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Senior Writer: Supriya Bajaj
Date: April 8, 2024The ubiquity of smartphones, the internet, and digital platforms has motivated customers to use multiple channels for communication, socializing, and networking. They also use these channels to connect with businesses and inquire about product information or place service requests.
Different segments prefer different channels. For instance, a HubSpot study shows that millennials prefer email, whereas Gen-Z opts for phone calls when it comes to customer service. So, it has become imperative for businesses to offer omnichannel customer service.
Read the blog to understand the benefits, importance, best practices, and examples of omnichannel customer service.
Customers of today expect an instant response to their queries, and they have their preferences when it comes to the channels. Some prefer email, while others prefer phone calls. So, offering omnichannel customer service should be a business priority. Invest in cloud-based communication solutions such as CallHippo to integrate customer queries and data across different channels and help businesses offer quality support.
What Is Omnichannel Customer Service?
Omnichannel customer service refers to the evolving strategy that allows businesses to engage with customers across multiple channels and touchpoints. These include SMS, email, live chats, social media, phone calls, video conferencing, etc.
Businesses offering omnichannel customer service gain an edge as they can render service through customer’s preferred channels. So, they gain access to customers with varying preferences.
A lot of times, businesses use multiple channels to address a customer query. For instance, a customer might have approached the customer support team through Facebook. Then, it might move to email or live chat and finally to phone calls.
With omnichannel customer service, agents can have a consolidated view of the conversations so customers don’t have to repeat the information in each channel. Beyond syncing text messages, it also syncs files, notes, audio messages, etc., that a customer might have exchanged.
The distinct ability to transfer customer conversations from one channel to another without hassles is a defining feature of omnichannel customer service. This way, multiple agents can handle a customer query, and each agent will know the problem, the information provided, and the current resolution status.
5 Benefits of an Omnichannel Customer Experience
From quicker query resolution to a competitive edge, delivering an omnichannel customer experience offers businesses a wide gamut of benefits. Here are some of them.
1. Cater to customers with varying preferences
The key advantage of offering an omnichannel customer experience is that businesses gain access to a wide range of customer segments. As explained earlier, different customer segments have different preferences when it comes to customer support. Some prefer phone calls, while the millennials prefer live chat or email.
As customers have their preferences, providing omnichannel support allows businesses to serve different customer segments.
2. Quicker query resolution
With omnichannel communication, businesses have a comprehensive view of the conversations happening across different channels. As mentioned earlier, customers don’t have to repeat information across each of the channels.
The ability to swiftly move from one channel to another promotes swift resolution of customer queries. Offering omnichannel support also allows customers to reach out to a business agent through their first touchpoint, leading to quick resolution.
3. Higher degree of personalization
With omnichannel customer service, businesses gain access to more insights and data than they can do on a single channel. This includes information about account information, conversation history, previous purchases, etc., that helps businesses offer a higher degree of personalization. Customers feel heard and valued with personalized service.
4. Higher customer retention
Offering omnichannel customer service helps build trust and credibility in customers’ minds. When customers can get product information at the very first touchpoint, they gain confidence in the business. Having omnichannel customer support demonstrates your commitment to business service while increasing customer loyalty and retention rates.
5. Increase in business revenue
A Harvard Business Review shows that customers increasingly buy from businesses that offer omnichannel support than those that do not. As omnichannel communication enables quicker dissemination of information, customers feel heard. This leads to conversion and higher revenues.
Omnichannel strategy offers deeper insights on customer preferences, behavior, and trends, which in turn promotes conversion while accelerating business revenues.
Omnichannel Support vs. Multichannel Support
Source: wpmanageninja
While omnichannel and multichannel support are often used interchangeably, there are fine differences.
1. Scope and definition
With multichannel customer support, businesses deliver customer service across several independent channels, including email, social media, phone calls, etc.
Whereas, with omnichannel customer support, businesses offer a cohesive interaction by consolidating the conversation across multiple channels.
2. Integration vs Independence
With omnichannel customer service, the channels are connected and the data across them is fully integrated to offer a unified experience. On the other hand, in multichannel customer support, the channels work in isolation. The customer conversations on one channel are independent of another and they are not connected.
3. Degree of consistency
As the channels in an omnichannel strategy are connected and data is synced, businesses can offer a consistent experience across all channels. This means they will receive the same information irrespective of the channel.
On the other hand, with multichannel support, there is inconsistency in communication because the channels operate in silos, independent of each other.
4. Customer service efficiency
With an omnichannel customer service strategy, the operations are interconnected across channels. So, businesses gain consolidated access to data and customer insights. Also, customers don’t have to repeat the information across different channels. All these help improve customer satisfaction levels.
On the other hand, with a multichannel strategy, customers have to repeat the information across channels. Also, as they operate in silos, businesses may not gain deeper customer insights. All these impact the efficiency and quality of customer service.
Best Practices For An Omnichannel Customer Service Strategy
While you are now aware of the benefits of omnichannel customer service, let us delve deeper into building an efficient omnichannel strategy. Here are some of the best practices you must incorporate into your strategy.
1. Provide self-service
Incorporating self-service abilities into customer service helps customers get an instant response to their queries. It also saves agents time and allows them to focus on core tasks and resolve complicated issues.
Integrate knowledge databases, tutorials, and other resources across all channels so customers can access self-service across their preferred platform. Apart from knowledge bases, you must consider chatbots. Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing are evolving technologies, and businesses must leverage them to offer timely customer support.
2. Don’t overlook phone calls
Phone calls remain the top preference for customers when it comes to service requests. A Salesforce study shows that 83% of consumers choose phone calls for customer service. It must be noted that phone calls help offer quick, accurate customer service.
So, invest in phone systems with advanced functionalities like IVR systems, Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), etc. They help automate call handling, routing, and monitoring to streamline a large volume of incoming calls and offer quicker customer resolution.
3. Leverage data to enhance customer service quality
As much as it is important to use technological abilities to offer instant customer support, it is crucial to make the best out of the customer data. Use analytics and business intelligence tools to draw essential insights about customer behavior and preferences and improve service quality.
Keep an eye on metrics like weekly or monthly customer interactions, first contact resolution, preferred customer channels, etc. Such insights help businesses spot customer trends early on and provide what customers want. This gives an edge in the competitive business space.
4. Focus on the entire customer journey
While delivering customer service across multiple channels is important, it is also important to integrate the omnichannel strategy at different stages in the customer journey. This includes customer acquisition, sales, inventory management, etc. It helps minimize costs and achieve greater operational efficiencies.
Omnichannel Customer Service Examples and Use Cases
Now that we have covered the best practices for omnichannel customer service strategy let us take a look at the examples for a better understanding.
1. Starbucks
Starbucks is known for its well-thought-out omnichannel strategy, where the brand proactively engages with customers across different channels. For instance, the @StarbucksCare handle interacts with customers and resolves their problems. They do the same with other social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Another fine example is its “My Starbucks Reward” application. It offers you a free reward card that customers can use while making purchases. For every $1 you spend at the Starbucks store, you gain two stars which you can use to redeem free drinks.
Customers can make payments via website, mobile phone, or in-store visits, and their account gets automatically updated. This helps customers enjoy coffee without long queues. The ability to offer omnichannel customer service promotes convenience and instills a sense of trust in the brand.
2. Disney
Disney is another fine example known for offering an omnichannel customer experience. First, it has a user-friendly interface and responsive website. It works well on the mobile, allowing users to plan their entire trip in just a few clicks.
Once you book your trip, the ‘My Disney Experience’ will help you plan every step right from dining reservations to tickets and passes. You can also store and share the photos taken during the ride.
Customers can get in touch with the support team through live chat, email, or voice channels. The Disney agents can access the customer history, including their basic details, previous purchases, preferences, etc., and offer personalized help.
Other Omnichannel Customer Service Use Cases
Here are other use cases for omnichannel customer service.
1. Healthcare
In the healthcare industry, businesses offer omnichannel customer service to engage quickly with patients and schedule appointments, send reminders and outreach messages, offer teleconsulting, etc.
2. Education
Online tutoring firms interact with students and allow them to access coaching through phone calls, video meetings, email, etc.
3. E-commerce
Many e-commerce firms allow customers to browse categories, place orders, access knowledge bases, etc. through the website. They also provide live support on social media platforms, phone calls, live chat, etc. Some of them employ chatbots to automate responses to common questions.
4. Food and beverages
Similar to Starbucks, many others, like Dunkin Donuts, allow customers to place orders through desktop or mobile apps. They handle customer queries on social media channels, email, live chat, etc.
Top 5 Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions
Now that we have covered the benefits and key strategies to deliver seamless omnichannel support let us move ahead to understanding the top 5 omnichannel contact center solutions.
| Brand Name | Rating | Key Features | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| CallHippo | Call forwarding Call recording Voicemail Text messaging | Basic: $0 Bronze: $16 /month Silver: $24 /month Platinum: $40 /month | |
| NICE | Intelligent forecasting Employee self-service Mobile scheduling Scenario modeling | Essential - $135/month Core - $169/month Complete - $209/month | |
| RingCentral | Business phone or toll-free numbers Unlimited calling within the US and Canada Business SMS IVR | Core: $20 Advanced: $25 Ultra: $35 | |
| Twilio | Call transfer Ticket management Call recording Number portability | Starts at $1 per active user | |
| Five9 | Appointment Management AI-based, automated call routing Call Conferencing Automatic Call Distribution Intelligent virtual agent Workforce optimization | Core: $149 monthly Premium: $169 monthly Optimum: $199 monthly Ultimate: $229 monthly |
1. CallHippo
CallHippo is a leading omnichannel contact center solution that helps businesses streamline customer support across phone calls, chat, social media, SMS, email, video calls, etc. With affordable pricing plans and advanced features, CallHippo helps businesses enhance customer service quality, improve productivity, and lower communication costs.
CallHippo remains the top preference for businesses exploring omnichannel customer support. Amazon, Spotify, TechMahindra, etc. are some of its prominent clientele.
Key Features
- IVR system
- Intelligent call routing
- Voice/video conferencing
- SMS/MMS
- File sharing
- Unified dashboards
- Shared inbox
- Video meetings
- Call queuing
- Call recording
Pros
- CallHippo can be accessed on mobile and desktop applications, helping businesses operate easily from remote.
- CallHippo allows businesses to serve customers across voice, text, and video channels.
- CallHippo users have appreciated its affordability and the basic free plan, which supports small businesses.
- CallHippo can be easily integrated with third-party CRM, sales, and marketing tools like HubSpot, Pipedrive, etc.
- CallHippo offers transparent pricing plans and carries no hidden costs.
- On CallHippo, businesses can set custom KPIs and metrics.
- CallHippo setup is pretty simple and quick and you can get the whole system running in minutes.
Cons
- When the internet is spotty, messages take a long time to get delivered.
- The basic free plan does not have important features like call transfer.
Pricing
- Free Plan
- Bronze Plan: $16 per user per month
- Silver Plan: $24 per user per month
- Platinum Plan: $40 per user per month
- Enterprise Plan: $48 per user per month
2. NICE CXOne
NICE CXOne is a leading contact center solution provider known for offering AI-powered omnichannel routing. Through this, it helps businesses route customer service requests from all channels to the right agent. You can also monitor the agent interaction across different channels using dashboards, topic clustering, etc.
Key Features
- Omnichannel dashboard
- AI-powered self-service
- Conversation recording
- Predictive dialer
- Business intelligence reports
- Concurrent calling
- Live sentiment analysis
Pros
- NICE CXOne support team is very responsive and well-equipped to answer technical questions.
- NICE CXOne is easy to set up, navigate, and use.
- It has robust metrics and analytics to measure agent performance.
- On NICE CXOne, it is easy to customize user controls and restrict agent accessibility.
- The call trace feature is very useful as it helps customer service reps understand the history and troubleshoot accordingly.
- The IVR functionality and script can be customized to a great degree.
Cons
- Users have reported a lag in syncing customer data and dashboard updates.
- While NICE CXOne goes well with other NICE products, it lacks integration with important tools like MS Teams.
- API documentation lacks depth and information.
Pricing
- Essential Suite- $135 per month
- Core Suite – $169 per month
- Complete Suite – $209 per month
3. RingCentral
RingCentral is a reliable omnichannel contact center solution provider and has a wide range of calling and messaging features. It allows customers to interact with the business using social media platforms, live chat messaging, in-app messaging, SMS/MMS, etc. Using RingCentral, you can also respond to customer reviews on Google Play and Google My Business.
Key Features
- Automatic call recording
- Business SMS
- Visual voicemail
- Call forwarding
- Multi-way conference
- Unified inbox
- Integrated dashboards
Pros
- RingCentral offers excellent call quality and the uptime is high.
- Adding new users and extending the communication system is straightforward.
- As RingCentral offers a mobile app, it is easy for customer service agents to answer calls even when they are away from their desks.
- The customer resolution team is very supportive in clearing up queries.
- RingCentral helps business users separate their personal and official calls.
- It provides reports with various metrics and data that help contact centers improve their performance.
Cons
- The accounting system is very rigid and not so responsive that users have reported issues in renewal, plan change, etc.
- The default greeting voice is robotic and doesn’t accept MP3 format.
Pricing
- Essentials plan: $19.99 per user per month
- Standard plan: $27.99 per user per month
- Premium plan: $34.99 per user per month
- Ultimate plan: $49.99 per user per month
4. Twilio
Twilio is a leading omnichannel contact center solution provider that centralizes data as the basis for customer support operations. It offers a wide range of communication channel APIs and programmable solutions for businesses. It helps deliver a cohesive customer support experience across email, voice, live chat, video, WhatsApp, etc.
Key Features
- Programmable messaging
- Developer tools
- Self-service option
- Intelligent call routing
- Call recording
Pros
- Twilio helps offer customer support on unconventional channels like Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.
- With Twilio, it is easy to manage the functioning of different teams in a call center.
- It is easy to share messages and exchange conversations in groups.
- Twilio offers multiple ways to write code so that it can be personalized.
- On Twilio, it is easy to switch between channels and take stock of customer service interactions.
- As Twilio works on a pay-per-use subscription model, it remains affordable for small-scale businesses.
Cons
- The integration abilities are limited, which hinders the automation capabilities.
- The reports are cluttered and confusing at times.
Pricing
Contact Sales
5. Five9
Five9 has made it to our list of omnichannel customer service platforms for it offers robust features for customer service, sales, and telemarketing. It helps businesses optimize agent utilization and deliver high-quality support across different channels. It has pre-built integrations with several third-party tools like Salesforce, ZenDesk, etc.
Key Features
- Skill-based routing
- IVR system
- Call recording
- Agent scripting
- Post-call surveys
- Screen recording
- Custom reporting
Pros
- Five9 takes notes during calls, which helps agents easily document customer interactions.
- Five9 helps agents seek real-time advice from supervisors without having to type and call for help.
- Five9 offers informative online documents and a knowledge base for business users.
- It is easy to integrate Five9 with other platforms like Salesforce.
- Five9 displays call handling time for agents on the main screen, which helps them check on their goals.
Cons
- There are technical glitches and occasional lags while receiving customer calls.
- The learning curve is steep, and it requires a bit of training to get acquainted with the platform.
Pricing
- Digital – $149 per month (Digital only)
- Core – $149 per month (Voice only)
- Premium – $169 per month (Digital + Voice)
- Optimum – $199 per month (Digital + Voice + WEM)
- Ultimate – $299 per month (Digital + Voice + WEM + Analytics)
Closing Thoughts
Offering omnichannel customer service offers a multitude of benefits for businesses. It helps businesses resolve customer queries quickly and efficiently, secure customer trust, increase loyalty and conversion, and boost business revenues. As the world is becoming more connected, it is important to deliver robust support to gain an edge.
FAQs:
1. What is an example of an omni-channel service?
There are several examples when it comes to omnichannel service. As explained in the blog, Starbucks is a fine example. It responds to customer queries on social media channels and allows customers to top up their accounts online through the website, mobile app, etc.
2. What is an omni-channel customer view?
The omnichannel customer view signifies the data and information that a business has of the customers across different touchpoints and channels, including social media, website, in-app messaging, live chat, SMS, etc.
3. Why is omnichannel used?
Customer expectations are changing and they demand a quick, consistent experience across different channels. They expect businesses to interact with them in a channel of their preference. This has led to the rise of omnichannel customer service, sales, and marketing. This helps businesses offer a seamless customer experience.
4. How does omnichannel work?
Omnichannel works by integrating data and information across different channels and offering a personalized experience to customers. Omnichannel customer service allows businesses to respond to customers on their preferred channel, move to another if needed, and maintain consistency. For instance, a customer may approach a business on Facebook and then the conversation may get moved to an email or phone call.
Supriya is a highly skilled content writer with over 8 years of experience in the SaaS domain. She believes in curating engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly content to simplify highly technical concepts. With an expansive portfolio of long-format blogs, newsletters, whitepapers, and case studies, Supriya is dedicated to staying in touch with emerging SaaS trends to produce relevant and reliable content.
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