What does multichannel mean, cover and imply?

1. The multichannel experience
Vanina Delobelle, Ph.D.
March, 2013

2. ‘’Multichannel retailing defines the customer touchpoints across all
the channels. It relates to the experience customers are getting by
interacting with the product/brand on websites, rewards, stores,
social media, call center, mobile, email, TV, catalog, print…’’
Vanina Delobelle

3. Multichannel is the
combination of marketing
360, ecommerce and
technology
Vanina Delobelle

4. Web
The web is the vehicle used to sell
the products but also to present
the content related to the
purchasing cycle. At each step the
customer will need a certain type of
information that will help him
advance towards his purchase.
Vanina Delobelle

5. Mobile
This covers both mobile phones and tablets.
It is a simple continuation of the web.
Customers consume the same information on
the go. They buy, they read and they decide
on different places.
Vanina Delobelle

6. Loyalty cards
The points are fostering returning
customers but also it is the best
asset a company has to get a true
360 view of the customer data.
Whatever he does across the
channels, the loyalty card is the
glue to all of them.
Vanina Delobelle

7. Stores
In stores, customer should be able
to experience the products. The
stores should be a big
entertainment experience where
customers can play, get special
offers as soon as they walk in,
should be greeted as VIP based on
what we know about them. The
stores should offer workshops,
games, detailed information on the
products. They should be able to
order all the products (and should
not be limited only to what is
available in store). They should be
able to get the product right away
as they will not wait at the Cashier,
they can return their products or
they can reserve them and get
them as they stop by. The store
should be the big Disney of the
brand.
Vanina Delobelle

8. Social
Be wherever the customers are!
The brand should know how to
talk on the different supports.
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
YouTube, blogs, forums,
Q&A…they all represent a
different segment of customers.
They do not want to get to you,
they want you to get to them and
show them love
Vanina Delobelle

9. Email
Emails are not dead but it does
not mean they need to be
boring. Customers still spend a
lot of time reading emails but
they want emails to be relevant
to them. Personalization of
the content is therefore key to
success.
Vanina Delobelle

10. Call Center
When customers call/chat, they
want it to be fast. They want
you to know right away the
answer to their question and
they want you to know all
about them so that you can
recommend the best thing for
them. The call center agent
should be the customer’s
personal shopper!
Vanina Delobelle

11. TV
Each American still spends 34h a
week watching TV. They are
influenced by commercials but also
as they consume already movies,
they will be buying products
straight from their TV.
Vanina Delobelle

12. Weekly Ads
Can they become more
inspirational and easier to scan?
Do we need all this information?
Why not pushing the weekly
ad on the customers’ mobile
as they walk into the store and
only with the product they are
consuming or the product they
are interested in?
Vanina Delobelle

13. Print
Whether we consume more and
more content on the internet,
we still have relations to prints
in many occasions. How should
my brand be represented? How
do I link print and digital
using QR codes for
example?
Vanina Delobelle

14. Store
Signage
This is to become more
predominantly digital. Prices
can change on the fly, content
can be adjusted as the customer
interacts with the signage. We
talk about RFID but it might be
interesting that depending on
who you are, you can get a
different message on the
product/brand directly while
you are in the aisle.
Vanina Delobelle

15. Packaging
It tells a lot to your customer about how you are considering him and the quality of service you offer. All
attention counts at each touch point!
Vanina Delobelle

16. What does all this imply?
Vanina Delobelle

17. Consistent
experience
If you are great, you have to be
great all the time! The customer
should recognize your touch, should
understand you wherever he interacts
with you. You cannot have a great
website and cheap stores. You cannot
have a great brand but not talk to
customers on social. You cannot have
a great mobile site but a bad
ecommerce experience. Think about
how you stay consistent across the
channels. Once you set the bar, stick
to it!
Vanina Delobelle

18. Branding
What is your brand? What does it
represent to customers? Who is it
addressing to? What are your
segments, your personas? WHO
ARE YOU?
Saying your name is not enough, you
need to have a story attached to it and
talk about it to the people it will
resonate to. Understand your
customers!
Vanina Delobelle

19. …but most of all, it means…
Vanina Delobelle

20. TECHNOLOGY
Our world is run with technology. The
technology improves the experience. It brings
consistency, it brings efficiency and reduces
frictions.
Technologies evolve as fast as customers’
expectations. You have to keep moving, you have
to keep up with it. We are now used to travel
by plane, why do you still force me to use
wagons?
Vanina Delobelle

21. There is no
magic behind
multichannel
…there are
experiences
and a
technology to
enable them.
Vanina Delobelle

22. …and…
Vanina Delobelle

23. CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
It will impact how you are organized, the
skill sets you are hiring, your processes…and
your culture…
Vanina Delobelle

24. …are you willing to do what
it takes?
Vanina Delobelle

25. For more conversations…
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