Cross-Channel, a Must!

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Today there is a general trend toward cross-channel. This strategy creates a real buzz and represents a recurring topic among the different conferences and fairs. Most of web users now browse the Internet via several devices and the way they are doing it evolves along the day. Smartphone in the morning, traditional computer or laptop in the afternoon and tablet in the evening; Internet browsing has become multi-platform and multiform and leads to an evolution of consumers’ requests.

What are the advantages of cross-channel?

Thanks to cross-channel, retailers are able to support customers throughout the whole procedure of the buying process. However, to be efficient, to provide the best services and to be able to meet the consumer’s needs, it is necessary to be positioned according to their perspective.

The company can identify and highlight all the contact opportunities in order to effectively and coherently communicate. The main advantages are individualization, customization of the offer submitted to the customer and respect of their requirements.

Optimizing customer experience thanks to cross-channel

Customer experience represents the addition of all the moments of contact experienced
by the customer during their buying process.  A primary requirement consists in answering to the customer’s need the way they want. To do that, it is necessary to have a cross-channel approach focused on the customer and with interconnected systems.

An idea would be to use a mobile application in order to link both the digital and physical worlds, enabling the customer to be informed on waiting times, to be reassured on prices, to access information on products and to check if it is a good deal before they actually make their purchase.

Geolocation is a rising trend in this cross-channel strategy. Outdoor geolocation has just been democratized and now indoor geolocation starts to develop. Thanks to this technology, a brand can locates its customer, send them information and guide them.

A strategy applicable to every domain

If at first, when we think about cross-channel, the retail industry comes to mind (remember our post about click&collect), the other sectors are concerned too.

For instance, banks are already using cross-channel strategy (you can read our previous article about banks). If they already use multi-channel (on-line bank, mobile application, etc.), today the objective is to achieve a successful transition between those two strategies. We could imagine realizing a loan simulation on the Internet, then inquiring about waiting times and making an appointment thanks to an application and finally signing for the loan in the branch.

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