One of the more interesting developments in the customer experience (CX) solutions space the past few years has been what I would describe as a confusion of terminology. The problem has been that depending on what you are reading, there tends to be loose use of the terms “Multi-Channel” and “Omni-Channel.” This is unfortunate on a variety of fronts since they are very different, and realities are that enterprises looking to best enhance the customer experience need to focus on omni-channel interactions.
Let’s start with what these terms should mean.
- Multi-Channel: refers to the fact that in a world where customers can connect with an organization according to their interaction preferences, you need to be able to do so and 24/7/365. However, it really only refers to the fact that you have all of the interaction channels in place.
- Omni-Channel: refers to the integration of all of the multiple channels into a single view.
The reasons why it is important to be omni-channel rather than merely multi-channel should be obvious. In order to satisfy customers in real-time— when they initiate interactions, have complete visibility/access to every piece of information about the customer journey, and the resources available to hopefully exceed their expectation when your frontline people and your self-service and other automation tools are helping them—is now a competitive necessity. In short, it is no longer sufficient to have siloed information and cumbersome access to critical customer journey data.
To best understand why the move to omni-channel is now “mission critical” you are invited to participate in the insightful webinar, Multi-Channel is the New Normal – Get Onboard with what you really intended to achieve: Omni-Channel. Join myself and Chad Hendren, Director, Solution Innovation, Virtual Hold Technology, on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 2:00 PM EDT / 9:00 AM PDT, as we delve into the best practices for enhancing CX, achieving desired business outcomes, and making the best use of your voice and digital channels – all together, all with the same knowledge of WHO the customer is, WHAT they need, and HOW to deliver the best results.
Omni-channel, as noted is about the seamless integration and unified view and control of all aspects of information about the customer journey. This means voice, digital channels such as chat and social media, CRM, and back-end and third party systems. Seeing and hearing, and having your question answered should be believing. The session will walk through how to build CX enhancing applications, manage the CX work processes through a simplified interface focused on business users, and to see real-time and historical data for analytics.
In the real-time economy, now is the time to make the move to leverage omni-channel capabilities as the competitive and operational importance of not just listening to the customer but being able to really hear them and use that knowledge to delight them has never been more important.
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi
