05 Jun, 2018 | Blogs
In order for a customer to, inevitably, make a purchase of a certain product, then he/she needs to cover 20-30 touchpoints of that specific brand before such a conviction is made. What does this mean for you, as the business owner or owner of the brand? It means a lot of work falls on your part, to make sure that your potential clients fulfill those touchpoints in the course of their customer journey. If especially, as a business owner, you’re still stuck in the old ways and channels to stay in touch with your customers, then it’s time to think big beyond your brick and mortar foundation, and leverage the power of omnichannel strategy; in the end, reaching the heights of an omnichannel company.
In other words, you need to leverage digital technology and incorporate it into the physical channels you already have, so that you can become a true omnichannel and keep up with your competitors. This means you’ll have to leverage resources, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as strive to have a website that works, in order for you to keep in touch with your available clients and the ones that are ever discovering your brand.
In addition to employing such features as a shopping app supported on mobile devices, you’ll need to harmonize all these channels as one, so that you can easily keep track of what’s happening in your company/organization. And once you are able to do that, then inevitably, you have a working omnichannel strategy in place. Therefore, having an omnichannel strategy is important for your business success; and since it is here to stay, the only option you have left is to make sure you have such a strategy in place. It is the only way to guarantee that you remain ahead of the competition at all times. So, how do you make your company completely omnichannel?
Strive to understand your customers and their shopping tendencies
The first key step towards being an omnichannel company, is taking the initiative, not just to know your customers, but also understanding them, their needs, and what drives their shopping behaviors. Along with this, you need to understand the different channels they prefer using at what times. This then means that you have to garner and integrate customer analytics, that is, data and experiences through direct customer feedback. This gives you an edge, in that you are able to classify which channels work for which class/category of your consumers. By doing so, you can come up with different channels for different needs and behaviors of consumers.
Have a collaborative organizational structure
A good omnichannel strategy is pivotal because it is able to cover the different touchpoints that are required to create a conviction in the mind of the customer, in order to make him/her make a purchase. And in order to do this perfectly, you need to re-organize your “house”, so that it runs/operates in a more collaborative way. This means that you need to have everyone and all the departments in your organization on board. This makes sense, because different departments might be in charge of different sales channels, and each of those departments need to work seamlessly together. Just make sure you identify and place the right people in the right channels.
Streamline your objectives
Once you have your customer analytics established and have a proper organizational structure backing you up, you need to re-establish your objectives. How? By focusing your resources on the mix of channels that your customers are using the most. By doing so, you’ll be garnering more clients to your doorstep, and eventually, you’ll maximize productivity and profitability.
Synchronizing your channels and use technology
Synchronizing your channels to work as one unit, and the use of technology to do that, is just another way to get you closer to your vision of an omnichannel organization. Synchronizing your business channels here means that, if there is a change in one of those channels, then the same should be reflected on the other channels. For example, if you are offering promotions or discounts online, the same should be reflected on your mobile app, if you have one, and in your physical store, as well. The use of technology makes this possible, and it also allows you to track your customers, thereby keeping up with the customer trends.
Get more customers to follow your brand
A perfect omnichannel strategy in place is nothing without the customers to follow your brand. Therefore, you need to get more customers to follow your brand and to turn the strategy into something solid and viable for your organization. Otherwise, all the organizational restructuring and planning will all be for nothing. But with this kind of strategy, it won’t be difficult to create the right amount of client base you need; and the best thing about having an omnichannel strategy in place is that you can tailor it with continually emerging trends.
Read some brilliant examples of omnichannel strategy.
A lot of work and skills go into developing an omnichannel strategy, that in most cases it becomes a hassle when tackled in house. Our experts are ready to help your company develop and implement an omnichannel strategy that will drive success. For all your questions or to contact one of our experts, email us on sales@nuummite.com or click here.