The word omnichannel is already in daily use, we now need to give it some basis to understand the full extent of its reach.

On too many occasions we have thought that in order to be omnichannel it’s enough just to have a physical store and an online store, but there is so much more to it.

There are more and more sales channels, including more social networks from which to sell. You can’t fall into the trap of forgetting them, as they can open doors to new consumers and new opportunities for growth.

But be careful not to confuse multichannel with omnichannel.

What is omnichannel?

Omnichannel consists of connecting all your sales channels to run like clockwork. All the parts have to fit and work together to deliver a fluid and coherent purchasing experience to your customers.

You have ONE sales strategy and you’re using it jointly across ALL of your sales channels, responding to the specific needs of each channel.

Admittedly selling in a physical store, on an online store or on social media is not the same thing, but by unifying your strategy and adapting it to each one of your channels, consumers won’t notice the difference. They will notice your brand identity in each one and will feel freer to purchase  indifferently through any of your channels depending on their specific needs.

The steps towards omnichannel

Moving from multichannel to omnichannel is a process, it’s a journey that will make you reconnect with your own values and could even inspire you for new services or products.

The first step – the obvious

You need to have more than one sales channel and to want to unify them.

The second step – look inwards

You have several sales channels and you want to unify them but you must understand how they work and how they interact with each other.

Where there is a will there is a way but if your company has been growing according to what’s going on then it is highly likely that there are processes that can be improved on, now is the time to observe and understand how you work internally.

The second step – look outwards

When you know yourself and you are aware of your strong points (without forgetting those details that must be improved on), this is when the time comes to look outwards. To focus on your customers.

Remember that you’re not doing all this just for you, you’re mainly doing it for your customers and you will also need to connect with them for your strategy to be successful.

The last step – go all out

You know yourself, you know your customers and it is now the time to take your business to omnichannel.

Choose your travel companion wisely, someone to accompany you and to guide your throughout the process so you can get the most out of it. Someone who has been in your shoes and who knows the peculiarities of your sector. Did you know that we came from retail? We did, just in case you’d forgotten.

How it works?

Remember that you're not doing all this just for you, you’re mainly doing it for your customers

The benefits of omnichannel

Omnichannel allows you to have a 360º view of your business and of your sales and its benefits are not limited to offering your customer a good purchasing experience.

  • Productivity

You will have full control of your stock. You will know at all times what is selling best in each place both on a channel level and on a city or even a neighbourhood level.

This knowledge is key in saving on production costs, avoiding stock depletion, improving product rotation in-store and in reducing accumulated stock to the fullest.

  • Agility

It doesn’t take a pandemic to prove the agility of efficiently connecting all of your sales channels.

Sometimes the difference is made by something as simple as being able to continue selling even though the store is closed for the holidays, bank holidays, illness, renovation, etc.

  • Confidence

A good organization always transmits confidence. With a good omnichannel strategy you will know what to offer your customers at all times and they will not feel like you are selling them any old thing just to increase their purchase, it’s the difference between selling and reading their minds.

How do I do this?

With a good platform. Easy.

Analysing the data of your online store is easy, the real challenge of omnichannel is in physical stores and, most of all, in unifying them around the most important thing, your customers.

You need a platform that understands the needs of your physical stores and that knows how to integrate them into a global strategy connecting all of your channels and allowing you to analyze the data in real time.

How it works?

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Wapping team

www.wappingweb.com