What Customers Want
We are currently in the digital age, retail and business as a whole, are bringing their operations forward to take advantage of all the tools that are now at their disposal to grow their businesses and their brands.
With this advancement in the digital age, customers are more and more able to get what they want, when they want it. Instant gratification, multi-platform accessibility, a seamless or unified shopping experience, whether they're shopping online from a desktop, mobile device, or offline in a brick-and-mortar store.
Customers can simultaneously use different channels in their shopping process, which means they can start their search in one channel and finish the purchase in another. They are given chances to create their own preferable shopping routines, which appears to be more attractive to a new generation of consumers in the digital age.
Immersive Experiences
Though being everywhere seems to be the best way to serve your customers, it�s obvious that a business can�t really be everywhere. The best thing a business can do to provide the experiences customers require is to create the illusion of being everywhere. This is usually done by creating a network of concentrated and overlapping outlets for advertising, public relations and SEO efforts.
In this digital age, customers frequently have screens in front of them, no matter where they are. These screens are the perfect medium by which to show them brands and products they�ll want and need. In utilizing these media, the following steps should be considered:
? The first step to consider when constructing this illusion of omnipresence is to increase your visibility in the places people discover new brands and content. The trick when creating this illusion is that it�s not just about reaching the most people possible through individual channels. It�s about understanding where your target market is paying attention. Be it through twitter influencers, online news, blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram influencers, podcasts, or TV shows and inputting your brand at the intersections of those media properties.
? The second step is retargeting the customers that are already aware of your brand but haven�t purchased anything. According to research, 99% of people that visit the first time don�t make any purchase which means something must have gotten their attention to click but not enough for them to purchase.
Smooth Omni-Channel Shopping Experience
Omni-channel retailing is an all-channel approach to sales that seeks to provide customers with everything they need to achieve the seamless shopping experience that research shows they prefer when shopping for products they need.
In order to understand what omni-channel retailing is, let�s consider some of these following:
? Omni-channel retailing is a strategy that allows your customers to access products or services seamlessly and receive a consistent experience wherever or whenever they prefer to connect, with ease of use in mind.
? Omni-channel retailers have an offline (physical) and online (digital) presence
? The prefix �omni� means �all, every, the whole, of every kind,� which gives the impression of being everywhere, not just one instance of being online and being available offline.
We could see from the above, that this strategy allows customers to start their search in one channel and finish the purchase in another. This allows a customer to see products and deals from their mobile devices and ship things for in-store pick up, ship them to their homes and even process returns or exchanges for previously-purchased items. This is what we mean by a seamless experience.
Today, the average shopping voyage utilizes various channels whereby a consumer may look for a coffee machine on your website, order the item via mobile while on his commute home, and finally choose to pick up his purchase in-store the next day. According to research from Google, 98% of Americans use multiple devices daily to research information on products and to make purchases.
In short, a customer wants full access to your products and brands, ease of purchase from any one of several different platforms or media, and instant satisfaction gratification of their needs.
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