By Ganapathy Subramaniyan, Senior Vice President –
Technology at Aegis
Omni Channel means integration of multiple channels seamlessly to deliver enhanced customer experience. For example, brands use Omni Channel to provide customers with a smooth shopping experience, be it online from their laptop or mobile device, by telephone or in a traditional bricks and mortar store. It is the depth of integration that differentiates Omni Channel from a Multi-Channel experience. Some global organizations who are leading the way in deploying such integrations, deliver superb customer experiences.
To cite Disney’s example, their website allows the customer the same functionality or experience from a laptop or a mobile. Once booked on a trip, you can use the My Disney Experience tool to plan your entire trip, from your meals to securing any passes. In the park, you can use your mobile app to locate the attractions you want to see, as well as view the estimated wait time for each of them. Plus, they have introduced a Magic Band program which acts as a hotel room key, photo storage device for any pictures taken of you with Disney characters, and a food ordering tool.
In another example, it means customers buying a single ticket, yet employing various modes of transport to reach their destination. What’s more their experience with every element in the journey – food and beverages, baggage, lounges, entertainment and seating among others will be uniform. They experience no difference in the quality of services rendered.
The Omni Channel revolution has attracted customers of all Industry Verticals. Exponential growth in Smart phone adoption has given access to several channels to end customers and option of seamless switch over to a preferred Media.
Kiosks with Cognitive Virtual Agents could soon welcome you at the Airport Check-in Counters and Scan your Boarding Pass at the Boarding Gate. Imagine the power of Integrating this Virtual Agent with Omni channel solution. The virtual Agent with a smiling face can respond to an E mail or a WhatsApp request sent already for a change in Food preference or Book a ticket for On-ward Journey or reschedule your flight.
Airline organization’s Cognitive Virtual Agent could make an Outbound Call to inform potential delay in departure and respond to customer’s question on the reason for delay. In addition, it could give options for alternate flights to the customer. Proactive engagement and personalized services are two basic aspects of differentiated customer experience. Every Customer being assigned a dedicated relationship manager, whether he or she has opted for lower or upper level from a Tiered services Offering, is an impossible proposition for any company. Analytics and AI integrated Omni Channel solution could get every customer, a Virtual Relationship Manager, who would be better informed, friendly, proactive and innovative that takes customer experience to new levels.
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Omni Channel Solution gives a leap forward with Customer Experience. Traditional Customer relationship management platform gets a huge uplift with Omni channel and BI integrated. Speech and Text Analytics amalgamated Omni channel solution is the way to go for organizations with the Vision of exceeding “Customer Experience” expectation.
Proactive Customer Service for sure would improve Customer engagement Life span and in turn improves customer Lifetime Value for an organization. The value customer gives is directly proportionate to the value given to the customer. Inclusion of Social channel, collection of online communications Channels, to an Omni Channel solution, takes customer experience to the tipping point of Delight. Another focus area is reporting. Measuring the contact strategy and making continuous improvement would get the best results in proactive Customer Service. A threshold limit for measurement of Customer Delight and Customer Dissatisfaction would enable organisations take on time preventive actions and bring positive changes to the Lifetime Value. Post Digital Era mandates customer excitement attributes to the Service offering than just Customer Satisfaction attributes. Continuous improvement on Proactive customer service strategy only could bring Customer excitement through the customer Lifespan. Enterprises are increasingly seeking insights, automation, and the use of digital platforms in engagements with providers with the goal of improving customer experience. This knowledge is then used to deliver an integrated holistic experience. Companies using this technique align their messaging, goals, objectives, and design across each channel and device. The CX Quotient on an integrated Omni Channel solution is capable of delivering value through a highly differentiated dynamic model and an improved Net Promoter Score through the following attributes -
-Speedier response to serve the customer
-True Value for your money
-Personalized customer experience
-Successful Business Outcomes
-Improved Customer lifetime value
-Dynamic channel management
-Highest level of Customer Experience.