In the digital age of retail, to understand and empower customers based on their needs is an ongoing priority. It is common knowledge that customers expect seamless experiences across various channels. They demand consistency and contextuality in communication. And every time they interact with your brand, they leave behind valuable information about themselves. The most successful retail brands are those with harness omnichannel insights from these interactions to improve the way they deliver customer experience.

Whether they offer feedback on your brand’s Twitter page, interact with your e-store’s chatbot, or call your contact center to return a product, your customers are looking to be heard. A Harvard Business Review reported that “23% of the customers went back to do business with retail stores, within six months after an omnichannel purchase.” So, a little personalized attention tossed their way can make them more loyal to your brand.

How can it be achieved?

That’s where iPaaS comes into play.

Omnichannel-preparedness with iPaaS

iPaaS-enabled omnichannel integration helps retail brands to intelligently connect their customer channels and internal systems to create a unified experience environment. It synchronizes the flow of data between disparate sources and creates a database of actionable insights.

However, it’s easier said than done, though, especially while working with legacy systems. For instance, the brand can engage at a brick-and-motor store through information kiosks, self-checkout scanners, digital payment gateways, and feedback forms. In the online world, there has been an explosion in the number of channels – from apps and websites to social media platforms. Furthermore, emails and phones continue to hold the fort as primary communication interfaces.

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves” – Steve Jobs

iPaaS gives you the power to maintains brand uniformity and service excellence across these available channels. You can instantly deliver memorable experiences, uninterrupted, even if the customers engage with your brand through online and offline channels simultaneously.

Empowering data to meet the ‘big picture’ goals

iPaaS-enabled omnichannel integration gives you control over your data flowing through your disparate systems. The tangible benefits are seen at the juncture where you interact with your customers. If they are reaching out to you with a service request, you can accurately predict what issue they may be facing – based on previous interactions. Or if a customer backs out from making a purchase in your e-store, you can send a discount offer to their email in the immediate future. Some of the other actionable outcomes include:

• Ensure agility, efficiency, and speed in your decision-making processes that affect channel engagement
• Maintain the inventory based on trends to curb out-of-stocks situations
• Detect patterns on cart abandonments, email click rates, and call sentiments to address pain points
• Reduce the waiting time of branding engagement; meet them where they are
• Make a lasting brand impact, anytime and anywhere

“Companies with extremely strong omnichannel customer engagement retain on average 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for companies with weak omnichannel customer engagement” – Aberdeen Group

Digital transformation starts from within

iPaaS helps retail brands to adapt to a world where technology is continually changing. It keeps their operations lean, focused, and ready to scale at the drop of a hat. With iPaaS, your workforce can operate diligently without incurring the burden of manually undertaking mundane tasks or going through a series of complicated steps before accessing customer data. They can smoothly switch between a legacy CRM tool and a modern conversational interface while retaining the information that is passed through either of the systems.

Now, your workforce can focus on adding value to what truly matters – customer happiness. It also creates a culture of collaboration that leads to better overall workforce performance.

With iPaaS-enabled omnichannel integration, your leadership teams can better address the challenges faced at the operations level while taking steps to mitigate them proactively.

8 ways you can re-imagine your customer experience strategy

1. Enable multiple payment modes to pay for their purchases
2. Promote personalized campaigns when they browse your websites
3. Send coupons to their mobile device once they are inside your store
4. Create interactive conversations in the world of IoT interfaces powered by Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality
5. Sync your CRM data with the marketing tools to build 360-degree customer views
6. Cross-sell or up-sell to give them a more fulfilling purchasing cycle
7. Provide easy mobile-friendly check-outs, refunds, and cancellations
8. Give real-time updates about the order and eliminate redundant tracking steps

Today, customer engagement has become increasingly category-agnostic. Delighting your customers with memorable brand interactions, no matter where they are or how they choose to connect with you, is no longer a luxury. It may be a make or break moment in the new world of retail.

Aspire Systems is one of the few Dell Boomi global certified system integrators. We help clients to get the most out of their Boomi iPaaS platform by providing industry-leading integration practices to build a connected business and drive digital transformation.

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