22.07.2022

Companies that provide Omnichannel support achieve higher customer satisfaction. As our world goes increasingly digital, consumers expect seamless interactions with brands across multiple touchpoints online. To keep up with the demands, you should optimize your customer service experience for different channels and devices.

In this blog post, you’ll learn all about omnichannel customer service, why your business needs it, and how you can plan your omnichannel customer service strategy. Here we go!

What Is Omnichannel Support?

Omnichannel customer service is the assistance of customers across several communication channels. It aims to create consistent customer interactions, whether users contact you through email, live chat, social media, phone calls, or any other medium.

Omnichannel service builds an integrated support network for businesses to manage their entire customer communication across various points of contact. Customers expect support agents to know their past and present issues regardless of the communication method.

“72% of clients expect support agents to know who they are, what they've ordered, and have insight into their previous engagements.” (Microsoft)

Suppose a client informed you about an issue through email. If the problem doesn't get solved and they choose to call you, your agent should be aware of the issue at hand. This will facilitate the discussion and lead to a faster resolution, as the customer won’t have to explain the situation twice. The outcome will be a smooth, connected support experience for both the client and the agent.

Omnichannel vs. Multichannel Customer Support

The two similar-sounding names often confuse people, so let’s make a clear distinction between the terms.

• Multichannel support: All it means is having multiple communication channels to get in touch with customers. The most popular ones are website or mobile app chat, email, phone calls, and social media. Nowadays, most businesses have already integrated multichannel support into their practices.

• Omnichannel support: Omnichannel customer support builds on multichannel, taking it one step further. It connects interactions from one channel to another to form a continuous customer journey. This gives agents access to important insights and context to optimize and personalize the support they offer.

Key Benefits of Omnichannel Customer Service

An omnichannel customer service experience can give your business several advantages. Below you’ll find some of the most critical ones.

More Customer Insights

When customer interactions are linked instead of being treated as isolated incidents, they can reveal valuable behavioral insights. Companies can learn a lot about their audience based on their order history, the type of issues they face, their preferred platforms, devices, etc. Tracking communication across all channels will even reveal client needs that have not been communicated.

Team Productivity

Having more context and data before approaching a user query allows support specialists to be more efficient. Issues get resolved faster, increasing agent happiness. This frees up agents to handle other important tasks while giving them a strong sense of accomplishment.

Increased Customer Loyalty

People are drawn to personalized experiences that invoke feelings of familiarity and trust. An omnichannel approach shows the company’s dedication to customer happiness as well as a high level of professionalism. By taking the extra time to understand users and better attend to their needs, businesses improve customer retention, building a more faithful client base.

Higher Revenue

An omnichannel strategy leads to 250% higher purchase frequency and 13% higher average order value. While these numbers will fluctuate for different businesses, what stays consistent is that companies with an omnichannel approach report higher revenue. This is due to the higher rates of customer satisfaction and loyalty that omnichannel customer experiences bring.

How to Create Your Omnichannel Customer Service Strategy

Your omnichannel customer service strategy begins with assessing where you are to identify areas for improvement. Here are a few essential steps to enhance your customer service experience across all platforms.

Understand Customer Behavior

As technology has changed, so has customer behavior. According to Business Harward Review, 73% of consumers use multiple channels during their shopping journey. This includes not only online platforms but also various devices.

To support users on their multi-device journey, you need to look deeper into your clients’ buying habits. Pay attention to the devices they use the most to optimize your online content. Also, take note of their preferred social platforms, as those are the ones where you need to be the most responsive.

Integrate All Journey Stages

Users need support through all the stages of their relationship with your business. A new lead and a long-standing customer will require different types of help. So your business has to be prepared to provide a different approach to each client group. True omnichannel customer service embraces the entire customer journey and adapts to client needs at each stage.

Let Automation Work for You

Technology grows fast, and there are many tools and omnichannel customer support software you can leverage. Thanks to artificial intelligence, companies now have the opportunity to automate workflows and certain aspects of customer communication. You can have your well-trained AI assistant answer users 24/7 all year round without your agents working double shifts. 

Reap the Rewards of Omnichannel Support

A seamless customer journey and consistent experience are at the core of omnichannel customer service. An omnichannel customer service strategy increases customer loyalty, team productivity, and revenue. Analyze data, embrace the whole customer journey, and use the right tools to ensure a holistic support experience.