Developing your Omni-channel Strategy

Developing your Omni-channel Strategy

Omnichannel relates to a type of retail which adopts different methods of shopping available to consumers from online to physical shops or mail order.

Developing an Omnichannel strategy is important if you want to improve your customer experience.   Understanding how your customers interact with your brand through social media, advertising, marketplaces, website, brick and mortar stores.

The main aim in an omni-channel strategy is that the customer should have a smooth integration with your online and physical shops with the same message being displayed everywhere.

Customers do not see a channel anymore, instead they see a brand or company.  All channels should overlap so the customer does not distinguish between the medium or channel. As a retailer this is what you should be striving towards.

The Advantage of Omni-channel Strategy

Setting up your Omni-channel Strategy will take a lot of time and effort but getting an Omni-Channel Experience is worth it.  Here are some advantages:

Customer Satisfaction is Higher: If you have a physical store and online your company already has a face that creates consumer conference.   Using the right channel and targeting the right groups can allow customers to user the channel of their choice.

This fluid experience provides customers with a deeper connection with the brand and should enhance customer loyalty.  Keeping an existing customer cost 7 times less than attracting a new customer and that’s why building loyalty is important.

Time-Saving Giving customers the option to return items via an online route or by returning goods to a physical store. Gives customers more flexibility and increases customer satisfaction.

Conversions Increase: having your product on multiple channels means consumers are more likely to actually buy your products, as shoppers get a trust feeling knowing they are getting the same deal no matter what channel they are shopping on.

Starting Your Omni-Channel Strategy

Now you know why its important to have an omni-channel strategy, here is how you do it…

#1 Set Goals – ensure they are SMART so you have measure and track your progress. Prioritize the channels that are going to have the biggest impact on your business, so if your brand has never sold on the Amazon channel, with Amazon holding so much market share in the UK this channel maybe prioritized over the others.  If you already have your own stores you may want to use Seller Fulfilled Prime SFP allowing you to ship prime orders directly from one of your stores.

#2 Know your Customer – Ensure you know who your target group is and where they are located.  Creating a customer persona can help you with this.

#3 Map out your Journey – Once you know your customer understand their journey, what route do they take to consume your product, what channels do they shop on and how do you manage the exceptions like returns and refunds.

#4 Setting Up and Using Channels – Determine which channel you want to implement, consider marketplaces and dropship models for vendors that might appeal to your customers. Then prioritize the implementation of each channel.

# 5 Optimizing and developing – When a new channel has been implemented, continue to measure and develop results. Keep up with the market trends, consider seasonality and consider using sales to clear long stocks.

Conclusion:

In an era where mobile has over taken desktop for the leading devise for online shopping and where offline and online worlds merge, the customer is looking for a flawless experience where the brand message is consistent.  This builds up trust which in turn converts to loyalty, when a brand has a loyal following it results in repeat business and whilst building up an omni-channel experience is time consuming and lots of work it encourages loyal customers.

At MCF we specialize in taking our clients on an omni-channel journey, we have case studies where we have taken a predominant physical store retailer and got their brands onto marketplaces and on drop ship models with the likes of Argos, John Lewis and Very.

If you are interested in talking to us about your omni-channel strategy, then feel free to contract us.