance any omnichannel initiative, it is crucial to identify the starting point and invest in the right fundamentals. It is always better to follow the age-old ‘crawl-walk-run’ approach than plunge into it headfirst.
Where do payments lie in an omnichannel strategy?
As customers explore different channels to make purchases, they are also open to making payments via different payment methods. Right from the QR codes on an offline retail store to digital payment wallets and Buy Now Pay Later offerings, they use them all as per their preferences. As you experiment with multiple channels for a frictionless consumer journey, you also need to make popular payment methods available for your customers.
With the tremendous adoption of digital payments in the country, it would be right to consider online payments as an integral part of an omnichannel business strategy.
Now you might want to know this –
How to develop an omnichannel strategy for your business: 3-Step Process
Find where your customers love to stay
The first step in creating an effective omnichannel strategy is to figure out which devices, mediums, or platforms your target customers use daily or regularly. On a granular level, it means finding out where they hang out, where they like to shop, and what motivates them to make purchases.
For example, if you get to know that none of your customers use the Pinterest platform, it makes no sense to plan a Pinterest marketing strategy and set aside a budget for it.
You can use Google Analytics and look into the visitors’ journey to know how your customers discover your business. Such research will also help you know the worth of each customer and the most important touchpoints for your business.
Make all customer touchpoints shoppable
The next important step in designing the omnichannel strategy for your business is to make every touchpoint shoppable, giving your customers a path to make purchases wherever they are.
For example, if a user adds a product to the cart on your website, it should also reflect in their mobile apps. If they reach your brand’s Facebook page, they should see suggested products based on the products they have checked out earlier.
On the payment side, you should have QR codes or POS machines available in your local stores while there can be a reliable payment gateway supporting online purchases on your website and app.
As a result, you can benefit from symbiotic relationships between multiple channels.
Reduce the gap between offline and online for your buyers
If your business strategy involves both offline and online channels, connecting the two is quite important. Nowadays, the competition is quite high in almost every niche and just being present on both channels might not be enough.
Also, consumers want to first connect with your brand in both offline and online spaces. Many of them might want to know what’s available in stock before they even visit your local store. Similarly, they would want to add items to their online carts on the way to your store and have them ready for pickup at the register.
Hence, you must keep in mind that a successful omnichannel strategy is the one that does not only focus on any channel but ensures conversions on all channels.
Final thoughts
A decade ago, an omnichannel strategy might sound absurd, But now, it has become a necessity as the majority of consumers interact with multiple touchpoints before buying. Going beyond just one or two platforms or channels and ensuring seamless integration can be quite instrumental in the long-term growth of your business.
FAQs
Why should you create an omnichannel strategy?
Shoppers who feel engaged on multiple channels connected via an omnichannel strategy for your brand are more likely to make purchases frequently. This can be quite useful for your brand in terms of both revenue and profitability.
Does an omnichannel strategy help with customer retention?
Ensuring a seamless transition from one channel to another leads to a satisfactory customer experience that can ultimately create a loyal customer base.
Is delivering an omnichannel experience right for your business?
You know your business better than anyone else. Hence, you can get to the right answer to this question by researching what works best for your brand and what your customers seek.
