Beyond Messaging: How Omnichannel Communication Shapes the Modern Customer Journey
The modern customer is a tech-savvy individual who understands how to use multiple communication platforms to research and interact with a brand. These interaction points are critical to the customer experience, and a positive communication structure is necessary to get customers from knowledge to the point of buying. By understanding the modern customer journey and how multiple communication platforms weave their way through it, you can poise your business to translate more of these contacts into paying customers.
Mobile Touchpoints Essential to the Customer Experience
In the past, customers would stick with one preferred method of communication. Those who enjoyed talking on the phone would use the phone. Others would prefer email. Still, others would visit the store in person to make their choices. That has changed with the advancement of mobile technology.
Today, more than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices, and by 2025, that traffic will increase by 25%. Thus, your marketing strategy must embrace the mobile customer. Yet, just having a mobile-friendly website is not enough. You must have touchpoints across various channels because over half of all customers will use more than four before they make a purchase, and the average number of touchpoints is six.
The Typical Customer Journey and How Mobile Touchpoints Play a Role
Most customers will travel through at least four stages before they make a purchase decision. They will start at the point of awareness, which means they know of your product or their need. Then, they will move to research, learning where they can get their need met. Next, they take time to consider their options. Finally, they make a purchase.
While this sounds like a linear process, it rarely works quite so simply. Customers will jump around to various channels in the research and consideration stages. These micro-communications are all essential, but they are often inconsistent. This creates a lack of clarity, which can disrupt the journey or cause them to choose a competitor.
With omnichannel marketing, you can have an impact on every stage of that journey. Your website or social media page can touch them at the awareness stage, and your chat programs across those pages can help with research. During consideration, your email marketing can keep your brand in mind, and all of these touchpoints can have a link to the purchase option.
So, how does omnichannel marketing impact this customer journey? It will ensure that your branding and messaging are consistent across all channels. With an omnichannel partner like Mitto, you will have one central inbox you can use to access all of these messages. This ensures you know where each commuter is in the buying journey, prevents duplication of information, and builds a solid customer experience.
Consistency Is Key
If your customer receives a different experience when interacting with you online than they do when they walk into your brick-and-mortar store, the customer experience drops. Their opinion of your customer service also drops, leading to lost sales. Omnichannel communication ensures consistency no matter how the customer interacts with your brand to improve the overall customer experience. Consistency also prevents confusion because your customers will always know what to expect when they interact with you, regardless of how they choose to interact.
To create a consistent, branded, positive customer experience across all platforms, choose an omnichannel software program. Mitto allows you to craft personalized messages and create a seamless, non-repetitive experience across all channels. Reach your customers through every step of the modern customer journey with omnichannel communication and messaging.
