The
digital experience has changed the way consumers view an
online
store
. Gone
are the days that we browse solely from a desktop. We're jumping from
mobile to desktop without a second thought – and as store owners –
you need to be prepared for the future.
But it's
not just about preparing for a multi-device world either. Consumers
are connecting with brands via many different channels across the
web, or in a brick and mortar store, so it's important that you
streamline this experience for your customers.
So
who is the omni-channel consumer?
The
omni-channel consumer is a person who comes in contact with your
brand. It may be that they are viewing your website on a tablet,
they're checking out your Facebook page, or they're looking at your
email.
The
omni-channel consumer is everywhere.
When it
comes to preparing for your omni-channel consumer, you need to make
sure that what you provide is a seamless experience across every
device and every platform you have.
Whether
it's on your website, your social platforms, in your brick and mortar
store, via desktop or mobile device, the omni-channel consumer
expects to receive the same shopping experience no matter where they
buy from.
The
problem is, many store owners still don't consider it to be that
important and have yet to evolve in the world of omni-channel features. In
fact, studies show that
87%
of consumers feel that brands need to work harder to create a
seamless experience...
So how
do you prepare for the omni-channel consumer?
Align
your brand
First
you need to think about your brand and how you are connecting with
your audience across every touchpoint.
Are you
putting out the same messages on every channel? If a customer decided
to purchase a product online, but opts for click-and-collect to pick
it up, will their shopping experience be the same in person as it is
online?
Brand
communication is important, and both your employees and content
should reflect the messages that you want to put out there. A recent
study found that out of
340
ads, only 23 were identified as having a clearly positioned brand
message.
You need
to cut out the confusion and make sure that a person will instantly
recognize your brand from wherever they may be.
Action
points:
Define your brand
voice, the tone and values that you want to put across to your
audience. Make sure that your employees understand what your key
messages are, and that it's communicated across every marketing
message.
Evaluate
your content
When
planning for omni-channel success, you need to consider the content
that you publish.
Your main goal is clearly conversions, but does your content connect
with the right people at the right time?
Your
omni-channel consumers will be on a journey to find your product, and
someone who is at the start of their journey with you should be
consuming different content compared to a consumer who is closer to
the sale.
For
example, a person who is at the start of their buying journey may
recognize they have a problem, but they don't know what to do about
it. Content to use here could be informational blog posts or
infographics that are highly shareable and resonate with their
problems.
Once
that person has moved towards to the next stage which is closer to
the sale, you need to start providing them with content that is a lot
more focused on educating them on how your product is their solution.
E-books
are perfect to utilize here as they are highly educational and people
who opt to download them, have a genuine interest in finding out more
about your product. You can then capture the data of people who
download your e-book, to help you move towards the next goal which is
'closing the sale'.
At this
point, you can send those consumers that downloaded your e-book email
marketing messages that promote your products and tempt them towards
the sale.
Action
points:
The key here is to
make sure the content that you distribute
is targeted to the right consumer at the right time, and conveys your
brand voice that we mentioned above.
Plan
for mobile devices
Did you
know that
8%
of a person’s
day is spent looking at their mobile screen? There is no denying that
mobile is the future and the omni-channel consumer is most certainly
using their mobile device to access your brand.
Think
about the last time you tried to view an email or a piece of content
on your mobile device and it was clearly not optimized for your
mobile device? Not only is this frustrating, but it puts you off
consuming anything from that brand again.
The last
thing you want to do is turn the omni-channel consumer off, so you
need to ensure that you are not making these critical mistakes.
Action
Points:
Choose an Ecommerce
solution
that makes selling from a mobile device easy. Make sure you design
your store with current HTML and CSS standards to further optimize
the mobile viewing experience.
Takeaway
As you
can see omni-channel is the future so you need to make sure that you
are creating a seamless experience for all of your consumers. Take a
walk in their shoes, create timely content for the right people, and
streamline your brand voice across every touchpoint!
Don't
forget, if you want an Ecommerce platform that offers awesome
features including mobile and responsive design then make sure you
call
us today
!