Adopting an omnichannel strategy is no mean task. There are no half measures when you choose to go this route, so the question every retailer faces at some point or the other—to omnichannel or not to omnichannel?
Companies as diverse as Apple, Disney, Burberry, Harrods and Schuh have already put this technique to use, capitalizing on its potential already. They are joined by a number of other enterprises, in fields as varied as travel, technology and (of course) retail as well.
You can argue that this technique is only just achieving mainstream success. However, there’s no question that omnichannel strategies are the future, and retailers that don’t go this route might just perish in the long run.
What Is An Omnichannel Strategy?
Omnichannel strategies focus on customer engagement and on offering a seamless brand experience to all customers across all mediums they use to interact with the retailer in question.
This means that whether the customer is scrolling through the company website on their computer or smartphone, using your proprietary app or simply looking around your brick-and-mortar store—each experience should be aligned with the others and seamless. The whole aim is to make customer experience more cohesive, and cater to consumers more effectively.
As a retailer, it’s much easier to make an impact online with the help of proper omnichannel advertising and marketing. The number of people shopping online is increasing by leaps and bounds every day, and more than half of these people shop online regularly.
The benefits of adopting this strategy are pretty evident.
While there are millions of consumers who shop online, the percentage of purchases that takes place in physical stores is nothing to scoff at.
As a retailer, you need to try and leverage both channels, and keep numbers high by combining the best of both—the convenience of shopping online and the familiarity of the in-person experience. Customers, even today, prefer browsing through shelves and talking to sale associates to ask questions about the products they wish to purchase.
If customers are unable to find the information they’re looking for, whether online or offline, they might simply make their business elsewhere.
Digital signage is known to mimic the online channel and improve in-store experience.
For example, you can welcome your customer as they walk through the door with a message giving them information about the deals of the day—useful information that they can then use while shopping. You could make the experience even more personal by sending suggestions directly to the customer’s smartphone via your app, based on the customer’s purchase behavior and buying habits.
You could do this in a number of ways. Let’s take a look at 3:
You should also consider setting up interactive kiosks to enhance omnichannel integration. They serve more or less the same purpose as a computer, but with the added benefit of having many of the products available right there at the store, allowing customers to examine them.
Customers can get detailed information about any products they’re interested in and also get a chance to compare similar products from various brands. Most importantly, this works wonders for customers who aren’t computer or smartphone savvy.
One of the best things about adopting this strategy is that you create deals based on actual data pertaining to sales and inventory.Digital signage can be updated much more rapidly than traditional signage, letting you make the most out of brief windows of opportunity.
Suppose one of your products is not selling as expected, you can stave off an unwanted surplus by offering a one-day sale and promote this digitally to bring more people in.
So, well-targeted messages can bring customers to your store in time for a sale. This will help you plan out your retail pricing schemes knowing that you will be able to bring in the customers you need.
What exactly do you use on your digital marketing promos? Let’s take a look at your more popular—and proven effective—choices.
Making use of multiple channels gives you the opportunity to create a seamless brand experience for your customers.
Every channel used should reflect your brand’s unique aesthetic, appeal and theme. This critical branding essentially serves to differentiate your company from others in a way that is distinct across channels.
To use omnichannel to its full potential, you need engaging content that fits your brand’s narrative. It should give your customers the feeling that they’re not just at any store, but at your store.When creating advertising and branding campaigns and collateral, be sure to present the same story.
Here’s a look at a couple of companies that have got their omnichannel strategies just right, and reaped the benefits this technique offers.
Omnichannel strategy is a great way to know your customers, and for your customers to get to know you.
Such a strategy calls for data collection and in-depth retail analytics to help you get a complete picture of your customers. Using this data, you can draw conclusions as to what to anticipate, what to do and how to speak to your customers, in order to more efficiently achieve your business goals.
Omnichannel strategy helps you bring shoppers back to your store time and again. They’ll come looking for the the social element, the personal and human gratification that you can deliver using an omnichannel approach.
Some popular enterprises have embraced the omnichannel strategy, putting it to great use. Let’s take a look at some of these.
This is only about integrating offline and online channels but unifying them to create a seamless and pleasurable purchasing experience. It’s important to keep in mind that an omnichannel strategy might require you to rethink your entire business strategy.
It’ll reinforce your brand image and work as an open channel of communication between you and your customers.
Absolutely loved it
Hi Yasen, really cool post! It is important to align all facets of a business together to create a seamless experience on all channels. However, becoming truly omnichannel has its difficult moments such as organizational challenges with in-store training or integration barriers with mobile. What do you think are some of the biggest challenges for an omnichannel experience and how to confront them?