Cross-channel experience – the sum is greater than the parts

Posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 by Gary Topiol

Retailing today is far different than in years past. The journey that customers take have become more complex, and the number of ways a customer and a business can interact has grown: click and collect, call centres, brick and mortar stores, mobile apps, online purchases, etc. The points along the customer journey today seem quite endless.

In that context it is important for brands to deliver a consistent experience, providing the same brand promise at each point of that journey. Customers need to be given a single view of a brand, and conversely brands need to have a single view of the customer.

Acting on this desire can be a challenge however. Staffing, resourcing and organisational issues often create silos between the various communication channels. So how can savvy retailers effectively bring those separate areas of a business together?

One way to ensure each of these channels is consistent with the desired brand experience is through feedback programmes that may already be in place. Customer feedback is often collected to measure the experience provided through each channel. By standardising that feedback and the measurement and interpretation of that feedback through the lens of the customer experience, brands can bring together what, from an organisational perspective, may still be disparate parts of the business.

This approach allows businesses to effectively measure their customers’ experiences when their channels overlap. Harmonising the feedback process allows businesses to strive to be best-in-class for each of their channels while maintaining a strong brand identity and facilitating customers’ cross-channel interactions.

If you think about it, despite the different specific attributes that impact the experience customers get through each channel, ultimately the measures of success will remain consistent.

Are they satisfied?
Do they plan to return?
And most importantly, would they recommend?

Whether measuring in-store cleanliness, ease of use online, or timeliness of call centres or delivery response. The end result to be measured is always the same, and these days that sameness can ensure a consistency in your brand promise across all of your channels.

This entry was posted in Why Implement a Customer Experience Management Program? and tagged advocacy, brand promise, customer experience, customer experience management, customer feedback, loyalty, Retail, UK. Bookmark the permalink.