5 Steps to Build an Effective Omnichannel Strategy
The Chief Digital Officer for Ness SES, Mark Lister and the Director, Digital Practice, North America, James Williams, outline five recommended steps that companies should take to determine how they can best implement a successful omnichannel strategy.
Step #1: Build a business case.
Perform a channel assessment to determine which channels are effective, which are not, and which channels are not in your portfolio, but should be. Use future-view journey mapping to identify gaps that need to be filled and where you can generate additional value from existing channels.
Step #2: Envision the seamless channel experience.
Look within and beyond your four walls to elevate the customer journey. Contemplate all potential connection points with partners, employees and vendors that can facilitate a frictionless customer journey and add value to the experience. Determine what can be done in six months, 12 months and beyond to ensure your applications meet and exceed your customer – and your business – needs.
Step #3: Develop and integrate your channels.
Align your application portfolio with your omnichannel strategy. Save time, money, and effort by integrating only those applications that truly support your omnichannel vision. It’s important for companies to build consistent channels that work together despite the fact that each channel is often built upon different platforms and technologies. Utilize application programming interfaces (APIs) to establish those connections and a continuous flow of information.
Step #4: Sustain channels with continuous optimization.
Online and offline channel alignment must be monitored and resynchronized when needed. Leverage your observations and insights to understand customer “path to purchase” preferences to personalize cross-channel experiences and add features to capitalize on unique channel characteristics (e.g., mobile vs. website). Do this regularly – at least every month.
Step #5: Know you must evolve as channel needs change.
Customer needs and preferences will change over time, so a culture of ongoing feedback loops, data analytics, experimentation and transparency is needed to improve the quality of service for users. New or unused channels may become the solutions for emerging requirements. Look out for opportunities to further monetize data and generate revenue by connecting other propositions to your company’s ecosystem in new and appealing ways.
