Modern businesses are trying their hardest to keep up with the growing changes in the world of technology and the demands of customers, simultaneously. New and innovative practices are adopted by companies big and small. One of those new practices involve Omnichannel customer service. This state-of-the-art strategy of providing support to customers has gained massive popularity due to the ease it provides.
If you want to know what it is all about, then keep reading this article. By the end, you will have a clear idea of what it is. How does it function? And what are its benefits?
What is Omni-Channel Customer Service?
Omni-channel customer service is a strategy adopted by tons of businesses. It is meant to provide customer support across various channels. Traditionally, companies used to offer support typically through one channel like an in-store visit, phone call, or email. On the contrary, Omni-channel offers support through different mediums, simultaneously.
One of its biggest examples is Suddenlink; one of the largest telecom companies in the United States. This company is known for its amazing customer service that provides its assistance 24/7 through different channels; such as phone calls, live chat, emails, store visits, apps, and social media. It also offers a medium of communication for non-native speakers. For instance, customers of Hispanic descent can contact Suddenlink Servicio al cliente en Español through any channel and get their queries answered and problems fixed in a jiffy.
Omni-channel support makes the whole experience quite seamless for customers. Although the requests can be submitted through multiple channels, they all are synchronized and go to one database, making it easier for companies to keep track of customers’ history.
Benefits of Omni-Channel Customer Service
Inarguably, there are several benefits of Omni-channel customer service. These advantages can be enjoyed by both companies and their clients. So, without much further ado, let’s take a closer look at all the benefits that come with Omni-channel customer service.
1. Increase in Customer Satisfaction
The ultimate goal of every business is to satisfy its customers. For this, employing innovative strategies and adapting to new practices can certainly help you improve your customer service. In the current age and time, customers don’t usually have time on their hands to sit down and make a call to customer support, therefore, they prefer multiple channels.
According to Comm100, millennials prefer live chat over any other medium, whereas, Invesp reports that 33% of customers prefer using social media as a channel rather than phone to contact the customer support team.
By providing multiple options, you can increase the retention rate of your customer service and you will likely observe a higher rate of customer satisfaction.
2. Lasting Relationships with Customers
To build lasting relationships with customers, you must offer them personalized customer service. Omni-channel support is used to improve customer satisfaction by making it more personalized for them. As a company, you let your customers choose the medium they prefer to contact the agents.
Prioritizing customers’ needs and wants can be quite good for your company. On the contrary, according to research, 40% of customers become frustrated if companies don’t offer personalized communication.
Therefore, incorporating omnichannel support can be a wise decision if you plan on establishing lasting relationships with your customers.
3. Increased Customer Spending
One of the studies conducted by Harvard Business Review suggests that the higher the number of channels provided by a company to customers, the more customers are willing to invest in said company.
In addition to this, another study conducted by Salesforce discovered that 78% of customers are willing to continue doing business with a company even after a mistake has been made, provided that their customer service was top-notch.
Furthermore, another study by SupperOffice shows that as many as 86% of customers are willing to pay extra in hopes of receiving better service. In times like this, it is evident that companies are enlisting help from different strategies to achieve greater heights of success. The competition is getting tougher and those who won’t keep up, are certainly going to crash and burn.
4. Engage a Wide Variety of People
When you offer a wide variety of mediums for people to contact you, you also open more gates for a wider variety of people to engage with your company. Not everyone wants to talk to an agent on call, nor do they have time to visit your store. People hardly have time to wait for an agent to reply to an email. Several people prefer chatbots, virtual assistants help through apps or social media assistance.
When you offer all these channels to your customers, people of different mindsets and preferences begin to engage with you. By limiting access to your company, you also restrict the rate of engagement.
Therefore, giving several options of channels to the customers can increase the engagement of diverse people in your company. Hence, as a result, it can increase your revenue.
Closing Thought
The growth of digital channels and various other communication mediums has made it easier for businesses to design their business models in a way that can benefit them and their customers equally. Omni-channel customer service is one of the strategies that ensure positive feedback and a higher retention rate. We hope by now you are well aware of what Omni-channel customer service entails and the various benefits it provides.
