Increasingly, brands have an omnichannel presence. This means that their channel sales include both digital and physical interfaces.
Therefore, companies need to ensure that they provide a cohesive user experience across all their channels. This imperative marks a shift in marketing strategy; whereas before individual channels were optimized separately, channel sales experiences now need to be fully integrated. Tech giant Google has defined the omnichannel approach as: “ensuring marketing strategies are geared toward enabling customers to convert on any channel.” However, theory is one thing and practice is quite another. Here, we discuss three inspiring examples of omnichannel integration.
1. Meet Dan, your personal assistant at Virgin
Recently, a frustrated Virgin Media customer, Robert, shared his customer experience story online. After a missed appointment with a Virgin engineer, Robert did what many unhappy customers do – unleash a Twitter rant. After venting his frustration, the Virgin customer service team reached out to him directly. However, their personal service did not stop there. Not only did the team contact Robert directly, he was assigned his own personal customer service agent, Dan. From there on in, Robert had a completely seamless, consistent customer service experience. Ultimately, the issue was resolved and Robert was an extremely satisfied customer. This made him wonder; could he contact Dan about all his Virgin needs, including flights, gym memberships and credit cards? If this was possible, this would surely be an astonishing omnichannel service. Moreover, this was achieved through very simple means – with clear communication between staff and customers.
2. Discuss a mortgage or deposit a check – all from your Bank of America app
Bank of America have been working hard to align their physical and digital channel sales experience. As the second largest banking brand in the United States, they are moving toward a more dynamic service strategy. Now, everything from cashing a check to scheduling an appointment with a mortgage advisor can be arranged from their app. The final frontier of their mobile banking capabilities are loan applications, which customers still need to go in-store to do. However, the level of service from branch to app illustrates the corporations commitment to omnichannel customer service.
3. Make new friends with KLM
Dutch airline KLM have managed to fully integrate their entire omnichannel experience – including when customers are up in the air. For example, the airline’s Meet and Seat app enables in-flight social networking. When customers log in to the app with their social identities, they can see the social media profiles of other passengers. Once they have had a browse, they can select a seat next to the customer with the social profile they find most intriguing. As a result, KLM creates a thoroughly memorable, friendly flight that does only set KLM apart from the competition, but creates a connected community of customers. This is but one example of the airline’s impressively integrated omnichannel strategy. At every turn, KLM customers find new products, accurate information, and helpful tips.
Integrated channel sales: The key to return custom
Each one of these examples shows the influence of a properly integrated omnichannel strategy. Not only do these SMART capabilities encourage customer acquisition, they also foster continuous engagement, satisfaction and loyalty. Despite the breadth of innovation out there, brands need to continue to push for a completely cohesive channel sales experience.
