Omnichannel e-commerce: only way to take your profitability up north in post COVID era
In today’s world, with so much competition around, you may want optimum strategies which will provide your customers with the best and most seamless brand experience possible. Omnichannel has been used as a buzzword to accomplish this.
COVID-19 has resulted in the rise of e-commerce. We came to understand how important it is for businesses to have a solid omnichannel strategy to meet consumer expectations.
What does omnichannel mean?
Omnichannel marketing is the strategy of utilising multiple marketing channels that are interconnected in such a way that the customer has a personalised and seamless experience regardless of the channel they are on.
Simply put, whether the customer is shopping online, on a mobile device, on a laptop, or in a store, you must be able to represent your brand according to their preferences.
The terms omnichannel and multichannel are frequently confused and used interchangeably as both involve using multiple channels to reach out to customers. Although omnichannel and multichannel may appear to be doing the same thing, in reality they are not.
The majority of firms nowadays use multichannel strategy. However, only a few companies successfully implement omnichannel, gaining a competitive advantage.
Let’s understand the difference between the two with simple examples
Example of Multichannel strategy:
Let’s take an example of a merchant using a traditional multichannel strategy having a website and physical stores.
- You are browsing facebook and you come across an advertisement of really cool shoes with amazing color, you immediately like it and want to purchase the exact same shoes.
- You followed the link, but it took you to different types of shoes. Then you decided to purchase the item in person.
- The very next day, you go to that store to buy those shoes.
- Even after a lengthy search, you are unable to locate them. Then discovered that the product was out of stock.
-Frustrating right?
Although merchant was able to put the brands in front of customer but can’t make sales due to bad customer experience.
Each channel in this strategy operates independently, with only minor interactions between them. As a result, consumers have a different, rather less personalised experience on each channel. Customers probably have to visit a specific channel in order to find the information they seek which will not be a pleasant experience.
Because of the misalignment of numerous channels, which appears to be jeopardising consumer experience, the Omnichannel strategy comes into play.
Example of Omnichannel strategy:
- On your Laptop,You’re browsing the Amazon shopping website in order to buy a cell phone.
- You liked one and added it to your cart, but then you got distracted by something else and left the website without making a purchase.
- After some time, you browse another website and see advertisements for the same mobile phone by amazon.
- Also You got emails like “XYZ phone is waiting in your cart.Get upto 20 % Off. Hurry before the sales end” form amazon on your mobile phone.
- You click on the link provided in the email, and you get navigated to the Amazon app on your mobile phone. You open the cart,and finally make the purchase.
Take note how every channel is linked to each other, from website’s cart to personalised email to mobile app’s cart. As a result, Customers can resume back right where they left off.
Consumers can interact with the brand through any of their channels providing the best customer experience thanks to omnichannel marketing.
The main difference between Omnichannel and Multichannel is that Omnichannel puts the client first, while Multichannel puts the company first.
ERP with omnichannel strategy
We have discovered how omnichannel strategy interconnects both online and offline stores to provide a seamless experience to the customer. But managing inventory for both, on the other hand, can be a difficult undertaking. Here comes ERP with an omnichannel solution, which allows you to handle all of your brand channels data in one place.
Despite the fact that many enterprises have understood the value of using an ERP system to simplify their other processes, Many companies are reluctant to recognise that having an omnichannel ERP system is just as crucial in helping customers find you.
How OmniChannel ERP solution can help?
OmniChannel ERP solution helps you in implementing omnichannel strategy by providing you with a central system to store all your sales data at one place. It helps in streamlining the processes in such a way that helps in providing customers a smooth experience across all your sales channels. OmniChannel ERP solution helps your customer to get real time information such as pricing and stocks of items on different channels.
Inventory management
By utilising data aggregated at a central hub, Omnichannel ERP Solution provides great control over inventory,
It automatically updates inventory data such as stockouts in online websites to keep customers informed and in offline stores to keep staff informed.
Unify Online-Offline stores
The way people shop has evolved. Customers may have spotted your product online but want to try it out in person to ensure that they are entirely satisfied.
So in this case unifying your online and offline stores becomes very important.
Omnichannel ERP solutions synchronize data of the website and offline store.
So that staff at the store has complete information about the online order of customers and thus can provide the right product to the right customer when they visit the store.
Insightful data about customers
Omnichannel ERP Solution helps in getting insightful information about the customer behavior like from what channels they get attracted to your brand, on what channel they make a purchase, How often they make a purchase. This helps in providing personalized experiences for the customers. All client information is entered into a central customer database via the OmniChannel ERP solution, despite the sales channel they use, their purchase information will be gathered.
OmniChannel ERP solution will keep you ahead of the competition. A customer who has been engaged consistently across several channels is more likely to remain loyal to a brand or store. OmniChannel ERP helps in improving customer experience which in turn improves your Total experience.
