Customer experience is one of the most important things you need to take into account in the retail industry. If shoppers have a poor experience while making a purchase in-store or online, they might not return. Research also shows that people tend to share poor customer experiences with others. 54% shared bad experiences with more than five people.
Apart from offering a great customer experience, brands and retailers need to make sure that shoppers receive a unified brand experience. In this article, we are going to talk about the importance of offering a unified experience on all channels and platforms.
What is a unified customer experience?
Nowadays, customers discover brands and retailers both online and offline. Whether they are scrolling on their feed and discovering your ad or searching for a particular product on Google and stumble on your website, shoppers will interact with your brand in various ways and on different channels.
A brand experience is the sum of all the feelings, sensations, thoughts, and reactions that people have in response to a brand. When brands create seamless consistency across all channels, including design, voice, and, importantly, communication, then we have a unified customer experience.
Providing a unified brand experience is extremely important and can be difficult to achieve, considering the large number of channels and messages used.
The importance of a seamless, unified experience
Customers are demanding a better experience, both in-store and online. This is why brands and retailers need to pay attention to the needs of their shoppers if they want to stay on top of the competition.
Imagine a shopper who always shops in your store and enjoys the experience, finds the product they want, and even signs up for your loyalty program. One day, they scroll on their Facebook feed and find an ad from your brand.
They remember that they bought various products from your store and decide to click on the ad. Once they enter your online store, they don’t recognize the messages and don’t find the same brand voice as they found in-store.
The first reaction might be to close the tab. Then, they might do some digging and find your social media channels and see that the messaging and positioning of your brand are different there too. This will damage your brand image and will have a negative impact on the customer experience.
It is as if our shopper is dating somebody and on the 5th date they meet in a different location and everything seems to have changed. Of course, the shopper feels deceived and no brand wants that.
Customers that enjoy shopping in your store expect to find the same products, promotions, messages, and brand voice on all of your owned channels, no matter if they are online or offline.
How to provide a unified brand experience?
Positioning
Start out by positioning your brand, if you haven’t already. Also, focus on the brand voice because this is how people are going to perceive you. Make sure to have a clear positioning and brand voice and to keep it consistent on all channels.
Map out all customer touchpoints
Mapping out all customer touchpoints allows you to have a clear overview of how your shoppers interact with the brand. This way, you can make sure that you don’t lose sight of one channel when creating messages and promotions.
Focus on digital without forgetting the store
81% of shoppers research products online before buying in-store. The first touchpoints of your customers have moved online and that’s why you should focus on the digital experience.
Also, according to LeadPages, 54% of people want to see content that’s personalized to their interests.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should neglect the in-store experience. If you want to stay on top of the competition and delight your customers, a robotic POSM like Tokinomo is the ideal solution.
Create a seamless end-to-end experience
Last but not least, it’s time to unify the brand voice, brand image, and brand experience on all channels. Offer your customers experiences that amaze them and never forget about their needs.
Make sure that your brand’s voice is heard by your shoppers on every channel. Creating a unified brand experience is an important part of your overall brand strategy. This can impact customer loyalty, brand image, and sales.
