In many ways, communicating with our audiences has become simpler as technology has developed, offering us more and more ways to engage with existing and potential customers. In our ‘always-on’ digital environment, we can be everywhere they are and have a presence in so many aspects of our customer’s’ lives. But, in that ever-growing digital and physical landscape, it’s becoming harder than ever to compete for a share of our audience’s precious attention.
Omnichannel communication gives us a better chance of being seen, being heard and generating engagement. By bringing all communications in line, with a consistent voice, consistent content, and seamless links between channels, we create a frictionless customer experience which is more appealing to most. After all, that communication framework is already there and most of us are already using it as consumers; a total – 85% of digital consumers start the purchasing workflow on one device yet finish it on another. Why not embrace it in your business?
Consistency drives engagement.
Where a decade ago consumers may have used just two touchpoints before making a purchase, modern consumers average closer to six. That may not seem like an enormous shift, but it completely changes what is expected of your brand in order to ensure engagement and, ultimately, sales. At each touchpoint, your business must provide value for your audience to keep them engaged. An omnichannel approach makes that process a little easier.
An overwhelming 90% of modern consumers want an omnichannel experience which offers seamless service between communication methods. With the right tools in place, we can now take individual customers from social media to web to physical locations in one seamless journey. And we can build brand awareness through consistency the whole way. For creating such a supportive, personal, and consistent environment, we gain loyalty and increased engagement in return. Essentially, it keeps customers in your sales funnel.
And it’s not just a nice to have – 9 out of 10 consumers expect those consistent, seamless interactions across channels. They’re more likely to engage with service functions like chatbots or customer service if they’re consistent cross-channel too. Individualising the customer experience, then, pays off. When we provide real, practical value to our audiences, they keep coming back.
Personalisation and omnichannel comms go together.
Engagement is also boosted by personalisation, and that goes hand- in- hand with an omnichannel approach. That’s partly because this approach puts your customer at the centre of everything you do and, even better, it can help you to build up the data needed to truly individualise your comms to customers.
Following an entire consumer journey across all your platforms and touchpoints is simpler with omnichannel comms and it’s that information which allows you to build personalisation into your content. Just as customers expect to see you on multiple platforms, they expect a degree of personalisation too.
In fact, an impressive 83% of shoppers would exchange data for a more personalised experience. Though over-use or seemingly meaningless collection of data has a poor reputation, and can turn customers off, applying appropriate data to create a more personal experience is welcomed by most. We’re so used to it that 74% of us feel frustrated when web content isn’t personalised to suit our habits and preferences.
By centring customers and building one journey across multiple channels, an omnichannel approach capitalises on this trend for personalisation and drives engagement as a result. That’s exactly why we think it’s such a great approach here at DRPG, and it’s one we use all the time.
If you want to implement an omnichannel strategy that works, our in-house team of experts are the team to make it a success. You can see a snippet of what they do here.
