Omnichannel communication thrives on consistent messaging. You never know how people might choose to engage with your brand. Nurturing uniform experiences increases your odds of making your point, which is why so many brands turn to automation.
With that said, it’s best not to be too robotic. Each consumer wants — and deserves — a unique experience. So how can you strike the ideal balance between automation and personalization? Start with these four-pointers.
1. Refine your understanding of omnichannel communication.
Omnichannel messaging isn’t about preparing rote, formulaic emails or repetitive marketing content. You want to sound authentic, and this means developing a genuine brand voice.
Someone who interacts with one of your social media posts should feel as comfortable as they would chatting with a trusted friend. This sentiment should carry across marketing channels: If your audience hops from Facebook Messenger to SMS messaging, the transition must be fluid, organic, and easy.
2. Learn when to automate and when to personalize.
This is a tricky one. Many omnichannel software tools focus on automation features that make it easy to preprogram responses or build helpful artificial intelligence chat apps for your site. These are good starting points, but you should go for something deeper and more universal — sustaining mutually beneficial conversations.
Here’s where personalization comes in. Make no mistake: AI and automation tools can smooth practices like help-desk routing and even optimize your cost-quality analysis tactics, but they need the right input to excel.
In a perfect world, most of your omnichannel messaging would be automated, saving time and labor. Ideally, you’d use personalization to make the critical interactions — the much-appreciated birthday messages, customizable trade event augmented-reality displays, and shopping-habit-aware promos — all the more special.
Omnichannel e-commerce isn’t just about selling or answering support questions. Even if your automated outreach handles the day-to-day heavy lifting, the personalization tools should always be gathering data in the background, waiting to create that magical impact when the time comes.
3. Strike the right balance by focusing on individual satisfaction.
Many brands overlook the fact that their customers are all unique — but “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” doesn’t apply here.
Finding the ideal blend of automation and personalization demands an adaptive approach. Ask yourself:
— Do you allow users to opt-out, and if so, do you go beyond the bare minimum required for regulatory compliance?
— Can users easily escalate tickets to speak to live individuals? Is the process frustrating or seamless?
— Does your omnichannel communication framework accommodate the full range of user habits, or could your segmentation strategy use some wiggle room?
— Do you use sentiment analysis and engagement behaviors to gauge your campaigns, or are you just focused on how many impressions they make?
Consider these questions seriously, especially when kicking off a new omnichannel software integration or deployment. Don’t let your perspective get in the way. Despite your past successes, you must be open to evolving audience needs and tastes.
4. Pick a provider that supports your journey (no matter where it leads).
Healthy brands evolve, and their outreach should too. The intent behind your omnichannel messaging won’t always look the way it does today; your safest bet is to build a system that can keep up.
Flexible, easy-to-deploy integrations are key. Omnichannel e-commerce tools that lock you into a single vendor or framework won’t cut it. Build around systems that let you move fast and break things, and you’ll be freer to explore new revenue streams.
Achieve a More Flexible Balance With Mitto
Ready to get started? Switching to Mitto makes omnichannel communication easier. No matter which touch points get your customers the most excited, there’s an integration to match, so find out more today.