What is the Difference Between Omnichannel and Multichannel Customer Support?
The pandemic has led to the rapid development of a customer-centric business. So, how do you make potential customers permanent? Let’s get this straight!
Customer values have changed, and needs for maximum comfort, absolute clarity, and quality service have become the three main lures. It has developed two types of interaction with clients for the convenience of entrepreneurs. Most of them have already learned the terminology, but the question of the difference and the suitable type of communication for a particular niche remains open.
Companies try to keep up with the times and ensure the effectiveness of such support, making it omnichannel. The problem is that often businesses, without realizing it, make a substitution of concepts. Offering multichannel customer support, they call it omnichannel.
Here, I suggest you discover the difference between multichannel and omnichannel services and how your business can benefit from this.
The origins of the multichannel customer support
The marketing aspects of each company entail proper tracking of potential customers’ activities through the communication channels.
Multichannel customer support allows interaction by phone, email, social media platforms, live chats, etc. Companies use this approach for marketing and sales development and customer support purposes.
It is common for enterprises to determine which channels of communication are most appropriate for their particular audiences. Spending investment to cover each channel is not reasonable. Therefore, enterprises should analyze the behavior and preferences of their audience and choose convenient channels of communication.
Core pros of multichannel customer support
#1 Accessibility & uninterrupted communication
Clients can get quality support no matter what channel they use. Your connection doesn’t depend on external circumstances. For example, if one channel isn’t available, your audience can easily use the rest.
#2 Accurate data collection
The more channels a business uses, the customer data it gets. The company can create various action scenarios to solve almost all client issues.
#3 Better customer experience
Clients love business transparency and a broad range of communication options. With multiple communication channels available, customers can solve their issues faster.
The origins of the omnichannel customer support
The entire problem for companies is that these two types of communication with customers approach are similar enough. Anyway, the term has a significant difference.
Omnichannel is a big category, including multichannel as a part of the whole. Talking about its pros, customers also can communicate with companies via phone, email, social media, etc.
Meanwhile, omnichannel creates a corporate IT infrastructure where each component works for the proper solution to each client issue. It ensures real-time involvement of all related systems.
How does it work? Imagine that you have an electronics store. One of your clients contacted customer support and asked for free repair of a just-bought laptop. The omnichannel approach allows your agent to send the relevant request data to ERP and the HR management system during the interaction. When ending the conversation, the client will know who and when will come to repair the laptop.
Core pros of omnichannel customer support
#1 Work optimization
Omnichannel helps companies optimize business processes, provide a reasonable allocation of resources, and create efficient scenarios of interactions.
#2 Quick response
Because of omnichannel, clients can count on a fast solution to their requests after the first appeal. According to the scheme: one interaction provides a quick solution to one problem regardless of the communication channel in case all company’s back-office systems work to solve the problem here and now.
#3 Big Data collection and real-time sharing
Omnichannel allows enterprises to create a detailed client profile and update it in real-time. It helps in creating process the right strategy for communication with clients.
#4 Advanced customer experience
Not only a quick response and also a relative solution matter. Multichannel can provide just a wonderful experience due to smooth communication. Meanwhile, omnichannel ensures a great experience because it aims to solve any issues on a tight schedule.
The Bottom Line
Upgrading or introducing new interaction channels requires a total readiness for substantial investment and a long-term project on digital migration. The mechanism is quite complex, as it is necessary to upgrade the software and change the current business processes to optimize the channel operation.
Many companies pick customer service outsourcing and attract third-party services like WOW 24-7 to ensure quality results. It helps them provide multichannel or omnichannel support usefully and launch the service faster.
The omnichannel approach is one of the dominant trends now. But it doesn’t mean that another type is not efficient. Both options are suitable when companies need them.
Businesses should focus on their current conditions and audience preferences to choose the suitable model of customer support provision.
Are you looking for a reliable multichannel or omnichannel customer support provider? Tell us about your plans and discover how our professionals can boost your communication with clients.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
