Taking on challenges in the omnichannel customer experience

Those local to our Massachusetts headquarters will likely recall the painful experience that was The Massachusetts Department of Transportation's (MASSDOT) conversion of all exit numbers on freeways to a mile-post-based numbering system. People had been driving those roads for years, giving directions based on the historic numbers that never meant anything beyond "exit 50."

When it changed, the messaging went out far and wide about it being a mile-post-based, federally mandated change, but despite their best efforts, the drivers of those roads didn't understand the "why" that related to their daily lives. Those exit signs became a major source of friction for people with hard-wired directions into their brains as far back as when you had to print Google Maps before leaving the house.

In hindsight, had the MASSDOT projected their "why" better, this change may have been easier for people to understand and adjust to. For example, they could've made a stronger effort to have news outlets cover the advantages (driver-friendly navigation, more accurate emergency response, and the ability to add new exits without renumbering a corridor) as opposed to the fact that the construction was occurring and that it was federally mandated. When developing an omnichannel customer experience, you have to think about these sorts of situations.

In the marketing world, omnichannel customer experience challenges can arise when an organization is adding a second channel of customer communication or already has several channels open offering their customers many touchpoints. To overcome existing challenges or to pave a smooth road to help prevent challenges from popping up in the future, it's important to understand some common causes of a rocky omnichannel experience. Let's get on that road!

Internal silos & a lack of cultural adoption

Leaders within an organization can help drive a culture of internal communication, collaboration, and transparency between business units and teams.  That kind of cultural investment and buy-in from employees can affect the experience felt by customers by offering them consistent and seamless messaging and functionality between channels.

Without that kind of cultural adoption across business units, each team may act and communicate to customers differently from within their own silo. For example, if the marketing team is responsible for the website, emails, and social channels and talking about a promotion or the details on a new product or feature while at the same time, a siloed customer support team is responsible for phone calls, emails, and chat there may not be a clear answer for why the promotion isn't working or when the new feature will be available. 

That kind of fractured communication has the potential to cause customer frustration. That lack of seamlessness also has the potential to affect one of the most frustrating experiences of all – the channel hot potato – where a customer is passed from channel to channel, never really getting a complete answer from any of them.

Infrastructure discrepancies

Infrastructure can go a long way in creating efficiencies to help produce a smooth, delightful omnichannel experience. However, if not properly optimized, infrastructure-related inefficiencies can produce friction and frustrations that customers can feel. Internally, systems must share data with the right teams and people to be most effective.  

Let's say you’ve filled out a form to request a demo of a new project management product that you’re just about convinced to buy, but you want a little more assurance about how easy it is to use. When you fill out the form you provide them with some details about your industry, how many people work at your company, and even the product management product you’re currently using (remember, you’re right on the cusp of a purchase, you already trust the company, and you're willing to give them whatever information they asked for.)

After submission, all those details go into the company’s data collection machine and populate fields in some internal file. But who has access to that file, or necessary fields in it? If the marketing team is the only team with access, the sales team (or the team who runs demos) may never see the information you sent. That means that the product and company you were excited about and trusted may have to start the demo conversation by asking you, “What product management software are you currently using?" "How many people are in your company?" "What industry are you in?”  

Those repeated questions can cause friction and could make a customer who was ready to purchase pump the brakes as their trust and confidence in the company deflated with the poor channel hand-off.  

A lack of customer service ownership

The last example of an omnichannel challenge is the ownership of the end-user experience. All teams and departments have a role in owning the full customer journey – marketing, sales, support, IT, and service. Internal communication breakdowns, or the dreaded “channel hot potato” can occur when no one takes full responsibility for the end-to-end experience.

The channel hot potato experience is seemingly common in the cable and internet industry. Trying to switch packages or services is an experience that many people have encountered friction with. Need to cut your cable, but increase your wifi speed? You’re likely talking to at least two people.  Need to cancel your entire account? It would be surprising if you could do that by talking with less than three people. In addition to being tossed around a call center, you’re likely going to have to re-explain your situation to each new person you speak to. Time consuming and aggravating for sure! The better solution is for one area to take true ownership of the end-user experience, leaving a better impression.

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The best way to get ahead of or combat existing challenges in your omnichannel experience is to do a deep dive into it yourself or have someone well-versed in ideal user experiences do it for you and report back. At Imarc, we're ready to take on your friction points. All you have to do is say hello.