Customers Won't Bother with a Not-So-Omnichannel Experience
Jeannie Walters, June 2nd, 2015
Omnichannel is tossed around as a term we just have to accept. That's what customers want, right? An experience catered around them and not organized by channel. But what does that really mean? Examples of truly great omnichannel moments for customers are not as prevalent as you might think.
We've gathered up a few of our favorites to inspire "wow" moments of your own.
1. Convenience is key
Customers continue to rank convenience as a top driver for loyalty. Convenience means allowing customers to order on one channel once and remember that information any time and any way they return to shop.
A great example of this is Jockey, who introduced their RealFit™ line of bras at the same time as introducing JockeyBra retail stores. Their new sizing is different than traditional sizes, meaning a lot of customer education. By offering a "Fit Kit" online, they let customers select whether to order the kit delivered or go to a retail store for a fitting.
But since these sizes aren't labeled traditionally, they thought through the experience of a new customer looking to reorder and forgetting their sizing. Jockey stores this data for customers, meaning shopping online or in a store will be convenient. And while their mobile site isn't perfect (the login options are too small), the data is still there.
2. Give them what they want, how they want it!
TrueView Shopping on YouTube, allowing advertisers to display and link through to products alongside or within their video ads, was just introduced this month. Already, experiments by Wayfair and Sephora have shown lifts in viewing time and purchase rates. Customers want to order products without disrupting their lives. The potential for retailers is huge!
3. Thinking through what they want, what they really really want
Retailers can take a cue from innovators like Amazon. In Amazon Prime's X-Ray feature, users can swipe while watching media and learn more about the actors, music, or scenery. This was a thoughtful addition to the app, since viewers often had to leave the experience to search on a second screen. Amazon thought through this and delivered a feature many viewers didn't even know they wanted. Think about what retailers could do with this type of thinking.
Be where your customers are
You simply can’t afford NOT to, and being there WHEN they need you is crucial. Clients used to tell me they didn’t have a mobile site because “their customers didn't have smartphones.” Now, that sounds ridiculous. It was then, too, and some of those companies lost to their competitors who got ahead of the game.
Today, the channels are popping up in ways Jules Verne couldn’t imagine, and there are new ways to leverage them every day. If you're not where your customers are, they will no longer need to go find you. Somebody else will already be there waiting to give them what they need.
About eTail: eTail is an interactive conference focused on intimate group learning and peer to peer networking. The “X Factor” of a conference experience is the interaction of thousands of peers, and eTail presents the unique opportunity to exchange information and ideas with the brightest minds in the industry. We've put together a great program chock full of networking opportunities and industry specific, actionable insight for 2015. Click here to download the eTail East agenda.
About Jeannie Walters: Jeannie Walters is the CEO and Founder of 360Connext, a global customer experience consulting firm dedicated to creating fewer ruined days for customers- improving loyalty, customer retention, and overall customer experience.
Jeannie is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and the Chicagoland Ambassador for the Customer Experience Professionals Association. A global speaker, Jeannie has presented to audiences at TEDx, Customer Experience World in London, Next Generation Customer Experience in San Diego, and many more.
Jeannie is a regular contributor to publications like CustomerThink, Social Media Today, Retail Customer Experience, SteamFeed, and many others. Check iTunes and Stitcher for the Crack the Customer Code podcast, which she co-hosts weekly with customer service expert Adam Toporek.
Jeannie was named one of the Huffington Post's “Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros On Twitter" and the Online Marketing Institute's "Top 20 Digital Marketing Strategists for 2015."