The 1980s were easier times. Back then, there were only two ways of interacting with customers: in store and by phone. But nowadays, customer interactions are far more complicated, spread out across a variety of channels, which means businesses must be present everywhere and around the clock: in store, online, on social and via mobile....
The 1980s were easier times. Back then, there were only two ways of interacting with customers: in store and by phone.
But nowadays, customer interactions are far more complicated, spread out across a variety of channels, which means businesses must be present everywhere and around the clock: in store, online, on social and via mobile.
Omnichannel shopping experiences have become the norm so much that customers today, 87% of them, assume it’s natural that they can do business with a company across multiple channels. Moreover, they expect to receive a seamless experience across all of those channels.
According to Google, 98% of Americans are interacting with businesses across a variety of devices everyday. But the key to a successful onmichannel strategy isn’t just the number of channels made available to customers, it’s also ensuring that all of those channels work together in an effortless and intuitive way.
Read more about the difference between multichannel, crosschannel and omnichannel marketing.
Most customers, emphasize the importance of being able to pick up where they left off when they switched channels.
Unfortunately, the majority of respondents also complained that often it isn’t easy to switch between channels, particularly when communicating with a business’s customer service department.
Three Tools for Gathering Customer Insights
1- Surveys
Context-driven, clearly focused surveys to measure customer happiness are perhaps the easiest way to capture customer feedback across different contact channels: homepage, email, mobile or social networking sites.
Among the various benefits, surveys are especially useful for capturing customer knowledge over time; the same questions can be asked periodically, enabling a business to compare data for ongoing assessment of specific areas.
MyFeelBack customer satisfaction survey.
Surveys also go a long way towards winning customer loyalty, as they show customers that their opinions are not just important but at the heart of a business’s decision-making process.
By including surveys into an omnichannel strategy, you’ll be able to create the perfect opportunity to collect targeted feedback in real time.
This will allow you to have precise information on your customers and improve their experience, by understanding what are their complaints, needs, worries, etc.
2- Web Analytics Programs
Web analytics programs provide important information about how many people are visiting a company’s web site, the number of social media shares, the country they are coming from, and their navigation paths.
Web analytics will also identify what customers are browsing for, how long they stay on a page and whether or not they are returning visitors.
Programs like Google Analytics provide detailed insights into what is driving web site traffic, engagement, and – importantly – conversions.
3- Social Media Monitoring Software
Creating a strong online presence through Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and other social media platforms is a must. But so is collecting and analyzing the information customers are sharing via these venues.
Fortunately, a wide array of social media monitoring software such as Keyhole or Hootsuite are available to help stay on top of all these channels. Social media monitoring tools show a business what customers are saying about it, how often it is mentioned, identify complaints, and recognize trends.
A business can identify more easily who its brand promotors and detractors are, respond to both groups and manage its reputation in real time.
Today’s customers expect to be able to use whatever channel is most convenient to them. This means that companies must have in place a comprehensive and far reaching feedback strategy that appeals to all customers no matter what channel they prefer.
Discover more: 4 key benefits you’re missing by not embracing customer knowledge.
A combination of all the above feedback tools will provide the most complete picture of what customers are saying. Of course, every opportunity to ask for feedback is also an opportunity to win new customers, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and develop a competitive edge.
More Opportunities to gather feedback accross all channels
Customers are moving from store to screen and back again. This creates two distinct challenges for businesses when they ask for customer feedback.
First, customers who feel frustrated by a company’s poor omnichannel capabilities will likely hesitate before giving their time to provide feedback. Secondly, an increased number of channels require that businesses are actually capable of providing customer feedback opportunities across all of those channels.
However, businesses that invest in flowing, comprehensive strategies for Omnichannel feedback will be rewarded. Research published by Oracle shows that 83% of businesses armed with omnichannel feedback strategies experienced higher and more consistent levels of customer satisfaction than those without.
An Omnichannel strategy makes it easier for a business to expand its reach, providing customers with more opportunities to interact with it.
Thanks to some good planning, customers can be provided with multiple opportunities to give feedback using the channel that is most convenient for them.
