Modern customers connect to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. They see ads while browsing the web and watching television. They question chatbots and call customer service. The dozens of channels customers use to contact companies have created the hottest buzzword in the CX world: omnichannel. Most professionals miss the mark trying to understand what it really means, however.
Omnichannel isn’t about channels, it’s about customers.
As with everything in the “Era of the customer,” omnichannel is about making things easier for your customers. In marketing, omnichannel makes it easy for customers to see ads by putting them on every channel customers might be inclined to use. For customer service, omnichannel is about meeting your customers on every channel, and serving them solutions everywhere they go.
Note: companies must provide a convenient CX everywhere customers go, not justanywhere.
Companies have been operating out of individual silos for years. Sales has a silo. Customer service has a silo. Marketing has a silo. Omnichannel implementation makes it easier for customers to connect with your company, but true omnichannel breaks down the silos. Omni is a Latin prefix meaningall.
“For customer service, omnichannel is about meeting your customers on every channel, and serving them solutions everywhere they go.”
An omni-equipped CX is one where information moves smoothly between every department. Ads from marketing intermingle with customer service platforms that seamlessly integrate information from customer management. Customers don’t need to worry about bouncing from one contact center to the next. One agent can access a solution that covers every aspect of their complaint. When customers call on smartphones that can browse the web, take professional grade photographs, and make phone calls, they naturally expect the companies they connect with to be just as flexible.
Legacy voice-based IVR is incapable of modern omnichannel integration. You might be able to post a phone number on a website and have chatbots provide contact information when prompted, but antiquated IVR technology is stuck in a silo.
Visual IVR systems like the Zappix On-Demand platform integrate every channel customers access. Zappix easily connects with enterprise APIs to give users access to account information and other content. Zappix tracks every user action on every product and automatically displays that information to agents if customers decided to transfer to a live call. Every menu option selected, all information previously submitted, how long a caller spent in each menu, everything on hand connecting live agents to the information they need to succeed.
Zappix On-Demand technology even breaks down the business and customer silos. Callers aren’t left alone with their smartphones anymore. With dynamic Zappix Agent Collaboration tools, live calls become powerful tools to solve customer problems. Agents can access geolocation, cobrowse with customers, and access live video feeds from smartphone cameras to join customers exactly where they are.
Omnichannel is a complex concept with a single fundamental principle: make things better for the customer. Visual IVR On-Demand makes critical upgrades to antiquated technology to modernize enterprise CX.
