What is Omnichannel?
La Omnicanalidad es un método de comunicación utilizado para mantener contacto con los clientes actuales y futuros, a través de diversos canales (tienda física, correo electrónico, redes sociales, página de internet, entre otras). En lugar de usar los distintos canales por separado, se utilizan unificadamente para llegar a los consumidores.
Hoy en día, los consumidores ya no utilizan un canal para comunicarse y tener contacto con sus marcas favoritas. Algunos consumidores comienzan viendo un anuncio en redes sociales, escriben un correo electrónico y asisten a la tienda física.
En los últimos años, la estrategia omnicanal ha ganado mucha popularidad, como consecuencia del cambio que existe en el comportamiento y en las necesidades del consumidor. Esta tendencia de marketing moderno llegó para quedarse; por tanto, es importante conocerla y aplicarla en nuestras empresas.
In this article, we will explain in detail the qualities of this strategy.
What are the six levels of omnichannel in retail?
Starting level: the company has a single sales channel, be it a physical store or Commerce.
Basic level: the company has multiple sales channels, but these are not connected with each other.
Intermediate level: all channels share the same commercial policy, but their systems are not integrated.
Advanced level: the company has all the integrated channels available.
Expert level: the company not only has integrated channels that share all the information, but is also capable of acquiring a 360-degree knowledge of all its clients.
Top level: the company anticipates the needs or interests of the client and provides a solution to satisfy them, which translates into a high degree of loyalty.
What is the difference between Omnichannel and Multichannel?
Both omnichannel and multichannel involve selling through various physical and digital channels.
The difference is based on the strategy that is used between the company and the client, but it does not refer to the number of channels that you use as a company to share the message.
The multichannel approach has been in the market for a long time and consists of your brand having a presence in various channels such as: social networks, call centers and physical stores.
This trend begins with the idea that the company must have different channels, in order to quickly reach the prospect or client
In omnichannel, the interaction between the various channels is very important. The main purpose of this type of strategy is to maintain a long relationship that can be adapted to the environment that best suits the consumer.
Omnichannel marketing has as part of its objective to improve the consumer experience to bring more and better benefits both to the company and the consumer.
Según el informe, «2020 Customer Expectations Report», elaborado por Gladly, "79% of those surveyed preferred personalized attention to specialized marketing." And this inevitably leads to the next standout figure in the report, "86% expect conversations with agents to flow smoothly between channels"; that is, they hope to pick up the conversation where they left it on another channel, without having to repeat the information each time. To do this, tools that empower agents to have immediate access to all relevant customer information that needs support will be crucial.1
En resumen, la omnicanalidad consiste en unificar todos los canales en los que esta presente tu marca con el objetivo de que el cliente perciba lo mismo en cada uno de estos canales.
How to use omnichannel?
Sin darles importancia a los cambios en la interacción que se dan con los prospectos o clientes con tu empresa o marca, la relación y comunicación debe de estar unificada y el mensaje debe de ser siempre el mismo sin importar el canal de comunicación que se utilice.
An example can be when someone buys a product in the electronic store, but the stock is not automatically updated with the existing products in the physical store. This generates a bad experience for the consumer and you can lose some sales.
Omnichannel’s purpose is for the customer to have a good shopping experience, as well as that the communication channels to the customer are consistent with what they want to convey.
What are the benefits of omnichannel?
It is important to be aware that an omnichannel strategy adds several layers to the administration part; however, it generates new insights, action plans, real-time customer information and a good brand-customer relationship, adding value to the product or service.
What benefits does my brand specifically have?
The image of your brand can benefit as long as you are consistent in the message, giving more confidence to the client. On the other hand, by having everything connected showing the same information, you manage to be more flexible in your service or product, gaining a greater positioning and much more prestige in the market.
It is important to emphasize that today's generations seek to be tended to in any of the corresponding channels.
Does Omnichannel give productivity to my brand?
Te ayudará a tener un mayor control de todas tus áreas así como de los procesos de compra y análisis de información.
Will omnichannel increase my sales?
Si decides implementar esta técnica, impulsará tu negocio, ya que permite la organización en conjunto de tus canales de comunicación (tienda física, comercio electrónico, redes sociales, etc.) y también permiten atrapar la atención de tus clientes y prospectos; de esta forma se convierte en una estrategia mucho más eficiente.
According to a report by ID retail insights, retailers using multichannel strategies saw a 15-35% increase in average transaction size, along with a 5-10% increase in profitability from loyalty customers.2
How can I collect the information in a faster way?
Following up on consumers will help your business better understand their motive and purchase preferences. This way you can include other techniques.
Conclusion
El que tu empresa tenga una estrategia de omnicanalidad ya no se considera únicamente una ventaja sobre el mercado, sino que es una necesidad.
Omnichannel strategy involves a lot of organization, since all areas of the company must work simultaneously to get positive results.
If you apply omnichannel in a good manner, your customers will have a great experience that will also help improve their communication with your company. This will help increase your sales and customers to frequent you and remain for a long time.
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