Create an omnichannel communication strategy
To understand the benefits of omnichannel communication we need to ask ourselves how we communicate with one another on a day-to-day basis?
In your personal life, how many communication channels do you use? I bet you it's more than one. When I communicate with friends and family, I find myself switching between Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, text messaging, and the occasional phone call.
So it's not surprising to learn that the way customers communicate with businesses is no different. In fact, 66% of customers use at least 3 different communication channels to contact a business according to a report by Microsoft.
So how can your business adapt to this new reality?
The answer is omnichannel communication!
Omnichannel communication vs. multichannel communication
First of all, what is omnichannel communication and how does it differ from multichannel communication?
Omnichannel communication is when a business offers a seamless and consistent customer experience no matter what channel a customer uses to reach the business.
Many businesses have multichannel communication. Although it sounds similar, it’s not the same. You can create a multichannel experience if your business can be reached by email, text messaging, Webchat, Facebook Messenger, or by phone.
However, just because you offer many forms of communication doesn't mean it's omnichannel because your customer's overall experience may be fragmented,
For example, your customer may have had a great experience when calling your business but might have gotten zero response to a question on social media.
To an existing or new customer, this can be frustrating and can turn them away for life.
Implementing an omnichannel communication strategy that works will prevent this from happening and ensure that no matter what channel your customer uses to reach out, they will get a response.
Check out this infographic for a quick overview...
Top 3 reasons you need an omnichannel communication strategy
Today, customers are using multiple devices to search for your business. They could find your business on their tablet, then shoot you a text message using their mobile phone. Then when they get to the office, send you a message via Facebook Messenger.
Having an omnichannel communication strategy in place ensures your business is prepared to handle your customer's messages on whatever device they are using.
Customers will avoid friction at all costs
In today's fast-paced world, your customers expect you to handle their communications seamlessly on multiple channels. They view your brand as a single entity even though they're communicating with different teams within your organization.
In a recent study, 9 out of 10 customers expect seamless experiences when shifting from one channel to another, such as from text messages to emails.
Insights create better customer experiences
Having a unified inbox where all your customer's interactions can be viewed from a single location allows you to tailor messages based on your customer’s history.
It improves employee experience
Employees hate searching through multiple platforms in order to respond to customer messages. Studies show that 86% of employees blame ineffective communication and collaboration for failures in the workplace.
Having an omnichannel communication strategy will encourage team members to work together when responding to customer queries.
Tackling omnichannel communication
Many businesses find it difficult to transition into an omnichannel communication strategy. Here are a couple of common challenges they might face.
Maintaining your brand voice
To provide consistent communication across all channels, it’s important that your team take the time to develop a consistent brand voice. Creating templates that answer your customer's common questions can be helpful. When developing these templates, think about the language that you want to use to talk to customers.
Failure to embrace new technologies
Some businesses think they can do it themselves without the help of software to deliver omnichannel communication. With today's large and ever-growing number of digital touchpoints that your customer can access, it's impossible to manually track them all. Having a software solution can simplify things for your team.
Keys to great omnichannel communications
Here are 3 keys to unlocking the power of omnichannel communications.
Unifying all communications in one place
Having all of your customer communications in one central location is so important. If your team has to search through emails, text messages, Facebook Messenger, and website chat just to stay on top of customer messages, it’s going to lead to an inconsistent customer experience.
Find team collaboration tools
If your employees aren’t able to collaborate with each other regarding customer messages, it will turn into a negative experience for the employee. That’s where team collaboration tools can help.
Review Dingo allows team members to leave internal notes within customer messages that are only visible to other team members.
Offer customers a video option
Having the option to reach your customers with a video call is a great idea depending on the type of business that you are managing. Video calls offer a greater degree of personalization that can help your team get insights into the customer journey.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, even older customers were more comfortable with using a video call option.
Choosing an omnichannel platform
If you’re looking for an omnichannel platform, choose Review Dingo. We can setup Review Dingo's Unified Inbox to help businesses simplify customer interactions. We'll help you stay on top of text messages, chat with customers, and close more deals.
There’s a reason why more than 100,000 businesses use Review Dingo's platform to get found on search, be connected with customers, and be the best business in their area.