What is omnichannel e-commerce?
Picture this: You’re scrolling through your social media, and a post about a newly released gadget from a well-known brand catches your eye. Curious, you tap on the link on the post, which brings you to the product page on the brand’s website.
You already have an account with the brand, so you quickly add the gadget to your cart but don’t buy it because you got distracted by something else.
A few days pass—the gadget is still in your cart, but it has slipped your mind because you became too busy with work.
On your way home, you receive an email from the brand notifying you that you left the item in your cart. The brand also encouraged you to buy the item, creating urgency by telling you that stocks are selling out rapidly.
Days passed, and the items are still in your cart, waiting for you to check them out. The seller even offers you a discount. You didn’t pay too much attention and went on with your day.
The brand’s messaging is effective—you don’t want to miss out on the new gadget, so you take the plunge, proceed to the checkout page, and finally buy the product.
You receive another email from the brand confirming your purchase and letting you know the gadget will arrive at your doorstep in two to three days.
This situation is an example of an omnichannel e-commerce experience.
The brand engaged with you through various channels, including their website, social media, and email. Their messaging was consistent and effective, motivating you to buy an item that was no longer on your mind.
By providing consistent support across different channels, e-commerce businesses can enhance customer satisfaction, foster loyalty, and drive sales.
This blog post will discuss omnichannel support in detail, including its value, benefits, and challenges.
Let’s begin.
The Value of Omnichannel Customer Support in E-Commerce
Omnichannel customer support in e-commerce makes it easier for customers to resolve their concerns about your products and purchase at their convenience, no matter where they are or how they like to shop.
With limitless options at your customers’ fingertips, you must provide a seamless customer experience on your customers’ preferred channels to stand out and prevent your customers from choosing your competitors.
According to a study, businesses that sell online and in-store keep 89% of their customers longer and make them happier.
With omnichannel customer support, you can engage with customers and offer the same high level of service via social media, chat, email, or phone. Providing multiple support channels makes customers happier and reduces their chances of leaving for a competitor. Customers love it when they can buy things quickly and receive a consistent experience, regardless of the platform.
As an e-commerce business owner, you should meet your customers where they are. Most customers today prefer engaging with brands on social media and shopping on their smartphones, so you must offer mobile-optimized support.
In addition to mobile optimization, you must also provide seamless support across all channels.
For example, if customers call your support line for concerns, agents must enter the necessary notes into their systems. These notes must be visible in your other channels so that customers who interact with support agents using other channels avoid repeating themselves.
Developing a seamless and well-integrated omnichannel support system will significantly improve your customers’ experience and show that you value their time.
5 Benefits of Outsourcing Omnichannel Customer Service
Outsourcing omnichannel customer service can improve e-commerce customer experience.
1. Expert Help
Business process outsourcing (BPO) providers are customer support experts who can provide solutions on the specific platforms you use to engage with customers. You can rest easy knowing that the right BPO partner can solve your problems using their extensive experience and the latest tech innovations.
2. Cost Savings
Having your team help customers on different platforms can be costly because you need to pay for the tools, training, and people.
Partnering with a BPO provider can help you save money since you only pay for the team you need. You don’t need to worry about the tools, tech infrastructure, and training because your BPO partner will handle everything.
Furthermore, using the offshore outsourcing model can save you a ton of cash since the countries where offshore BPO providers operate often have much lower labor costs than the US.
3. Scalable
Outsourcing providers have the flexibility to adapt to your needs.
For example, they can quickly increase the number of outsourced team members to help your store during busy times, like significant holidays or new product launches.
The right outsourcing partner can quickly scale up or down with you, which makes hiring them practical and reasonable.
4. Improved Customer Experience
Hiring an outsourcing customer support team can improve your online store.
These teams have the tools and knowledge to ensure a good customer experience across all channels. They’ve had extensive experience helping other e-commerce businesses, meaning they will also know how to help you.
5. Time To Focus on What You Do Best
When you partner with a BPO provider, you and your in-house teams can focus on your core competencies, such as growing your business.
Depending on your current goals, you can also focus on tasks like developing new products, implementing new marketing strategies, or improving your e-commerce website.
4 Challenges of Managing Omnichannel Support
While providing omnichannel customer support has its perks, it’s not without its downsides.
Here are four issues you may face when managing omnichannel customer support teams.
1. Integration Complexity
Combining multiple channels to provide a consistent customer experience requires the right technology and strategy.
You must sync and seamlessly integrate each channel to enable real-time updates and smooth communication.
2. Resource Demands
Helping customers across various channels requires significant effort, staffing, and tech infrastructure.
You must do your due diligence to ensure you partner with a BPO provider with skilled people, comprehensive training and development protocols, and the necessary infrastructure.
Working with a BPO partner doesn’t stop at the hiring phase. You must determine specific metrics for your outsourced teams and continuously monitor their performance. Regular performance monitoring helps verify if your outsourced teams meet their metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs).
3. Handling Data
Keeping track of countless customer information can be challenging when talking to customers on multiple channels.
You need a robust security infrastructure to safeguard customer data across multiple channels. You also need a well-trained customer support team that fosters a data security-oriented culture and understands the security risks inherent in outsourcing.
4. Maintaining Quality
Ensuring customers have a great experience across all your support channels can be tricky. That’s why you must consistently monitor your team’s performance and ensure they appropriately handle all customer queries or concerns.
How Outsourcing Can Boost the E-Commerce Customer Experience
Outsourcing providers bring the expertise, technology, and scalability needed to manage complex omnichannel systems. You and your in-house teams can focus on doing what you do best and leave the customer support tasks to your BPO partner.
Hiring outsourced customer support teams also offers flexibility and scalability, which are difficult to achieve with an in-house team.
Customer expectations are higher than ever, and having an outsourcing partner who can quickly adapt to new trends and demands is a blessing that helps you stay competitive and exceed customer expectations in the fast-paced and ever-changing world of e-commerce.
Discover How ClearSource Can Help You Transform Your Customer Support
Providing exceptional customer support should be your top priority. If you’re ready to take your customer service to the next level, ClearSource can help you with omnichannel customer support solutions. We will work with you to align with your business goals, values, and needs.
At ClearSource, we understand the challenges of managing omnichannel support. That’s why we offer the tools, technology, and experience you need to deliver excellent customer experience across all platforms. We are your one-stop shop for all your e-commerce needs!
Contact us today and let us help you focus on growing your business while we handle your customer support with the care you and your customers deserve.
