The more often you hear the term Omnichannel, the more often you wonder what really lies behind this mysterious phrase. This article will help you not only understand the meaning of the concept of omnichannel, but also learn how to use it in practice.
1. What is Omnichannel?
Omni comes from Latin and means everything. It is worth noting at the outset that this is a trend that is difficult to define within specific boundaries, mainly because its definition is still taking shape. The essence of omnichannel is the interaction that takes place between the seller and the customer across countless integrated channels. This includes, among other things, shopping in brick-and-mortar and online stores, using mobile devices, call centers, and sending emails, for example with an offer.
What exactly is omnichannel?
The more sales channels a company operates, the greater its chances of meeting the expectations of its consumers. That is why omnichannel involves expanding your operations in such a way as to make it easier for the customer to reach the product.
“Omnichannel assumes the interpenetration of sales channels, and technological barriers still exist to achieving the ideal state. However, it is a certain way of thinking which, if adopted and implemented, brings brands closer to customers and opens up completely new marketing opportunities.
One of the key challenges of omnichannel is recognizing the customer at all touchpoints – in a brick-and-mortar store, on social media, or in an online store – and delivering a personalized and therefore consistent offer across all channels.
A customer who interacts with the brand should feel that each subsequent stage of the purchasing process flows smoothly into the next place.” - explains Marcin Dukat from the E-commerce Agency Velocity
2. What mistakes do brands make when thinking about omnichannel?
Brands’ mistakes in thinking about omnichannel
Many brands still cannot find their footing in a reality where the customer sets the rules, not the other way around. There are also brands that describe themselves as omnichannel whose methods are far from the correct definition of this concept. Offering product pickup in a store after an earlier online purchase is not quite enough.
According to the idea of omnichannel, such a process should look as follows:
- The customer chooses the product they are interested in
- They place an order, choosing from a wide range of options, such as online, in a brick-and-mortar store, or by phone
- The package reaches the customer not only quickly, but also in the way they want
3. The 3 principles of omnichannel operations
The 3 principles of effective omnichannel operations
Using multiple channels at the same time probably does not seem complicated, but actually implementing it in a way that engages the customer is no longer so trivial.
A study carried out by the Winterberry Group in cooperation with DMA, Acxiom Corporation, Criteo, and SG360 was intended to show marketers what they must remember during omnichannel campaigns.
1. Excellent knowledge of your target audience
72.4% of respondents believe that detailed audience analysis is a business priority.
8.9% of respondents consistently recognize their customers and potential customers.
Only 6.7% of respondents are fully satisfied with their ability to use data from all channels.
According to the responses obtained, better data collection and management as well as the integration of existing tools would allow respondents to analyze their target audience more effectively.
2. Multichannel dialogue with customers
According to respondents, the email channel has developed and is now an excellent way to use it for various omnichannel initiatives. Above all, this concerns supporting both the stages of customer recognition and engagement, as well as marketing/advertising “use cases,” supported by traditional and digital data sets.
3. Coordination of customer experience
It turns out that marketers very often have problems already at the stage of analyzing their target audience and its cross-channel behavior. However, in the area of delivering content across all omnichannel channels, they do very well.
Most study participants said they believe in their organizational skills in multichannel communication.
40% of respondents rated their skills as “good” or “very good,” and the remaining 37.5% said they could do it “to some extent.”
Summary
Omnichannel goes beyond simply connecting sales channels – it is a philosophy in which the customer is recognized and served consistently at every point of contact with the brand. The key challenges are data integration and offer personalization, and merely offering in-store pickup after an online purchase is only the beginning. The study conducted by the Winterberry Group shows that as many as 72.4% of marketers consider target audience analysis a priority, but only 6.7% are fully satisfied with their use of data from all channels. This proves that brands still have a lot of work to do in improving their omnichannel strategy.
