Today, consumer experience is provided across multiple channels using a different type of communication. More than being served, customers want to interact with companies. For this reason, omnichannel customer service is the ideal option to align the discourse of a company on all relationship platforms, ensuring no divergence between service channels.
Read this article to learn more about this topic and how this strategy can be used in your company.
What is omnichannel customer service?
Omnichannel customer service is a communication strategy focused on the integration of channels used by a company to provide a centralized relationship experience.
For this reason, customer data and information are centralized, allowing service team to have access to customer history and continue the service, regardless of the channel through which a customer is served.
How omnichannel service is provided
Omnichannel customer service centralizes channels and offers standard communication to the company, ensuring excellent customer experience and avoiding divergent discourse across the channels, including social media, website, and physical stores.
Omnichannel customer service is provided through an omnichannel platform, which should offer the following resources:
- Centralized interactions to speed up responses;
- Monitoring of customer interactions with the possibility of customer interaction prioritization;
- Visualization of relevant details about customers and previous events;
- Customer interaction using preferred channels;
- Integration with other tools.
With an omnichannel platform, it is possible to offer structured integration of channels, ensuring continuous service tailored to the needs and preferences of every consumer.
Why omnichannel customer service is so important
Using multiple channels simultaneously is part of the new customer service behavior. Therefore, in an omnichannel strategy, both physical and virtual worlds become practically one, providing a fluid and continuous journey regardless of the channel used to interact with the company.
Therefore, by offering several integrated channels for customers to search, make requests, and buy products, this strategy prioritizes customer experience with the company, which helps attract new customers and retain old ones.
As a result, the company builds a base of satisfied and loyal consumers, increases profits, and stands out from the competition.
Benefits of omnichannel customer service
Omnichannel customer service offers several advantages to organizations, such as:
1. Support and integration across multiple channels
Omnichannel service integrates communication channels, allowing customers to use the same request number to start a conversation over the phone and end it through chat, for example. This is possible because, when a company implements an omnichannel software solution, operators can handle requests from different channels on a single platform.
2. Customer behavior analysis
Omnichannel customer service offers valuable information about the customer profile and behavior, allowing a company to understand the details, desires, and preferences that guide the creation of a personalized dialogue.
3. Service history
Another benefit of omnichannel customer service is the automatic log of services provided, which allows the definition of a customer profile and a centralized history of the customer relationship with the company.
It helps companies develop personalized solutions, anticipate demands and, consequently, increase customer satisfaction.
4. Information security
The best omnichannel systems, such as Milvus, have a robust cybersecurity structure, preventing customer data corruption. Also, by centralizing all information on a single platform, the company is able to adapt service to customer needs.
5. Fast service
Omnichannel service uses a single interface, which optimizes work and increases team productivity, as employees don’t need to access every channel separately to provide customer support.
6. Brand image
Another benefit of omnichannel customer service is the ability to offer effective solutions and quick responses, which creates a positive and confident brand image, encouraging the audience to highlight the company’s qualities.
7. In-depth view of the organization
Centralized information provides more detailed reports about the company’s situation, allowing managers to evaluate service and productivity, identify the most common problems, and develop actions to improve products and processes.
Difference between omnichannel and multichannel service
People often mistake multichannel for omnichannel. So, we explain the characteristics of each one below to avoid confusion.
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Multichannel
Multichannel service offers several touchpoints to customers, but the channels are not integrated. Then, customers have several options, but they need to repeat all information every time they access a different channel, which negatively impacts the experience.
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Omnichannel
Omnichannel customer service integrates all contact channels, providing a centralized relationship experience regardless of the channel used by the consumer. This is possible because all information collected is managed by a software solution that centralizes communication.
Also, this strategy helps increase the productivity and quality of customer service, as it uses accurate and personalized data in its operations.
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Multiexperience
Multiexperience is a strategy focused on service quality and customer experience. It offers omnichannel resources and adds more value to the brand by integrating other touchpoints between the customer and the company, such as IoT (Internet of Things) and augmented reality.
How omnichannel service is provided via messaging apps
Studies report that mobile devices are frequently used to send messages, with messaging apps as a major tool of communication with companies.
This is a result of recent changes in consumer behavior. Customers want good services and products, but they also want fast responses. In this context, omnichannel customer service via messaging apps is an excellent option, as exchanging messages makes life easier and accelerates the buying journey.
Therefore, the messaging app must be integrated and synchronized with all other service channels of a company. A company may adopt automation so service can be sent to the messaging app or a chatbot, with more dynamic support to omnichannel chat.
Is it worth using omnichannel chat?
Yes! Omnichannel chat offers a real-time contact between a company and its customer, allowing service employees to provide important information, solve problems, and answer questions quickly and conveniently.
Chat can be a powerful omnichannel customer service tool. However, companies should know that several chat channels are available that can be used by customers.
Therefore, solutions such as Milvus omnichannel platform can be implemented for integrated chat, allowing companies to manage contacts from different channels in a single place.
Main challenges of omnichannel service
Omnichannel service is extremely interesting to improve the customer experience. But, before implementing it, companies should learn about common challenges of this strategy:
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Migration to omnichannel
Companies should map the customer journey and identify touchpoints before implementing this service, which will support the development of proper actions for an intelligent migration to omnichannel and, consequently, improve the quality of service.
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Alignment of service tone
Every consumer has a favorite communication channel. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges of omnichannel customer service is to identify the customer profile in each channel so the service can be assigned to an employee who can handle such audience and define the appropriate tone for the interaction, improving the approach and customer experience.
3 examples of omnichannel customer service
1. Magazine Luiza
Magazine Luiza, a Brazilian retail chain, integrated its online and offline channels to centralize the access via app, the calls received monthly, and the countless people who visit its website and physical stores.
Adopting an approach with a focus on customer experience, the company’s revenue exceeded BRL 24 billion in 2019, with 148% growth in sales in 2020.
2. Natura
Natura, a Brazilian multinational in the cosmetics and personal care segment, combined the physical and virtual worlds to provide a better experience for its consumers. To ensure that, Natura invested in the mobile app and developed virtual reality glasses that allow consumers to connect with Natura’s extractive communities, experiencing a virtual journey into one of its product lines.
3. Riachuelo
Riachuelo, a Brazilian fashion retail chain, has also invested in omnichannel strategies to improve the consumer experience. Its actions include the use of augmented reality to provide product information via app, customer service on store totems, and QR codes that open lockers.
The company also brought virtual assistant Alexa’s voice command to its stores, allowing customers to buy products at the store and receive them at another address and make the payment without leaving the fitting room.
How to adopt omnichannel customer service in your company
Before implementing an omnichannel strategy in your company, you should first learn more about your customers and identify which communication channels your audience uses.
The next step is the integration of all communication channels offered by your company on an omnichannel platform, which centralizes online or offline relationship channels in one place.
Finally, it is important to have well-structured processes and maintain a single tone, respecting identity and providing the same positive experience across different relationship channels.
Conclusion
Now that you know the importance of omnichannel customer service, why don’t you learn more about the perfect omnichannel platform for your business? Milvus is an omnichannel customer relationship platform with comprehensive solutions that create reliable experience for your customers and productive experience for your teams.
Contact our consultants now and take a free trial.
