Consistency and availability are key in the modern digital communication era. Customers are in more places than ever before and lenders must refocus their strategy accordingly. It’s not enough to have a multichannel approach, as the typical customer will require a number of interactions before converting. Implementation of a unified omnichannel approach allows your agents to seamlessly engage as their leads turn into customers, all the way through the loan process. This means that the experience will never change, regardless of the channel that they’re using.
An effective omnichannel communication strategy will meet the demands of your customers in the form of efficiency, satisfaction, and availability. As a lender, it’s important to understand the difference between the two models and restructure your approach accordingly.
What’s the Difference Between Omnichannel and Multichannel?
The two models have many similarities but only a few big differentiators. For starters, they both offer communication opportunities through multiple channels. Popular features are also commonly shared between the two systems. So what’s the big difference? The major separator: integration capabilities and unification of all channels on a single dashboard.
Omnichannel focuses on providing a cohesive experience throughout the communication process. If a customer starts on one channel, they can move to another and pick up where they left off. This capability mitigates redundancy in the conversation and allows agents to reference prior inquiries, transfer leads to a new agent, and gain valuable insight about the customer that they’re working with.
Omnichannel reporting provides useful indicators, reflective of each customer. Invaluable metrics such as the customer’s buying behavior, preferred channel, and purchase history can paint a picture that leads to higher conversions and increased ROI.
Provide An Experience to Remember
Customers want a sense of value when interacting with your company and it all starts with the communication experience. Approximately 57% of customers will abandon an online purchase if they don’t receive timely responses to their queries. This statistic is a direct indicator that the lack of an omnichannel experience can dilute a customer’s experience and result in lead loss. Not only will a well-implemented omnichannel strategy yield a higher conversion rate, but it also provides a unique and personalized experience for the customer.
Omnichannel gives your agents the capability to efficiently manage many inbound leads from multiple channels at once. Once a lead converts and reinitiates a conversation, your agents will have access to past conversations and any information that was gathered. All of this and more provides an unmatched experience for not only your customers but your agents as well.
The Journey…
We’ve discussed some of the benefits that an omnichannel strategy can yield, now lets see what the full digital lending process looks like for the customer:
1. A Lead Messages You on a Channel of Their Choosing.
Being available on multiple channels offers a way for customers to reach your agents, regardless of where they initiate the conversation. The experience is universal regardless of channel and the conversation can be conducted cross-channel if necessary.
2. Automated and Live Processes Provide an Efficient Experience.
Custom flows can make the consumer experience feel seamless as a busy agent manages multiple leads at once. After automation collects and routes information/data, a live representative can join for a more personalized approach. This relieves unnecessary downtime and provides a consistent experience for every lead.
3. The Loan Application Process
Obtaining a loan can be a long process and it’s important to remember that transparency and consistency is crucial for any successful communicative journey. Integrations allow custom flows to pull features and unique widgets into the chat and can provide on-demand insight on loan status updates or pre approvals. If multiple conversations are required for one customer, all messages will be saved for reference and they can pick back up on any channel.
At your company’s preference, SMS updates can be set to notify the customer of any updates in the loan process. This creates a more positive company perception as it promotes a sense of transparency and reduces the amount of “fishing for info” a customer has to do.
4. Returning Customers
Customers return to what is familiar to them, especially when their prior experience was good. Using an omnichannel model gives your company the ability to reconnect with these customers and have information at hand from past interactions. Individuals can easily apply for another loan or inquire about another product quickly and with a familiar process.
Conclusion
Customers interact across multiple channels and it’s important that your company provides a consistent experience across all of them. An omnichannel model provides transparency, efficiency, and a personalized approach to conversations. As multiple leads message your company, automated processes and custom flows can activate to help busy agents save time and reduce wait times for customers. After a conversation has been initiated, a live representative can utilize integrated features and converse over multiple channels, consolidated onto a single dashboard. Omnichannel truly is the future of digital communication providing a more intuitive consumer experience and fostering long term B2C relationships.
For more information about how an omnichannel strategy can transform your communication process and convert more leads, reach out to us for a demo! We can work with you and the rest of your team to determine if Botsplash is the right fit for your needs.
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