OMNI-CHANNEL: a trendy word or

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Content
Omni-channel as an approach to customer service
The difference between omnichannel and multichannel
Evolution of communications
Processing incoming requests
Communication channels
Working with data
Best examples of omnichannel in business
Summing up
New technologies will allow earning more bahrain phone numbers through intensive and comprehensive use of information. Supporters of the approach called omni-channel believe that they can extract maximum benefit for the company from working with data. Is this really so and is there a practice of applying such an approach in Russia?

Omni-channel as an approach to customer service
Omni-channel has been talked about for several years. It is considered to be a logical product of the evolution of electronic retail. The main message of this approach is to put the client first and build an infrastructure of interaction with him. This is very similar to how we establish relationships with other people in life. For example, on the way to creating an alliance with the person of our dreams, we consistently go through three stages:

We are searching for a suitable partner (search stage).
We collect information about him (recognition stage).
We make an offer that is hard to refuse (offer stage).
And if everything works out, we live in union with this person happily ever after...

When meeting a potential partner, we try to present ourselves in the best light, demonstrating our positive qualities. In the same way, business is engaged in placing advertisements and other information that can attract a client.

The stage of recognition, i.e. obtaining information, involves collecting data starting from the very first contact. In Internet marketing, from the very first contact with advertising, if we are allowed to put our pixel in the advertising medium (banner or article), we immediately begin to collect information about the potential client, and this process continues throughout the subsequent interaction with him. Even if he refuses to work with us, we ask him to tell us the reason for this. As in real life, we make an offer that is hard to refuse to our potential partner not just once, but time after time we go back a step and present a new version of it. Moving iteratively, we make a large number of small but carefully thought out offers. In everyday life, this allows us to extend the relationship with a potential partner, and in business - to sell more goods to the client.

Despite the simplicity of such a scheme, a poorly thought-out proposal will inevitably return us to the first stage - finding a suitable partner. At the same time, we will have to spend significant resources on building new relationships.

Thus, in the chain of establishing productive relationships, the process of collecting information becomes the most important link, on which, in fact, the desired result depends. At the same time, it is necessary to collect all information about the client - contacts, order and purchase data, communication history from all communication channels - in a single space accessible to each company manager. This is omnichannel .


The difference between omnichannel and multichannel
Despite the similarity of the terms, omnichannel and multichannel (or multichannel) are two separate marketing processes. Both are based on the use of different communication channels to communicate with customers, but each has its own principle of operation, collection and accumulation of data.

Multichanneling allows you to use several channels to communicate with the client (mail, social networks, IP telephony , etc.), but they are not all connected to each other, the communication history is not stored in some common database that can be used by other managers if necessary.
For example, when communicating with your wife on the phone or via instant messengers, you can easily keep in mind what you have agreed upon with her. However, as the number of subjects transmitting and receiving information increases, problems inevitably begin to arise in the multi-channel model. The main one is the impossibility of disseminating information between different subjects, which creates the prerequisites for searching for another method with a more effective communication model.

Omnichannel is the method that collects all communication channels into one system, while maintaining a complete history of communication and providing open access to this information for other employees.
For example, if manager Ilya managed an important client for some time, and then fell ill or quit, then manager Ivan can quickly replace him. At the same time, Ivan does not need to call the client back and pester him with questions about the order, special requests or design nuances - he can view all this information in the system (read chats, listen to calls, view comments on the order).

Another example: a manager started working with a client in a chat on the website, where they discussed their main requirements. Two days later, another manager calls this client, who sees all your previous correspondence with the client in the working system. Having all the necessary information at hand, the employee will be able to quickly navigate the situation and competently build a dialogue with the client. For the manager, this approach significantly simplifies the work process and saves precious time for servicing other clients, plus eliminates the risk of putting yourself and the company in an unfavorable light. The client is satisfied with the professional work of the manager: all his early comments were taken into account, no unnecessary questions were asked, and the order was promptly processed.

If, within the framework of multi-channel, information is processed by one person without any particular difficulties and its constant updating is available for analysis, then at the omni-channel stage, some external data storage device is needed, access to which must be provided to a large number of subjects. In the future, they will become the consumers of this information.


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Evolution of communications
The process of obtaining data evolves with the development of technology. If a hundred years ago a seller received data about a buyer solely based on personal communication with him in the store, now there are dozens of ways to collect, analyze and save information about a client, from recordings of telephone conversations to downloading chats from widgets on a website.

How did the evolution of communications in the digital world take place:

At the single-channel stage , one communication channel is used for interaction between two subjects, for example, e-mail, within which correspondence takes place. In this case, if necessary, you can always raise the history of relationships by returning to earlier letters, i.e. the information is contained within one thread, which significantly simplifies working with it.
Over time, the communication model moves to the multi-channel stage , which is characterized by the use of a large number of communication channels, but within this model, communication is also conducted between two subjects, without the possibility of full participation of other persons.
Thanks to the transition to the omni-channel stage , the information received has become available to different subjects. At the same time, the transfer of data from one to another should be carried out quite simply.
So, let's define what omnichannel is. It is an individual approach to the client, regardless of the channel of requests and the employee with whom he interacts in the company. The trend for building relationships in the omnichannel format is quite young. In 2015, Econsultancy conducted an online survey, in which 2 thousand British companies operating in the online trade market took part. As a result, it turned out that only 5% of respondents had fully integrated channel management, and this is what allows them to systematically influence the behavior of their clients.


UK Internet Companies Survey Data, 2015
During the implementation of total work with clients in the omni-channel format, significant difficulties are encountered with processing information, using communication channels and working with data.

Processing incoming requests
The first difficulty is in processing incoming requests. As part of a study conducted for Google, the work of 500 online stores from the existing customer base was studied. In this case, companies were considered that sell goods and services using their website as a virtual showcase. On such a "showcase", the client of the online store can select the goods or services he needs, move them to the electronic basket and pay.

The study examined websites of companies operating in the fields of construction and repair, household appliances, beauty and health, clothing and accessories, tourism and recreation, computers and office equipment.


Specialization of online stores
The study showed that to attract new clients, RuNet website owners most often use four advertising sources: Yandex.Direct is in first place, Google AdWords is in second place, search engine optimization (SEO) is in third place, equally distributed between the main search services, and Yandex.Market is in fourth place. At the same time, the latter service is only slightly ahead of social networks in terms of frequency of use.


Frequency of use of advertising sources
This distribution reflects the focus of online stores on attracting new customers rather than on using the existing base for its consistent development (for example, using YAN and GDN networks for retargeting and remarketing). These technologies, which allow for consistent development of relationships with customers, moving from stage to stage, are used by very few companies.

Four advertising sources provide an average of 980 visits to the online store. And these are only those visitors who have reached the product selection form. Often, most of the traffic comes from promo pages, which is typical for information sites that include an online store. Subsequently, 980 visits are converted into eight target calls. Such calls come in on one working day, and only two of them are processed properly (they are answered, and the data is recorded in internal systems). The remaining six calls are not processed the first time and end up on the list of missed calls. Their subsequent processing is most often ineffective, since customers who have not received an answer, as a rule, solve their problems by contacting other, more efficient sites.

The lack of 100% call processing does not allow to collect the maximum possible client base and build client identification. Thus, along with missed incoming calls from new clients, incoming requests from existing clients are often ignored. Waiting for an answer in the general call queue makes them feel dissatisfied with the service and significantly reduces loyalty to the company.

Communication channels
Another difficulty arises with communication channels. During the communication process, the client goes through different stages:

Formation of a need - the client develops a need for a certain product or service.
Search for a solution - the client is looking for a solution that would optimally satisfy his needs.
Information collection - the client collects information about the product or service.
Initial familiarization - the client gets acquainted with the product/service.
Purchases - the customer purchases a product/service.
Usage - the customer uses the purchased product/service.
Formation of a positive impression - the client successfully satisfies his need with the purchased product/service.
Recommendations to friends.
At the initial familiarization, purchase and use stages, the client communicates with the supplier company in different ways: via phone call, website chat , website application, callback form. All of the above communication methods allow us to get much closer to the omni-channel format in terms of customer identification. It is important to understand that identification is necessary not only in case of direct contact. It is also important if the client suddenly visits the "Rates" section on the supplier company's website. Such a visit may indicate that he is comparing prices on the market, i.e. considering an alternative supplier of goods/services.

The main problem is identifying the client who physically interacts with company representatives when visiting a retail outlet or communicating with a courier when delivering goods. Many believe that such communication is beyond the scope of Internet marketing, and they are wrong. At each point of contact, it is necessary to collect additional information that allows you to more accurately customize the Internet tools used, i.e. more carefully segment your audience.

For example, data on interaction with a client via a delivery service can be digitized based on electronic reports or questionnaires. But how can you collect information about a client when they visit a retail outlet? Currently, companies that work with discount cards linked to the client's bank card in CRM have access to such information. All information obtained in this way can be used for further work.

The question arises: what to do if a customer visited a retail outlet but did not buy anything? There is no clear answer yet. However, there are positive changes in the world of mobile gadgets that may help to cope with this problem in the foreseeable future. Thus, during the last conference of Apple, where the second generation of its watches was presented, the function of user authorization on a personal computer without using a password was still outside the scope of discussion. However, developments in this direction are underway, because it is this function that can ensure the collection of information about the user's physical visit to a real retail outlet.

So, to serve customers in the omni-channel format, it is necessary to add physical interaction with them to the standard communication channels. Unified communication channels allow you to identify the client, regardless of how he or she contacts the company.

Working with data
The next difficulty is working with data. In relation to online stores, the customer relationship scheme may be as follows. The buyer wants to know about the existence of a particular product. The company, accordingly, places an advertisement, and in the reports there is a column "Viewed advertisement". After viewing, the client goes to its website - let's designate this stage of his journey with the word "find". Then, regardless of the product purchased, the client goes through stages that can be designated with the words "buy" and "receive". If the buyer does not like the product for some reason, he can return it - and this is an additional stage. A client who is completely satisfied with the purchase willingly shares information about his purchase with others. At the stage designated with the word "share", e-mail marketing is included in the work, designed to return the client to the "find" stage, so that he wants to buy some additional or new product. Thus, the cycle is repeated, and the number of such iterations for one client can be very large.

Each client movement along the specified scheme is associated with the receipt of new data. They are accumulated in different information systems and, as a rule, are not consolidated. Potentially, this information can be used to build forecasts and identify client preferences, and therefore, for more precise adjustment of communication messages.

Thus, collecting and processing data about the client at all stages of his life cycle is a critical element of Internet marketing. Providing extensive data on interaction with the client, the ability to launch events in other services based on the available information and manage communications depending on the task and the client's progress through the stages of the life cycle opens up broad prospects for marketers. And this is not the distant future - you just need to collect the considered elements of the system and integrate them into the company's activities.

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Best examples of omnichannel in business
At present, positive changes have been outlined in terms of data collection and processing. There are already examples of companies successfully using information about their clients to organize work with them. One of them is the case of the company "Healthy Water", a manufacturer and supplier of drinking water.

The company has more than 10 thousand clients. All advertising used to promote the product is posted on the Internet. As a result, 95% of sales are made through calls. At the same time, the site has a product catalog from which you can select the product you are interested in and add it to your e-shopping cart.

The implementation of this project involved solving three main problems:

Linking customer requests with sales.
Acquiring the skill of a company to calculate the cost of each request (CPA) and customer acquisition (CPO).
Gain access to customer data in real time.
To solve the first task, information about a callback, online consultant, phone on the website, electronic shopping cart and lead generator was combined on the basis of UIS end-to-end analytics . This data began to be collected automatically and within the framework of a report, which made it possible to analyze requests in the context of advertising channels and campaigns. Moreover, it is possible to analyze both all requests as a whole and for each channel in the context of the generation source. Within the framework of one report, it is possible to see the conversion for each advertising channel or for an advertising campaign.