It is worth noting that having an excellent customer experience (CX) is the key to long-term business success. One factor includes consistent communication with customers that ensures their overall customer journey.
To keep up with the ever-evolving competitive industry, businesses have shifted to investing and adapting to an omnichannel communication strategy.
Omnichannel communication has been a popular trend for enterprises nowadays. Companies using multiple customer communication channels ensure a seamless customer experience.
This article will focus on omnichannel communication, its features, and why an omnichannel communication strategy is highly advantageous to businesses.
What is omnichannel communication?
Many organizations look for more efficient ways to communicate with their client. Businesses use omnichannel communication to provide seamless customer experience across different channels.
Omnichannel communication redefines customer interaction and delivery of service using different platforms. It is also a strategy that a company utilizes to optimize and manage every customer service channel available at once.
Thus, it is about providing customers with more personalized service using different channels, whether in mobile apps, websites, social media, kiosks, or even physical stores.
Omnichannel communication vs multichannel communication
In customer service, multichannel and omnichannel communication are often used interchangeably. However, there are key differences between these two terms.
Omnichannel communication involves all channels available to customers, and they are all connected. The consumer is its primary focus, and thus, it gives a consistent experience regardless of the channel.
On the other hand, multichannel communication is where all channels are available to customers but not integrated. This approach is channel-centric, and responses are slower since the channels are not optimized.
Businesses are keener to use the omnichannel communication approach. It unifies customer touchpoints to gain valuable insights, a more helpful way to make faster decision-making.
Key features of omnichannel communication
Here are several advanced key features of omnichannel communication that help businesses improve their customer service:
Software integration
To modify your communication channels in a single interface, you should be able to transition between software platforms.
Thus, omnichannel incorporates data integration with a third-party customer relations management (CRM) system. This can also help organize marketing campaigns throughout the set of contacts.
Software integration ensures scalability and an agile contact center using seamlessly unified channels.
Omnichannel routing
With the availability of more channels, proper omnichannel routing is more crucial. To have a better customer experience, omnichannel features intelligent routing.
Omnichannel routing includes automatic call distribution (ACD), deep CRM integration, and conversational AI. These are the routing features that are important for fulfilling the needs of customers.
Cloud-based with a unified interface
Omnichannel communication works when agents navigate different channels while maintaining access to customers’ data, insights, and satisfaction scores.
With the unified interface, agents don’t need to jump between screens, apps, or tools to maintain a seamless customer experience.
Analytics and reporting
Omnichannel communication platform involves detailed and analytical reports to monitor and analyze omnichannel customer interactions.
These reports are used to gain valuable insights to maximize employee performance. For instance, identifying which channels are most effective and preferred by customers.
Advantages of omnichannel communication
Organizations that shift to omnichannel communication are becoming more important than ever. Leveraging it brings a lot of value for businesses, relevant for higher ROI.
Here are some advantages of omnichannel communication:
Consistent customer experience
Customers nowadays expect less hassle and seamless transition between available channels. Thus, businesses use an omnichannel communication approach to deliver a consistent customer experience.
With omnichannel communication, consumers can easily shift from online to offline and back online again in channels while maintaining high-quality service at all touchpoints.
Boost customer satisfaction and retention
A seamless, convenient, and high-quality CX can boost customer satisfaction and retention.
A recent study conducted by Aberdeen reveals that enterprises that invest in omnichannel communication strategy experience 89% of customer retention rates. These companies also acquire 9.5% year-over-year increase in annual revenue.
Brands that connect with customers via their preferred omnichannel channel are more likely to have higher customer satisfaction and retention.
Centralized technology and data access
Omnichannel communication unifies customer and agent conversations. These metrics are helpful for businesses to analyze the history of customer interactions to further improve customer experience.
With the available cloud-based unified communication tools, agents can benefit from the convenience of centralized data insight and a single source of truth.
Timely and proactive messaging
A lot of businesses understand the changing customer-preferred modes of communication. In such a way, businesses exert an effort to provide customer support to all channels.
Visual engagement tools, live chats, chatbots, and self-service options enable brands to keep up with the customer communication journey.
Improve agent productivity metrics
Omnichannel communication tools provide a dashboard with metrics that reveal real-time customers feedback about their interactions on each channel.
The right omnichannel platform ensures better customer service efficiency in managing customer needs.
Personalized customer communication
Consumers expect a unique and more personalized experience in a brand. Customers who enjoy using omnichannel tools are more likely to engage more with the brand across multiple touchpoints.
Omnichannel personalization brings seamless customer experience based on real-time data insights from channels, including customer needs, behavior, and queries.
Omnichannel communication is vital to businesses
Leveraging beyond contact center tools like digital platforms will bring great value to businesses. However, it is not just about putting all channels altogether.
Omnichannel communication is a centralized and holistic approach that helps businesses provide excellent customer satisfaction and seamless customer experience.
It is a revenue-driven business strategy that has a significant long-term impact on business processes and overall business growth.
