5 ways to create omnichannel customer engagement

Gone are the days when a smiling customer service agent and a 1-800 helpline number were considered enough for a great customer experience. Today, the definition of customer engagement has become more comprehensive than ever. Suppose you fail to provide a rich customer engagement experience across multiple platforms, including laptops, mobile, tablet, print, and in-store. In that case, you may risk losing a large share of your customer base. 

The world is shifting towards providing the best-quality online experience. According to Statista, retail e-commerce sales worldwide will increase from USD 4.206 billion in 2020 to USD 6.542 billion in 2023. Customers are readily accepting online marketing practices due to multiple benefits. Are you ready to prioritize your technology investments to gain a significant competitive advantage? 

This article sheds light on the five ways to improve your omnichannel customer engagement.

1. Understand your customer needs

Statista predicts that the number of Internet users in India will rise from 696.77 in 2020 to 974.86 in 2025. India’s online population is already twice the size of America’s total population, which opens up significant online opportunities. Make sure that you provide a rich online experience to your customers. The website should be fully functional with eye-catchy designs that speak about your brand. Professional business writers should write content in the language your customers understand. Moreover, it would help if you had a team of expert support service agents that provide solutions to customer queries instantly and at any time. 

Also Read: How to deal with a stubborn customer?

2. Empower your sales and in-store management team

Salespeople are also known as frontline soldiers because they are in constant touch with customers. This calls for them to have 360-degree information regarding the company’s products and services and access to a repository of FAQs that can instantly solve customer queries. Cloud-enabled tablets play an essential role by providing business-centric and customer-related information on-the-go. 

PYMNTS conducted a study to analyze how consumer shopping behavior has changed over time. The study found that about 48% of consumers use smartphones during in-store shopping. A closer look reveals that about 43.3% of shoppers use it for gaining product information, and another 33.6% for comparing prices. It’s high time that companies empower their sales and in-store management team with cloud-enabled tablets for providing top-notch customer engagement services.

3. Provide access to real-time inventory

All of us live or seek a fast pace of life, and our worst nightmare is losing time. Customers get frustrated when they don’t receive deliveries on-time and have to wait for new product arrival. In some cases, you can invite flak on social media that can disparage the company’s image. To avoid such scenarios, you should provide real-time visibility into inventory to your customers. Many customer surveys reveal that people tend to move to competitor stores when they face trouble locating the desired product. These days customers like to track their products from the time they click on the purchase button. Moreover, they expect to receive the product within 24 hours or pick it up from a nearby retail store. You need to consider these points while framing the customer engagement policy.

4. Provide a world-class customer experience

Customer experience has slowly turned out to be the greatest asset in a company’s kitty for building a significant customer base. Out of all the customer engagement practices, providing the best quality customer experience tops them all. Research reveals that acquiring new customers is about five times more expensive than retaining existing ones. By building loyal customers, you can increase your revenue and profitability. An added advantage is that customers will put positive reviews on social media and spread good word-of-mouth with their friends and colleagues. An omnichannel customer engagement policy will allow you to provide customers the following:

a. Real-time access to product information 

b. 24/7 customer support

c. Ability to cancel or modify order

d. Discounts and coupons

Also Read: CRM: The Cornerstone for Top-notch Customer Experience

5. Providing real-time information to customers

Research reveals that receiving crystal-clear product information is the third most crucial attribute customers look for after buying products online and picking it up from a nearby store. Keep in mind that apart from providing a free shipping facility, same-day delivery, and competitive discounts, customers also want to receive product information on the go. Providing order notifications and delivery status through emails are essential components for delivering omnichannel customer engagement practices. 

Conclusion

If you want to build positive brand equity for your business, it’s mandatory to create omnichannel customer engagement policies. You need to handhold customers throughout their entire shopping journey and provide them the necessary support. By providing top-notch customer engagement, you will move ahead of your competitors and create lifetime customer value. 

At Sage Software Solutions (P) Ltd., we are home to world-class ERP software and CRM software that will solidify your business tech support fundamentals and enable you to build a customer-centric organization. To know more about it, SMS SAGE to 56767. You can also write to us at sales@sagesoftware.co.in

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