In a context of market change, the buyers have different expectations and they demand omnichannel, that is, unified experiences through different channels, and sellers, for their side, must follow the rhythm of the change they are constantly facing.
What are the challenges and priorities that establish the design on omnichannel?
The real situation is that it is estimated that only 14% of the retailers in Europe have achieved a full omnichannel, despite the fact that they consider it a priority, and a big majority are in the process of development. 100 % online stores are the most important competition for these retailers, that face, among others, the challenges of the security and data base privacy in their omnichannel implementation. In addition, the leaders of the omnichannel leave behind /put aside the benefits/profits in a short term, that is, sales, in favor of their customers loyalty.
Omnichannel consists in offering a unified experience to the customers in all contact points and the customers wait for the brands to be on top of their expectations and that they offer an omnichannel service.
But omnichannel isn’t only for the retailers, of course. Developing omnichannel capacities has never been so important for the B2B buyers than how it is today.
B2B buyers have been incorporating actively digital channels in their buying process, putting aside the sellers that have not developed yet these channels.
Which factors can determine the success of omnichannel?
Capacity
Many companies find it hard to develop and integrate the right skills, people and teams. We must look for a tool that makes it possible to merge, evaluate and group customer data obtained through various channels.
Product category
Different product ranges require different channel and customer strategies. Companies should be able to determine the channel preferences of customers in their own segment of products and services and be able to forecast the development of channel preferences of their customers. On the other hand, a comparison with the competition is also relevant.
Channels
Another question companies should ask themselves when testing their omnichannel strategy is if they are using the right channels. The term “channel” can include apps, calls, store pickup, chatbots, QR codes, etc. It’s also important here to define a cross-channel customer journey and then link the various channels to enable cross-selling. A constant analysis of the channels, including their strengths and weaknesses, can be considered a success factor.
Customer data
Customer data must be recorded at touch points, combined and used for campaigns. The challenges are access to customer data and potential legal restrictions on personal data. Data is crucial to offer a good omnichannel experience, but in turn, consumers/customers are not always in favor of providing it. The success factors in customer data are the definition of the customer journey and successful segmentation of target groups by channel.
Code
Omnichannel excellence requires the fast and constant use of new digital technologies. Therefore, companies should ask themselves if they are making optimal use of digital technologies. This requires, for example, a review of all backend and frontend processes. The challenge is to forecast the acceptance of new technologies by customers.
Periodically survey to customers
Collecting and analyzing customer feedback to learn and apply suggestions to improve the service we offer should be an integral part of the omnichannel experience. Understanding the customer journey at every stage and on every channel, while also identifying needs that can be improved to deliver better results, translates into a success factor.
Supply chain
Omnichannel sales are linked to a flexible, transparent and complex supply chain. Therefore, companies must ask themselves if their existing supply chain can meet these requirements or if it needs to be adapted to meet the requirements of the omnichannel strategy (for example, by real-time visualization of the availability of products or decentralized returns management). The success factors are the technical support of the supply chain, and its control.
Cost analysis
Companies must achieve potential savings with the omnichannel strategy through channel-specific incentivation. From the outset, omnichannel implementation is concerned about its cost, due to the complexity that integrating new technologies with existing ones may have, but this does not have to be the case with an agile and flexible integration tool that accepts pre-existing technology.
Corporate culture
The success of omnichannel requires a corporate culture that is right to innovation and that overcomes siled thinking. Success factors are pilot projects with cross-functional teams. On the other hand, clear communication of the omnichannel strategy and the omnichannel KPI are also part of the success.
If you want to know how MST Holding can help you develop an omnichannel strategy in your business, do not hesitate to contact us.