Omnichannel customer care: A business trend for retail enterprises

Yody's Omnichannel Sales Director:

Omnichannel Customer Care is Essential

With the development of social media applications and e-commerce platforms, providing omnichannel customer care has shifted from being a recommendation to a necessary investment for businesses.

According to estimates by GlobalWebIndex, since 2017, each Asian user has had an average of 8.1 social media accounts, with 7 still active by 2023. In the anonymous online environment, businesses need at least the same number of “official” accounts to connect with users, leading to challenges like data overlap and increased access costs.

Mr. Le Thanh Hai, Omnichannel Sales Director of the Vietnamese fashion brand Yody, shared in-depth insights with Brand Vietnam about the advantages, disadvantages, and strategies for selecting software solution providers suitable for businesses.

Why is unified management of omnichannel customer care crucial in the current retail business context?

Around 2018, while working at the electronics retail chain Nguyễn Kim, which had FDI investment, I collaborated with Facebook on an advertising campaign aimed at moving customers from online to offline (O2O). At that time, we realized that a typical customer had around five accounts for online communication, including e-commerce accounts for shopping, social media accounts, and messaging app accounts. We identified each account as a touchpoint, and these interactive touchpoints were all tied to phone numbers and emails, which customers used daily.

With the rapid development of media and e-commerce platforms today, the number of touchpoints per customer has far exceeded five. Based on my estimates, this figure will reach 20 by 2024.

For retail businesses with large store networks, each store generates at least five accounts corresponding to touchpoints for sales and customer care processes across different platforms. The larger the network of stores, the more touchpoints are created. Without a clear, strategic plan, businesses risk falling into a complex and unnecessary management maze.

Another significant challenge is the issue of fraudulent accounts impersonating businesses. There have been cases where the number of fake accounts representing a brand exceeded twice the number of official accounts created by small and medium-sized retail chains in Vietnam. Businesses often only discover this when customers come to exchange or return products under company policy, only to realize the goods were counterfeit and purchased from fake accounts.

In addition to addressing these issues, could unified customer care channels unlock further potential for businesses?

In 2017, when I was working at an electronics retail chain with FDI investment, the challenge I faced at the time was:

For instance, a customer needed warranty support for an air conditioner purchased two months ago. Initially, the customer called the hotline, and a customer service agent promised a resolution within two days. A week passed with no progress, so the customer messaged the company’s Facebook page for the second time and then explained their issue again for a third time via the chat app, receiving the same promise of a two-day resolution.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, the customer went directly to the store to escalate the matter. There, they had to recount their story about the air conditioner for the fourth time. By this point, the customer was furious, asking why they had to repeat their issue four times to the same company.

The challenge I needed to address was how a business could communicate with and listen to customers across all platforms and with multiple customer service representatives while maintaining a consistent approach and resolution process, so seamless that customers would not realize they had interacted with four different service agents.

We approached this issue on three levels: control, optimization, and enhancing the customer experience.

At the first level, which is also the most apparent in terms of convenience, businesses must centralize customer interactions across various channels. This approach reduces operational costs and minimizes risks associated with misinformation, which could directly affect the company's reputation. Consistent communication is ensured across a single conversation with the customer, even when spanning multiple platforms and touchpoints.

For example, as mentioned earlier, during my time at the electronics retail chain, we managed over 500 customer touchpoints in a unified manner with only 75 staff members, including both sales and customer service, from 2017 to 2020.

Currently, at Yody, we are striving to build an All-in-One system to create a consistent customer experience across chat and call platforms. This effort has already reduced processing time from 15 minutes per case to just 2 minutes, saving significant time and resources in daily operations.

At the second level, optimization, customer interactions can be categorized into different states. For instance, in a sales campaign on Facebook, there may be customers requesting to make a purchase, others seeking further advice, and some simply engaging without specific actions.

Businesses need tailored strategies for each state to increase conversion rates, thereby optimizing sales campaigns. Additionally, tracking the conversion rate of each state and monitoring the customer care team's response capabilities are crucial. Without a centralized omnichannel customer care system, implementing this process would be challenging.

Finally, at the third level, enhancing the customer experience. As previously mentioned, each customer now has at least five social media accounts, often identified by a single phone number.

Marketing campaigns and customer connections ultimately aim to identify the customer’s phone number. This allows businesses to create personalized offers and increase the conversion rate of post-sales promotional programs on these platforms with the most optimized advertising costs.

There are many customer care solutions available in the market. Based on your experience, how do you choose the right product for a business?

In my opinion, for a technological solution to operate effectively, it’s not just about the product itself but also the human element, which plays a decisive role.

This is why the role of the business owner is crucial. The owner must have the determination to implement the solution, evaluate the internal capabilities of the business, and decide on the investment timeline to choose a solution that aligns with both the workforce and financial capacity. In the fast-changing fashion retail industry, market demand often shifts every two quarters, requiring adjustments in implementation plans to keep up with market and consumer behavior changes. Additionally, selecting the right person to execute the plan ensures higher accuracy. Choosing the wrong person can cause the business to fall behind competitors and miss opportunities in the evolving market.

Finally, the solution itself should be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Whether the provider’s client portfolio includes businesses in the same industry and of similar scale. The number of services used by similar businesses indicates the maturity and reliability of the provider.

• If there are no businesses in the same industry, examine the provider’s clients in related fields. For instance, F&B and fashion customers often have similar purchasing habits and behaviors.

• Look for case studies where the provider has solved “pain points” for businesses in the same or similar industries.

• All-in-One customer care solutions should have synchronized input and output data to increase conversion rates.

• Check whether the platforms or touchpoints frequently used by customers (currently over 20 touchpoints) are adequately covered.

• Assess the provider’s product upgrade schedule. For example, a three-month upgrade cycle is a positive indicator.

• Evaluate the support team’s responsiveness and engagement. Providers that can offer 16 hours of service, 7 days a week, are a plus.

• Finally, ensure the provider holds data security certifications that comply with government regulations, such as Vietnam’s Decree 13 on customer data protection.

Finally, if you could give it a name that is easy to remember and evokes a sense of consistency in customer care while increasing sales opportunities, what would you call it?

In the era of comprehensive connectivity and optimized customer experiences, renaming CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to Omni Contact Center stems from several strategic reasons:

Shifting from management to comprehensive experience

• Traditional CRM focuses on managing data and customer relationships.

• In the 6.0 era, customer experience has become the most critical factor. Omni Contact Center emphasizes delivering seamless and consistent experiences across all communication channels.

Omni-Channel Integration

• Today’s customers interact with businesses across multiple channels such as phone, email, social media, chatbots, online stores, and e-commerce platforms.

• Omni Contact Center not only stores data but also integrates, manages, and optimizes all customer touchpoints across these channels.

Enhancing Personalization and Automation

• In the era of advanced technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are integrated to personalize customer experiences.

• Omni Contact Center goes beyond "managing" customer relationships to delivering intelligent and tailored experiences for each individual.

Focus on Continuous Interaction

• The name Omni Contact Center emphasizes the ability to maintain seamless, uninterrupted interactions that meet customer needs anytime, anywhere.

Reflecting the Evolving Role of Service Centers

• An Omni Contact Center is not just a management tool but a hub for customer service, sales support, and loyalty building.

Branding and Long-Term Strategy

• The new name represents a commitment to customer-centricity, creates a distinctive mark in the industry, and conveys a message of innovation.

In summary, renaming CRM to Omni Contact Center is not merely a terminological change but a shift in mindset: moving from managing customer relationships to managing and optimizing the entire customer experience journey across all channels.

Thank you.