Dustin is the founder and CEO of BriteCo, an innovative insurance technology company transforming the retail jewelry insurance experience.
I think it’s no surprise that Covid-19 lockdowns helped incite the dramatic growth of omnichannel businesses. Or that lockdowns advanced the omnichannel approach among companies that typically used single-channel models, such as restaurants, beauty salons and gyms.
We didn’t just need to find new ways to reach customers and generate revenue at that time. Consumers also needed new ways to access the products and services they rely on and use. It was a lesson about the importance of diversifying revenue streams and customer access.
During lockdowns, customers had little option but to adopt new channels via the Internet, and e-commerce companies generally thrived in the early days of the pandemic. With traditional channels now widely restored, businesses are back to environments where customer preferences drive where and how purchases happen. Companies have to consider omnichannel opportunities, leveraging technology to make sure they reach as many prospects as possible. But, implementing an omnichannel strategy is still easier said than done.
Understanding Omnichannel Business
The omnichannel model is not new or novel. Multiple categories and organizations have leveraged it throughout history. The advent of the internet and technology created a prolific capability to expand in ways that most businesses had never seen before. We can now leverage omnichannel, multichannel and multiplatform approaches—or any of the three combined. While these approaches can coexist and are often mistaken as the same, each is different and unique.
Omnichannel business is typically defined by a customer experience across all channels, while multichannel business generally focuses on two or more channels. Multiplatform strategies are recognized as conducting business across different technologies, such as software, devices or other hardware. Some businesses and products or services may only thrive in one channel or platform. An omnichannel strategy requires a bigger commitment in time and resources.
Succeeding With Omnichannel Business
1. Determining The Right Approach For Your Company
The first step to the omnichannel model is to determine if it is right for your business and what you sell or if your business would do best in a single or multichannel approach. We achieved this at my company by evaluating all of the places we could sell our product. We started with our main channel and explored every other potential channel from there. We then worked to make sure that the economics were viable for our business and what we sell.
Look at and identify where your customer is and how they may want to buy what you offer. One prospect might want to buy from you via phone, another online. Others may prefer to buy what you sell from a third party. You may find that you have a business where the consumer only buys through one channel, and you can’t expand. If that is the case, omnichannel business isn’t likely right for you or not right for you at this time.
2. Testing One Channel At A Time
For the channels that may have potential, conduct low-cost testing to validate and learn. It is possible that a channel can work but not be strong enough to scale or generate enough income for your company. As you understand which channels are most feasible, you can start to build further and allocate resources.
Don’t try to boil the ocean—approach each channel one at a time and build it out before moving to the next. Every channel is likely very different and requires inherent disciplines, tactics, skills and strategies to master. Implementing new channels too quickly can impact your ability to succeed. You’ll need time to learn customer behaviors, key players and the nuts and bolts before expanding.
3. Perfecting The Customer Experience
When you open and build each new channel, it is imperative to make the buying experience as frictionless as possible for the customer, no matter where they buy your product. It requires connectivity in messaging, looks, feels, brand and sales experience.
Step up to the expectations of the customer and provide an exceptional, invariable experience for them. Be hyper-aware of and intimately familiar with your customer in each channel. Avoid making assumptions about who they are, what they need or how they will buy from you. Test, learn, iterate and listen instead.
Be intentional about what you offer by meeting them where they are at with what you have to sell. You may find that you need to evolve. Be flexible to rise to the challenge. Then, double down on what works and eliminate anything that doesn’t.
4. Identifying The Pain Points And Adapting As Needed
Omnichannel success is not unlike the demands of your traditional, legacy channel. Find the pain points for all of the players that you can solve and the synergy. For example, in jewelry insurance, there was a pain point collectively around appraisals that are directly connected to insurance. We built technology to solve the problem between the two through the retail jeweler channel. Our success with jewelers led to a direct-to-consumer offering that greatly expanded our market.
Channels can constantly evolve, arise, shrink, change or even die. Be prepared and ready to adapt and make decisions as needed. The steps above can be applicable through this as well as the lifetime of an omnichannel business.
Omnichannel Business At Scale
When you’re scaling an omnichannel business, you’re essentially applying unique and specific fundamentals in multiple business and customer environments at once. However, the same general elements and economics of scale apply—driving sales, investing in technology, building the right team and so on to ensure the business can handle increased demand within budget limits. As you expand your channel strategy, you’ll be working on all of the channels every day to sustain and grow them.
It takes effort, meticulous detail and planning to succeed as an omnichannel company. But, the outcome can be more than worth it, providing a tremendous boost to your growth and success.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
