In the world of retail, there are all sorts of different options that consumers can use to browse, save their favourite items, and ultimately, make purchases with. Whether it’s on their phone from the comfort of the couch, at their desktop, through social channels or at good old brick-and-mortar stores, our expectations are well and truly catered to.
Wrapped up in all this variety are two similar sounding – but very different – approaches: omnichannel and multichannel. And it’s these differences that can drastically alter the customer experience. But how exactly do they differ?
If you’ve been confused by the two approaches in the past, you’re in the right place. By the end of this article, we’ll have you up to speed on their distinctions, their pros and cons, and real-life examples of both methodologies in practice.
What is a channel?
Before we crack on with any specific differences, it’s well worth defining a few things first. Chiefly: what do we mean by channel?
At its most basic, a channel is the medium through which a brand or organisation communicates with its customers and target audience. These channels can be further broken down into two types of channels: marketing channels and customer contact channels. Let’s take a look at these in more detail below.
- Marketing channels: The mediums a brand uses to increase awareness and promote its products or services, i.e., a website, a physical store, a billboard and product packaging
- Contact channels: The ways in which customers can get in touch with a business such as email, live chat or phone
Keep in mind that channels can act as both marketing and contact mediums. Take emails for example. Along with using them to answer a customer’s question, they can be used in marketing campaigns. Physical stores, meanwhile, can also be used by customers to contact a brand.
This dual functionality is important, so be sure to heed the opportunities: when you speak to your customers through a contact channel, the way you conduct yourself and resolve issues is an advertisement of your business.