How Can the Omnichannel Journey Exceed Customer Expectations?

In today's rapidly evolving retail landscape, customers expect a seamless, hassle-free shopping experience across all channels. Omnichannel marketing, which involves integrating all channels to create a unified experience, is now essential for businesses to stay competitive. But to meet customer expectations, businesses must focus on three key areas: personalization, convenience and consistency. However, before launching an omnichannel approach, experts suggest keeping in mind the cost margins and developing a clear strategy.

“By 2024, e-commerce is expected to double compared to 2020. This channel is growing widely in Mexico. The country is now in the global top 10 in e-commerce. Therefore, it is important to rethink how we are carrying out our operations,” says Juan Montes, Vice President and Country Head, SAP Customer Experience. 

Montes explains that creating an omnichannel presence comes with challenges, such as inventory logistics. Some companies are beginning to create special warehouses to specifically supply online channels. Additionally, there may be friction within the organization regarding operational challenges that could create conflicts between departments.

Customers want to feel valued and recognized across all channels, and businesses can achieve this by leveraging data to deliver personalized experiences. Industry leaders recommend identifying the most appropriate marketing channel for each segment of a company’s customer base. According to Pablo Cáceres, Head of Revenue Latin America, Emarsys, while data is useful, its use comes with challenges regarding privacy and responsible use. He emphasized the Understanding what each customer means to each different marketing channel is also essential, adds Cáceres. 

“It is important to make sense of data to make informed and effective decisions. Data can help us get to know the customer behind each purchase. However, the challenges of its use have to do with data protection. We must be responsible and provide confidence to the customer so they can trust us with their data and we can provide them a more personalized experience,” says Cáceres.

Convenience is also crucial to exceed customer expectations in the omnichannel journey. Customers want to review items pre-purchase and businesses must provide flexible options for browsing, purchasing and returning products. However, experts suggest keeping in mind the cost margins and developing a strategy that prioritizes the marketing channels that make the most sense before transitioning to an omnichannel approach.

There are numerous challenges when launching a successful omnichannel presence, such as “the return of the consumer to the physical world and their preference of on-demand access to retail. Omnichannel has many challenges because physical stores will continue to exist, but adding more points of contact with the customer each time makes operations more complex. Each customer expects a different experience from each channel,” says Bernardo Bazua, Director of Omnichannel and Digital Strategy, Coppel. “On the other hand, inventory logistics are a major challenge. Where should the products sold through each channel be stored?"

Consistency is another key to create an omnichannel journey that exceeds customer expectations, as customers expect a consistent experience across all channels. Whether in-store or online, businesses must ensure that product information, pricing and promotions are consistent across all channels to build trust. Additionally, businesses must provide a seamless transition between channels, such as allowing customers to start their purchase online and complete it in-store.

To develop online operations, businesses must be well aware of their profit and loss (P&L) margins. “Many digital operations were not profitable at some point,” warns Bazua. “It is important to have a detailed P&L because digital operations add costs for acquisition, marketing and logistic expenses. The more handling the merchandise has, the higher the costs of these operations can be. If you do not have a business with healthy margins of acquisition and cost, profits could be negative.” 

According to Montes, it is important to keep an eye on client acquisition costs, as many customers seek a personalized experience so creating customer loyalty becomes essential. To a certain extent, it is no longer useful to grow for the sake of growth in digital channels but to also serve the customer base that makes sense for each business, says Cáceres.

To exceed customer expectations in the omnichannel journey, businesses must think about creating good experiences for customers. Businesses can create a seamless omnichannel journey that meets and exceeds customer expectations by leveraging data to create personalized experiences, providing flexible options and ensuring consistency across all channels. "It is important to understand what customers expect from you and your sales channels to ensure a memorable customer experience," says Bazua.