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Janet, a mother who’s elbow deep in household choresremembers that her kitchen has run out of cereal. She immediately grabs the tablet and adds cereal her app, knowing it will sync with all the mile-long shopping checklist she was building on her smartphone. She enjoys how she can pick up the experience where she left off, irrespective of time or the location. Just just like a conversation with an old buddy.
Now, there’s a marketer who is doing omni-channel right.
The last few years have seen a surge in the use (and abuse!) Of the term omni-channel. Being omni-channel is a notch above being that it concentrates on providing a consistent and unified experience as they move from 1 station. The final piece is important. When it is a move from a brick and mortar store to a mobile program or from a website to a catalogue — one channel should melt into another.
The anticipation from marketers is simple — customers need to be able to waltz across displays, across electronic and physical stations. But what marketers need to ensure is that interactions across these channels are equally augmentative and complementary, and elaborated below:
Contemplate the Buy route: The convoluted conversion path conundrum
The idea of ‘omni-channel’ was spawned by the prosperity of platforms to interact with a brand — the purchase decision journey of the customer is convoluted than ever. The several touch points out of discovery to purchase to post-purchase participation are sprinkled across multiple channels, both physical and digital.
That is both a challenge and an opportunity for mobile in this buy journey’s use and marketers is crucial and distinctive.
Decode the Use of cellular: Why not all stations are created equal
A shortcoming of the present strategies of entrepreneurs is focus is placed on seamlessness of the participation, and not enough on ease, that. Yes, clients jump across channels — but they often look to accomplish distinctive and different objectives .
The choice of channel at each touch point is determined the amount of involvement and by the kind of action it requires. Over screen size, proximity to the apparatus would take precedence for a price comparison. Except to get a more involved activity, (state, purchasing a television), the desirable characteristics of the channel could be reversed.
This perspective is in sync with the tendency of unbundling of programs to make single-purpose apps. Although, a number of these moves were met with their fair share of backlash (Facebook’s decision to separate its messenger app drew considerable flak from their tremendous user base), the trigger behind the movement is concurrent. By removing all clutter to protect against a user experience that is fragmented and simplifying those crucial tasks that bring the user into device or the station in question.
The should ensure that their goal at every point is fulfilled optimally and that the movement of consumers across channels is fluid.
Champion purpose-driven design: The what, why and how
Marketers will need to ascertain what stations are being used by clients at each point in their purchase journey — with understanding of your customers’ purchase consideration path is crucial. They need to know why customers are choosing particular stations at each touch-point instead of others i.e. what drives users to utilize 1 station over another and if.
Ultimately they need to evaluate how these learnings could be tapped to tweak, change or reevaluate their existing omni-channel strategy (depending on how much of a pickle they are in with their current strategy)
At this point, marketers will need to ask themselves “Is my pill program equipped with features like infinite shelf scrolling and product quick-looks to empower leisurely, hassle-free shopping cart-building?”
“How can my mobile website real-estate be optimized to stop stray-clicks to facilitate quick, low-intensity activities like a rushed check of an order delivery status or a quick look-up of store location and timings, while on the move?” This means marketers will need to determine if their platforms are conducive to those activities that induce clients to whip their smartphones and tablets out at the first place.
Measure on the data pedestal: The Wise marketer’s vantage point
To have the ability to execute a omni-channel strategy, it’s paramount that entrepreneurs view their customers visually and constantly. The customer usage of stations and the marketing landscape necessitate this. A evaluation of the engagement of consumers across channels since they traverse the conversion funnel will enable the marketers to identify the scope for enhancement and areas of friction.
Marketers need to challenge their own evaluation of what clients need from each channel and corroborate their beliefs. The blend of descriptive, inquisitive, predictive and predictive analytics coupled to learn, unlearn and relearn should guide all decision pertaining.
Thus, by adopting the purpose-driven design paradigm to devise their strategy, marketers can ensure that their next rendezvous with their clients is easy seamless and effective.
Can you believe that your existing marketing strategy that is omni-channel can achieve this? Maybe more? Are you currently able to leverage cellular to the potential? Do share your thoughts.
