8 Tactics for Delivering Omnichannel Customer Support

Did you know that companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain on average 89% of their customers?  This is compared to a 33% customer retention rates for companies with weak omnichannel strategies.

As industry professionals, we’ve all gained plenty of insight from our years in marketing. This article includes information that is relevant to you as a marketing professional and your wider team. Customer support agents are on the frontline of your business and, as such, represent your brand better than any email send-out or seasonal campaign push ever could.

By focusing on every customer service touchpoint for your business, you strengthen your brand while giving customers the best possible experience.

This is the perfect opportunity to bring omnichannel customer support to reinforce your brand across every single possible channel. The information is logically organized so that it has a digestible flow. In marketing, this can be known as a form of content strategy. As a reader, you deserve it.Your customers deserve it too.

8 Tactics for Delivering Omnichannel Customer Support

1. The Principles of Omnichannel Marketing

You might be a mom-and-pop store or a major blue-chip company. The reality is that you’re likely to be competing with the world’s biggest retailers. And if you want to attract their customers, then you need to compete with their marketing.

Online market leaders have raised the standard for communications. Customers now expect a comprehensive automated cloud-based service where the information they need is available instantly, 24/7. This is seamlessly integrated with one-to-one communications when required.

However many customers you serve, an omnichannel system can help deliver this. It’s essentially process improvement systems that provide consistency across all departments and channels. It promotes your brand and maintains your tone of voice. Over time, this builds a relationship of trust with your customers.

2. From Multichannel to Omnichannel

Multichannel marketing involves communications across various channels which run independently and concurrently. This can offer an efficient service and means your customers can use their preferred channel. Stabilizing your multichannel communications is an essential first step. 

However, the way people communicate is changing. Customers are used to working across various channels while expecting consistency. That’s why it is increasingly important to unify your communications. 

3. Channel Hopping

Let’s say a customer sees an ad for one of your products on Facebook. They ring your support desk to ask about compatibility issues. Their inquiry is dealt with, so they place an order on your online store. They receive an automated confirmation email that suggests some related products for consideration. The customer opts for click-and-collect delivery. A few days later, they get an SMS message informing them their order is ready. 

The customer checks the store’s Twitter feed and notes a two-for-one offer on selected products. In-store, they pass a digital signage screen before browsing the two-for-one section. This serves as a timely reminder of the pleasures of in-store shopping. Browsing real products and picking them up has almost become nostalgic. 

The customer selects four products which they also buy. At the counter, the helpful sales assistant upsells an accessory. They then collect their online order from the clearly marked pick-up point. 

Unify Your Communications and Boost Your Upsell Opportunities

This might sound like an everyday transaction, and it is. But it also covers ten channels of communication. In this case, that includes eight opportunities for upselling. However many customers you serve, this is impossible to track without a robust omnichannel strategy.

It tracks all communications. It consolidates your digital communications, as well as online browsing history, and incorporates hosted contact center solutions.

4. Improve Customer Service

Today’s consumers want to navigate their own customer experience (CX). A typical transaction might not involve as many channels as in the example above. But each customer’s choices define their journey. They tailor-make their own experience. 

Increasingly, consumers are proactive and prefer to use automated systems. This includes a responsive chatbot, a searchable FAQ, and online support. This means they can find answers immediately, without the need to wait for a ticket to be resolved. 

5. Faster Ticket Resolution

Automation frees up your support team to deal with more complex inquiries that require technical knowledge or the use of a screen-sharing app. It reduces your ticket resolution time, further improving customer satisfaction and saving money.

Tickets from all channels are consolidated into a single dashboard interface. They can prioritize them based on numerous criteria, including:

• Language
• Communication method, i.e., email, telephone, or free conference call
• The relevant product or department
• The urgency of the inquiry
• Buying history

Now your support team can specialize in dealing with technical inquiries. You can even monitor communications to gauge the mood of your customers. Your support team is then prepared to deal with frustrated or angry customers. This can be key in maintaining corporate social responsibility standards.

6. Analytics That Drive ROI

As well as improving customer service, automation and analytics can also drive ROI. 

Analyze your customer’s browsing and buying history. Use smart targeting to offer marketing that is tailored to their needs. Automate reminder emails to prevent shopping cart abandonment. Automating menial and repetitive tasks such as these means that you and your staff are free to do more meaningful and productive work. 

It also reduces the risk of human error. Many businesses spend a sizable proportion of their budget on lead generation. Despite this, it’s easier than ever to unsubscribe and unfollow. A single email or message sent to the wrong database could cost you customers. Omnichannel solutions prevent churn and promote return business. 

You can also utilize omnichannel systems to remember important dates for your customers. An automated email is then sent a few days beforehand, with a reminder and some suggestions based on what they bought last year. 

7. Media Management

There are a dizzying array of social and digital channels. With unified communications, you can be certain you’ll never miss a ticket, and you’ll always meet your response times. You can also save time if you schedule marketing posts. 

Prioritize the socials your customers use. Make sure you’re familiar with every channel you use. Find out how and why people use it. Different media and information are appropriate to different channels. Make sure there is a reason to subscribe to each channel. Omnichannel solutions will manage your output and prevent unwanted repetition. 

Create a detailed map of potential customer touchpoints. Use them yourself in every conceivable way. 

Optimize your site for mobiles and tablets. Make sure your online store is responsive and user-friendly on a small screen. Bear in mind that hover functionality doesn’t work on most mobile devices. You can do this kind of optimization on most drag-and-drop website builders, so it’s essential for any commercial website.

8. Yours, With Empathy

Empathy is a priceless commodity in marketing. Do everything in your power to understand your customer’s habits. Analyze their browsing history, identify their pain points, explore their ambitions and lifestyles. From point-of-sale advertising to email marketing strategy, all information you gather will make your omnichannel experience all the more powerful. Your customers deserve it, as do you.

Author Bio:

Jessica Day – Senior Director, Marketing Strategy, Dialpad

Jessica Day is the Senior Director for Marketing Strategy at Dialpad, a modern business communications platform with call center recording that takes every kind of conversation to the next level—turning conversations into opportunities. Jessica is an expert in collaborating with multifunctional teams to execute and optimize marketing efforts for company and client campaigns. Here is her LinkedIn.