Digital transformation forever changed the concept of customer experience. As customers bought more goods and services online, their expectations for customer service became increasingly digital — they wanted to connect with customer service when they needed it and on the platform that was most convenient for them at that time. Suddenly, companies who did not emphasise consistency across the customer’s journey fell short when compared to peers who adopted an omnichannel strategy that was ultra-tailored to customers’ preferences and needs.
Omnichannel solutions sought to bridge the gap between customer touchpoints and to create a more holistic journey overall. From the time a customer expresses interest in a product or service, to the moment they’re asked to share feedback or leave a review about a purchase, the omnichannel service strategy aims to operate seamlessly in the background, ensuring that the same level of service is provided at every stage.
While the omnichannel approach has brought significant improvement to the buyer’s journey, it also identified a pain point. Customers still wanted to engage with brands on the platforms that best suited their needs, but the messaging was often inconsistent. While there were many experiences available on many channels, they weren’t necessarily the right experience for the customer at each specific point in their journey.
Enter the multiexperience, which pivots the customer experience focus from technologies, platforms and channels to the meaning and value of the customer interaction being created along the way.
Multiexperience vs. Omnichannel: What’s the Difference?
While omnichannel customer experience and multiexperiences may seem to be the same concept on the surface, the idea of a multiexperience has created a new era for CX. Omnichannel is fueled by creating many buyer touchpoints across all possible channels, whereas the multiexperience concept is driven by building a more effortless customer experience across all touchpoints, regardless of the channel.
CEB, a subsidiary of Gartner, reported that 94% of customers were likely to make additional purchases when they have a low-effort experience with a brand. In a similar vein, 96% of those who had a high-effort customer experience expressed overall disloyalty to a brand. Here, we can understand just how much the effortless experience is worth to the customer — and to brands themselves.
The multiexperience is synonymous with low-effort experiences for the customer, and high effort and intentionality from the brand. It places emphasis on consistency in all actions, rather than consistency in one channel or a few. To succeed in this new environment, customer service operations with voice, email and social media options should work in synchronisation with each other, while also extending the same level of service and experience across newer channels, such as wearable technologies, smart devices and more. In each stage of the journey, the multiexperience guides and shapes the customer’s perceptions and actions, and when the experience is personalised and harmonious, the customer needs to exercise less effort to achieve their goal.
Omnichannel customer service solved the issue of meeting customers where they were and making solutions available on demand — the multiexperience connects the remaining dots of customer service to ensure the customer’s needs are anticipated and understood from day zero to year 100 in their experience with a brand.
The Role of Technology & Analytics in the Multiexperience
Cloud call centres have experienced a technology revolution in recent years, and the multiexperience will undoubtedly have an impact on further investment into and development of digital transformation. Technology and analytics go hand in hand with a successful approach to multiexperiences and can offer brands a wealth of valuable insight into their consumer’s preferences, loyalties and potential paths to purchase. Although data provides this tremendous insight, a PwC report states that just 11% of companies are able to transition customers and the data surrounding their interaction between channels. This means there’s plenty of room to utilise analytics to improve upon the customer journey.
Cloud call centre solutions often consist of standard services, such as voice, email and chat support, though technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) have created new opportunities for multiexperience development and customer engagement. Armed with rich AI insights, agents can better understand the customer before they even pick up the phone or compose a message — and customers feel better supported in their brand experience.
AI technology can also help eliminate repetitive tasks or answer frequently asked questions for customers upfront. These strategies help reduce wait times, to improve customer satisfaction and further develop the multiexperience, where the customer receives seamless, convenient support in each interaction that takes place.
Analytics from calls and chats can identify room for improvement across the multiexperience by recognising patterns, common questions or tasks that can be effectively and efficiently handled through automation. The primary role of technology in the multiexperience is to consistently use data and analytics to further customise and improve the customer’s journey, from awareness and consideration to purchase and retention.
5 Disrupting Elements of the Multiexperience
The difference between an omnichannel approach and the multiexperience lies in disruption. Here, we’ll explore five transformational elements of the multiexperience, each of which serves to elevate and refine the customer journey.
- Multiexperience focuses on the journey rather than the channel.
The customer journey consists of stages we are familiar with, though each customer charts their own path. Where omnichannel focused on making customer service available on every channel — from every social media site, to every customer review site and beyond — the multiexperience aims to make the journey effortless for the customer at every crossroads and touchpoint. - Multiexperience includes all possible touchpoints.
Wearables, IoT devices and even smart TVs can provide an opportunity for a buyer touchpoint. Ensuring that all possible touchpoints are considered — and that the same messaging and level of service is applied to those touchpoints — is a significant differentiator in the multiexperience approach. - Predictive analytics help to make suggestions.
Applying tactics like predictive analytics allows the multiexperience concept to thrive. AI technologies can analyse customer behaviours and interactions to provide agents with suggestions on next steps to take, eliminating potential points of friction and further reducing the customer effort required to find a resolution. - Data helps to understand the customer’s persona and history with a brand. The multiexperience depends on a more holistic view of the customer, which allows the brand to establish more positive long-term relationships that are rooted in connection and understanding. Understanding the customer from their perspective goes a long way — as the customer focuses on actual interactions, rather than the channel where they choose to interact.
- A seamless experience helps the customer make more informed decisions.
In a multiexperience environment, customers receive the information and support they need to make informed, confident decisions — and ultimately, repeat purchases.
Are You Ready for the Multiexperience?
Omnichannel was just the beginning of a global CX transformation. The multiexperience presents countless new opportunities for brands to establish more meaningful, long-lasting relationships with customers that are fueled by a more effortless buyer journey.
As the multiexperience takes precedence in the world of CX, it’s an exciting time for CX leaders everywhere. To learn more about upcoming CX trends for 2022, steps that leaders can take as we enter this new frontier, and how CX delivery models will be reimagined, download the Customer Experience Trends Report for 2022 from Foundever™.