Today, digital and physical environments are integrated. Within the travel industry, only an omnichannel customer experience strategy will do.
Our planet has become a desegregated plane, where the barrier between online and offline interactions has dissolved. Mobile devices are ubiquitous in our daily lives. Now anyone can access information at any moment, whether they are at their office, in their homes, or in transit.
This new landscape presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses. Travel retailers have had to respond to this changing environment, ensuring that the highest level of customer experience is maintained on every medium.
Defining the omnichannel customer experience
An omnichannel business strategy requires a seamless customer experience across every platform. Whether the customer is interacting with an organization through social media, on their website or in a bricks-and-mortar travel agency, the customer experience must be consistent.
Subsequently, an omnichannel customer experience strategy has to extend beyond friendly staff or a slick website. Businesses need to integrate all aspects of a customer journey. Therefore, cross-department communication needs to cohesive. This is where IT plays a crucial role. Below are 3 strategies IT managers can deploy to regulate a business’s customer experience across channels.
1. Detect siloed data
Before IT managers can integrate all of a business’s operations, they must identify siloes. For instance, a potential customer can discover a company anywhere – via social media, Google, or passing by a store. However, an exceptional customer experience is where the client receives the same quality of service however they encounter the organization. Siloed information is what causes customer experience to be inconsistent.
For instance, many companies have a website that requires visitors to log in to an account to recover saved searches or previously selected products. However, when a customer initiates a conversation with a chatbot, the bot demands a username and password. This happens because the two separate applications are not integrated. This causes data to become siloed, which negatively impacts customer experience. Therefore, an audit to identify such gaps is essential.
2. Develop cross-department communication
Technology is central to cross-department communications. Full visibility across departments is a vital stage of identifying siloed information and improving operations. Consequently, it is crucial that IT leaders use technology that streamlines business processes. Furthermore, the technology must also offer insights and analytics that quantify and enhance the results.
3. Continually develop and improve
Once IT managers improve the business’s existing operations, they must continually improve on their successes. After all, creating an omnichannel customer experience is a continually evolving concept. As brands compete, a consistent customer experience is what sets one business apart from another. As a consequence, businesses need to be constantly alert and adapting.
Communication is key
An integrated approach to customer-facing platforms is crucial to a positive customer experience. The leading role technology plays in creating a consistent omnichannel customer experience is clear. However, cross-department communication and collaboration is the next major step. Customer service and IT need to work closely to exchange feedback and continually improve. All IT innovation must be cross-department, cross-functional and collaborative to create the best customer experience possible.
