Humans are no strangers to migration. For thousands of years, we’ve been moving to new locations. After all, our proclivity for never settling has provided us with new prospects for better survival all around the world.
Even though thousands of years have passed since the urge to explore and move to new places still remains in humans. People in the 21st century are migrating across the worlds of online and offline platforms and diversifying their life among them.
These mediums have become the new normal for humans. People now do not hesitate to order products online or use google maps for finding the nearest stores.
Businesses, similarly, need to adapt as per their customers and shift to the new worlds to connect better and keep up their sales. Additionally, they need to integrate these platforms into their sales and marketing channels.
In other words, they need to become Omnichannel.
The Omnichannel Strategy: Definition
The term “Omnichannel strategy” refers to a company’s sales and marketing strategy where it tries to give a consistent experience to customers across several platforms.
As per Mckinsey & Company, ~2/3 of buyers prefer remote human interaction or digital self-service over traditional interactions.
Businesses need to be present at every platform, create new sales channels, and integrate them with their traditional mediums to serve these customers.
What does a customer get?
An omnichannel business can make the lives of its customers easier and simpler. Here are a few of the benefits that customers get:
1)Seamless experience
The customer has a consistent and seamless experience while shifting mediums. He can browse his preferred products online and shift to an offline medium without losing out on products or convenience.
2)Hassle-free shopping
People searching for a specific product can check its availability on their preferred medium and preferred delivery time.
3)Faster updates and info
Since their favorite brands are present on their preferred platforms, they can connect more with them. They can get the latest updates and information about them.
What does a business get?
A business has a lot more to get from the omnichannel approach than its customers. Here are three important ones:1)Reach and recognition
Being omnipresent across the platforms allows businesses to increase their online visibility and market reach. More customers recognize the brand and decide to make purchases.
2)Increased sales
Different customers have different buying preferences. Omnichannel sales channels allow businesses to offer multiple purchase options to these audiences. Result? More conversion, sales, and profit.
3)Upper Hand over competitors
Having omnipresence over different platforms allows a business to keep up with competition and sometimes even to surpass it.
Keeping everything in mind, a business can decide to go either Multichannel or Omnichannel. These two terms may sound similar, but their functioning and impact on businesses completely differ.
Multichannel Vs Omnichannel
Multichannel
In a MultiChannel strategy, a business spreads its sales and Marketing channels across different platforms. However these channels are not interconnected.
Each channel in this strategy is independent and has no dealings with other channels. It functions in its confined boundaries and exists to reach more customers and increase sales.
Example: A company that sells t-shirts on the website may open real storefronts to cater to offline customers. The Sales and other functions in real stores would be separate from those on the website.
Omnichannel
In an omnichannel strategy, a company sells and offers its products on all channels where its customers shop or hang out. The sales and marketing functions are linked across all platforms.
A consistent consumer experience is maintained across all the platforms.
The Inventory and customer data are kept in sync and integrated across all the platforms.
Example: A customer can find a shirt online on Facebook and buy it through Facebook Marketplace. Or he may decide to go to the business’s website and check for its availability in the nearest stores.
Furthermore, he may try the shirt in a physical store and buy it on the website for her best friend in another city.
The fundamental difference between Multichannel and Omnichannel is the sync and integration across channels.
Two aspects: Marketing and Sales
An Omnichannel Strategy of a firm is concerned with two important areas of a business: Sales and Marketing.
We have looked at the sales aspect of this strategy above. The marketing aspect is similar to that.
In an Omnichannel Marketing strategy, a business markets and advertises its products across all the platforms of the online and offline world. The business uses all the productive platforms, from email marketing to newspaper articles, from Facebook ads to roadside banners.
Both Marketing and Sales are the core of the omnichannel strategy, and they complement each other.
Inventory Management System: The Basic Requirement
Implementing the omnichannel strategy isn’t as easy as it may seem. Businesses need some tools and systems to keep it working.
One of the most important systems is the Inventory Management System(IMS).
An omnichannel business sells the same products across multiple platforms in real-time. Therefore it has to make sure that the Inventory is available in real-time to fulfil the demand everywhere.
A company will fail at keeping its promises and fulfilling its orders if it allocates its Inventory haphazardly. In addition, features like ‘Buy Online’ and ‘Pick It on a Store’ require businesses to have exact knowledge about the distribution of their Inventory.
Businesses need a robust inventory management system that can automate inventory allocation as per the need. It is a basic requirement for any business looking forward to adapting Omnichannel strategy.
Some Successful Omnichannel Applications
1)IKEA
One of the most successful applications of the Omnichannel Strategy is IKEA. This Swedish furniture retailer used the Omnichannel strategy to become one of the most recognized and valuable furniture brands ever.
Click&Collect
One of the most famous Omnichannel approaches of IKEA was its Click&Collect service. This service completely revolutionized the way furniture is sold or purchased.
It allowed customers to browse furniture, check its availability in the nearby stores, try it in person and then purchase it online or in-store.
IKEA Apps
Other than the Click&Collect feature, It launched iPhone apps like Place that allowed its users to use AR for virtually trying the furniture at home.
These apps gave personal experiences to the customers and made IKEA stand apart from its competitors.
2)Apple
The second example we can look at is Apple. It is one of the first companies to adopt the Omnichannel strategy in the US.
It has bridged the gap between offline and online shopping better than any competitors.
Its products are available on sites like Amazon. If not, they can be purchased on their website. If not, the user can go to Apple stores and purchase it there. They are everywhere.
Store Locator
One of the most famous moves by Apple in becoming Omnichannel was the ‘Store Locator’ feature on its website.
This feature allowed its users to choose a particular product variant and find out where the exact model (with chosen specifications) is.
I allowed Apple to supply more effectively and get rid of the ‘Out of Stock’ problem that every tech brand faced at the time.
Transition to Software’s
In the last few decades, Apple has transitioned from a computer manufacturing company to a software-focused company.
It has gone everywhere, from iTunes to Apple arcade to Apple tv+ to Apple pay and others.
It has spread its roots everywhere along with its closed ecosystem. These two assets have made Apple’s Omnichannel Strategy one of the most effective on the planet.
End Thoughts
Omnichannel strategy in the 21st century is a need for any business that aspires to survive in the marketplace and grow its sales.
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