Businesses Need to Break Down Silos to Deliver an Omnichannel Customer Experience

If businesses want to provide an omnichannel experience, they must first break down silos. In the long run, it has an impact on the customer experience and retention. Therefore, it’s critical for businesses to make sure they don’t fall behind because they are hesitant to change and adapt to the current customer landscape.

Silos are beginning to present challenges for customer service as more digital consumers access a brand through numerous channels. As a result, breaking down silos and providing a more omnichannel experience is becoming increasingly vital to retain people.

While silos can promote departmental independence and accountability, it’s crucial not to exaggerate their benefits. The drawbacks that silos create for businesses are significantly more than ever before, especially in this day and age. They produce an organizational culture that is completely disjointed, which can make interdepartmental processes costly and inefficient.

The impact of silos on consumers

Customers receive inconsistent service from a siloed company. No matter what platform they choose for interacting with the business, digitally native customers demand seamless service, clear and coherent responses, and assistance.

Silos will act as a big hurdle in the way meeting these requirements. Consumer churn affects about 80% of businesses, according to Zendesk’s 2020 Customer Experience Trends Report.

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Many companies are turning to omnichannel delivery platforms to solve the problems that a siloed organization causes. Companies investing in omnichannel experiences increases from 20% to over 80%, according to a PwC 2020 Retailing report.

Omnichannel Consumer Experience

A good omnichannel consumer experience is vital due to changing consumer behavior. Omnichannel customers are more valuable to brands, according to a 2017 Harvard Business Review study, which revealed that omnichannel customers spent 4% more in stores and 10% more while purchasing online.

These customers may start their buying experience on one channel and finish on another. The sale may be lost if the experience and information supplied through various channels are inconsistent. As a result, it’s critical to eliminate the silos that may be causing the inconsistency.

Breaking down silos

Here are a few strategies that businesses can adopt for breaking down silos via an omnichannel consumer experience

Understanding mutual priorities – Companies can begin by refocusing all of their departments’ efforts to ensure that they are all working toward the same goal. Every department in the company needs to understand what the aim is and that it is a shared goal. Furthermore, everyone must be aware of their part in achieving the end goal.
This will enable each department to recognize that they are all cogs in the same machine, resulting in increased cooperation.

Prioritizing customer experience – When each department is aware of their responsibility to customers, they are more inclined to collaborate and offer assistance when needed. CMOs should visit with each team and explain how a lack of teamwork will negatively impact the company’s consumer service. Allowing everyone to make suggestions on how to make the collaboration process more efficient will ensure that everyone feels heard. This is the most effective method for gaining everyone’s support.

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Employees acting as mediators – These employees will make departmental integration and cooperation easier and develop more trust and interdependency. They are independent individuals who ensure that all departments work smoothly.

Using data from clients – Brands should create profiles of their customers based on the data and feedback they receive. A comprehensive Customer Relationship Management platform is a fantastic approach to manage this information. Brands can have a better understanding of their customers’ demands by defining them. This allows them to determine which aspects of consumer service are more vital to focus on, where to target specific products and services, and how to provide the best experience to the customers.