Omni-Channel vs Multi-Channel vs Multi-Modal

What's the difference? 

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Omni-Channel vs Multi-Channel vs Multi-Modal
Contact CentreInsights

Published: September 7, 2021

Anwesha Roy - UC Today

Anwesha Roy

Your channel presence is a vital cog in customer engagement, and especially after 2020, your ability to reach out to customers via digital matters more than ever.  

Research indicates a clear correlation between business success and channel presence.  For the strongest omni-channel retailers, customer retention rates are significantly high at 89%, which for the weakest performers stands at just 33%. 90% of customers will use more than 1 device to achieve a single purchase objective, which is why it makes sense to spread your brand presence across multiple channels, targeting multiple devices.  

There are a number of ways to approach this. For brands looking to go beyond a single channel e-Commerce store, voice-based customer support, or physical kiosks in 2021, you could consider going omni-channel, multi-channel, or multi-modal.  

All of the three strategies imply that you are present across more than one channel. This includes both marketing/sales and customer service. Not only will you leverage an e-Commerce store, physical outlets, mobile apps, etc. to sell your products, but you should also be able to support customers via email, chat, voice, social media, etc.  

But if all three strategies entail more than one channel footprint, what is the difference between omni-channel, multi-channel, and multi-modal? There are three parts to this discussion.  

  1. The degree of integration 

Omni-channel – All channels are interconnected so that there is a single source of customer data informing every interaction

Multi-channel – There is no integration between channels, and customers only enjoy the flexibility of choosing a convenient channel but do enjoy continuity

Multi-modal – There is partial integration between channels, as customers can interact via two channels, at the same time. But it may not be possible to enable continuity across channels

  1. Contextualised support 

Omni-channel – Omni-channel ensures that interactions on one channel happen in the context of previous interactions, even if they cut across different channels. Customers do not have to repeat information

Multi-channel – There is no cross-channel contextualisation, and the customer might have to repeat information shared across other channels (information shared via the same channel will be stored)

Multi-modal – Customers can interact via two channels at the same time – e.g., speaking to an agent on the phone while performing authentication via email. There is a primary channel (in this case, voice), which forms the context for the other channel. The contextualisation lasts only for the duration of that specific interaction

  1. CX opportunities 

Omni-channel – Omni-channel CX presents a lot of opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling, as agents can promote personalised offers based on cross-channel histories

Multi-channel – The opportunity lies only in workload optimisation, as customers can route fewer complex queries via email or chat. There’s also a degree of CX improvement due to greater flexibility

Multi-modal – It provides agents with the ability to perform complex interactions and query resolution tasks, gaining from multiple channels. For example, the agent can guide a purchase via a mobile app, process secure payments via SMS, or share promo codes via email while talking on the phone

 

 

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