As the leading company in the field with 10+ years of experience in various industries and organizations, we follow the changes in our field closely, adapt them and help our customers grow and improve accordingly.
As promised, here is the much-anticipated part 2 of our series:
Part 2: The Benefits of Omnichannel and Increased Use of Mobile or the Service Anywhere Way of Life
How many actions are you performing daily via your smartphone as opposed to your desktop or face-to-face? If the answer made you realize the rising number of tasks we do via mobile, you’re in good company.
As the “mobile first” strategy takes over the world, websites take UX/UI and design to the next level. When planning or reviewing your service strategy, you need to consider this, along with the de-facto best practice of the use of omnichannel. Let’s start from the very beginning and move our way up.
Our communications, engagement and contact with customers are rapidly changing with each platform that enters our life. From service being provided exclusively via call centers to a lone chatbot handling multiple conversations and languages, there is no doubt we evolved in our capabilities and point of view.
What most companies are doing these days is using a multichannel environment or omnichannel environment with a small number of channels. The difference between the two is this: multichannel is an environment where the user can reach out to you through multiple channels that aren’t necessarily synchronized or connected. An omnichannel experience is one where there are not only multiple channels, but the channels are connected so you can move between them seamlessly, and any interaction you make helps you move forward in your journey[1]. The future is made of enhanced customer journeys that will increase the customer experience in a way that feels seamless and unintrusive, much like the Starbucks experience that offers a connection between the app and physical store[2] and sends you a location to the nearest store, checks inventory, suggests items based on previous orders and allows prepayment for pickup (note the incorporation of map, inventory, wallet, personal recommendations and personal coupons features).
The Customer’s journey
Figuring the elusive “customer journey”, simply means you need to know your audience and understand demographic factors such as age and location, as well as where they buy what you sell. You should strive to enable them to choose which channel to use for buying and communicating with your company. You may be surprised to find out that more often than not, they will use a few channels together. (E.g., start via phone, switch to WhatsApp, or start with a Chatbot and switch to a live agent via Chat or Phone).
This practice will have to include all the different departments in your organization such as marketing, sales and customer support, throughout each of the channels to create an integrated and cohesive customer experience no matter how or where a customer chooses to reach out to you[3].
This cohesive approach where the customer information is stored and accessed from all relevant points of contact is crucial. If a customer must repeat his information, we are simply not working with the right integrated tools.
Mobile is everywhere
Like we stated before, mobile devices are everywhere and are often used for completing a growing number of tasks.
While not exactly newsworthy or trendy at this point it is worth mentioning the numerous studies that say mobile use is on the rise and not only that – “mobile only” is on a fast-growing pace as well.
By 2025 72.5% of people worldwide will access the internet via their smartphone only. Don’t you think it’s time to make sure you are prepared?
We already do so much with our smartphones, buying, studying, socializing and more, so it’s very much recommended that you start working with a “mobile first” approach (after monitoring your audience behavior, of course).
Mobile-first is a design philosophy that aims to create better user experiences by beginning the process with mobile devices in mind first, often prioritizing the smallest of screens and screen movement that is convenient for the lower part of the screen (where you can reach with your thumb while holding your device one-handed 😊). Many companies don’t take this into account even today, and they miss out on creating the best experience for their audience[4].
Support for Mobile: What Does it Take?
Not as much as you would think. It takes aligning your website, customer support platform, product videos, and other parts of your support and marketing mix, to offer a seamless delivery on mobile devices, for example, your support videos can be shot on mobile instead of desktop, include tech and customer support that understand the process and potential issues on mobile (but also on a desktop in favor of those changing between devices) and marketing materials featuring mobile use.
How can you move forward?
Here is where we think you should start:
- Omnichannel Support – Review the channels in use by your organization and the customer’s journey in using them.
- Salesforce supports these channels: Phone, Web Form (e.g., input an issue to send to customer support), Email, Live Chat (whether human or bot), Messaging Apps (SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp), Self Service Web Site (offering knowledge articles, etc.), social media (mentions of your company. Salesforce supports this for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram), Video Chat.
See which ones are applicable for your company and look at increasing the number of channels you are supporting.
- Verify that your customers can seamlessly switch from one channel to another, picking up where they left, without having to repeat information they already provided
- Ensure that the interactions a customer has with different departments in your organization – marketing, sales and operations – are connected, in a way that offers a great customer experience
- Salesforce supports these channels: Phone, Web Form (e.g., input an issue to send to customer support), Email, Live Chat (whether human or bot), Messaging Apps (SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp), Self Service Web Site (offering knowledge articles, etc.), social media (mentions of your company. Salesforce supports this for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram), Video Chat.
- Mobile Support – Are all of your company’s services available through mobile? If the answer is yes, you’re already in quite good shape. Make sure that not only they are accessible, but that they are also offered in a user-friendly and comfortable manner
With that in mind, review your omnichannel Capabilities and make sure to provide the best service experience you can.
Want to learn more?
[1] https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/omnichannel-vs-multichannel/ item #2
[2] https://modusagency.com/blog/3-brands-that-successfully-integrated-omnichannel-marketing
[3] https://blog.hubspot.com/service/omni-channel-experience
[4] https://fredericgonzalo.com/en/understanding-the-difference-between-mobile-first-adaptive-and-responsive-design/