The role of omnichannel analytics in improving CX

No longer just a buzzword, omnichannel is now an integral part of any good customer experience (CX) strategy. But are businesses maximising its true potential?

I would argue that in South Africa specifically, omnichannel is often a box companies merely tick in an effort to have a presence across multiple channels, because this is what customers want.

However, in just ticking this box, many are actually confusing multi-channel (multiple platforms) with omnichannel (multiple platforms that integrate seamlessly), while missing out on some of the key benefits of a well-implemented omnichannel system. Specifically, the role of omnichannel analytics in driving business growth.

Important to note is that for the purpose of this article, I’m referring predominantly to digital omnichannel platforms.

As the customer journey becomes increasingly fragmented and complex, a good omnichannel solution enables businesses to track and analyse unified customer data across all channels and platforms (eg, e-mail, social media, in-app services, chatbots, web analytics, etc). This provides insights into customers’ changing needs and preferences, and businesses can then tailor their strategies accordingly.

A McKinsey report states 78% of consumers don’t get a consistent omnichannel brand experience, and 67% of companiesblame the lack of effective customer analytics across channels for this.

It’s no secret that customer insights and data have undeniable power in making or breaking a business.

Clearly, this is a thorn in the side of many a CEO. PwC’s 26th Global CEO Survey (2023) reported that changing customer demands and preferences was the top issue CEOs highlighted as the main challenge to profitability in their industry (56%). This over concerns of regulation changes, skills shortages, new competitors, and even tech disruption like AI and blockchain.

It’s no secret then that customer insights and data have undeniable power in making or breaking a business. Its main appeal being its ability to foster business growth. In analysing customer data efficiently across all channels, and gaining a deep understanding of customers, companies are in a better position to identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities. Further to this, these insights can have an impact on how the business innovates and expands its offering.

One of the main benefits of omnichannel analytics is how the data can reveal bottlenecks in a customer’s journey. In a multichannel system, understanding these bottlenecks sufficiently can be extremely challenging because departments are generally so fragmented, but in an omnichannel system that integrates customer insights and communication, the data can be clearer.

Let’s look at some of the other ways omnichannel analytics can help with CX improvements:

Create a unified customer view: Using a customer relationship management system to consolidate all customer data in one place. This allows customer interactions, preferences and purchases to be tracked across all channels, while preventing data silos.

Channel optimisation: Omnichannel data can help businesses optimise each channel for maximum impact. By analysing customer behaviour on each channel, businesses can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimise the customer experience.

Sales and marketing: By analysing customer behaviour across channels, businesses can identify which channels are most effective for reaching and engaging customers, allowing them to tailor their sales and marketing efforts accordingly.

Of course, data analysis comes with its own set of challenges, such as data quality. With multiple channels and touchpoints, there can be discrepancies in data collection methods and the accuracy of the information.

The best way to overcome this is to standardise the collection process (eg, standard naming conventions) and create a centralised database. This way the analysis of data is fair and factual.

Another challenge is having the right skills and technology in place to analyse and interpret customer data. This can often be where the breakdown happens. The integration of multiple channels and systems is in place and working efficiently, but the right resources to mine the data correctly are not available.

To create a data infrastructure that supports successful omnichannel analysis, one of the best things to do is leverage real-time customer experience platforms. Bring together first-party data from multiple platforms and create unified customer profiles that are updated in real-time.

Use data analysis implements like social listening tools to gather and analyse what customers are saying about their experience on social media. These tools allow companies to measure positive sentiment versus negative sentiment in areas they likely wouldn’t have previously considered.

There are also a variety of ETL (extract, transform and load) tools that companies can use to assist with integrating omnichannel data.

By investing in the right omnichannel analytics tools and infrastructure, a business stands the chance of not only enjoying a steady upward curve of growth, but it can beat out competitors too.

The core of this growth lies in the customer, not the price or product.

As Steve Jobs once said: “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, not the other way round.”

The best shot at getting this right is to gather the data (across all channels, not just a few), analyse it effectively, and get under skin of the customer to find out what they are really thinking and feeling.