Winning Loyalty with Omnichannel CRM

Understanding Omnichannel CRM

Customers used to have two main choices when communicating with a brand. They could either walk into a store or call on the phone. Today, there are multiple channels and platforms. They can still visit in person or call, but they can also go to a website with self-service options, visit a social channel like Facebook, conduct business using an app, communicate with a brand’s chatbot and more. More than half of customers engage with three to five channels during each journey they take toward making a purchase or resolving a request. This translates into a lot of crucial information per customer per interaction.

Businesses can collect this interaction data from all possible channels and pool it in a central location. This provides actionable insights for creating a consistent and smooth customer experience - each time and throughout the customer lifecycle. This is what is referred to as an Omnichannel CRM (customer relationship management) system.

By creating a single source of truth for all customer data, omnichannel CRM integrates customer demographics, contact information, social media engagements, interactions with representatives, purchases, service requests, web activity and more.

Further, with embedded AI capabilities, your CRM can help move you from reactive to proactive. It can provide prescriptive recommendations that make sense to your customers and align with their needs. An omnichannel CRM system helps in creating a scalable, consistent and differentiated customer experience - translating into retention and long-term customer loyalty.

Integrating CRM with Your Loyalty Program

The ability to collect and analyze valuable customer data, beyond immediate transactional benefits, empowers businesses with profound insights, and paves the way for a better customer understanding. This understanding can then be leveraged to ascertain, predict and create value for the customer during their next interaction with the business and repeatedly across functions. Integrating CRM with Loyalty expands the loyalty promise, grows the loyalty offerings in personalization, scale & value and evolves the customer loyalty initiative from a program to product to platform - driving relationships, revenue and recommendations across the customer lifecycle.

"This step-by-step method of converting customers into returning customers by targeting them through different channels with different marketing communications and offering them personalized rewards to further amplify brand loyalty is the crux of a omnichannel loyalty CRM program.

CRM & Loyalty Program

Think of the data as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The omnichannel experience is the final image to be formed and the jigsaw pieces represent consumer information. It’s the act of putting this information together that gives brands a 360-degree idea of a consumer’s profile – this includes factors such as his hobbies, the city they live in, lifestyle preferences, and so on. This will enable the brand to create relevant and customized learning experiences.

Obtaining consumer data can also help you take on a number of loyalty marketing initiatives. Access to additional data is an opportunity for your brand to be a part of special occasions; for instance, you can surprise your customers with a free gift with a custom message based on his/her interests. As the competition between different companies intensifies, the brands that will ultimately be successful are the ones who learn how to provide a seamless customer experience and engage effectively with them across all channels.

Now, if a consumer wants to buy, say, a pair of branded sneakers, he starts his research across online and offline channels about the different types of models available in the market. In the next step, he might complete the purchase in a retail store, e-commerce marketplace, or a brand website/app. In the final step, post the purchase, he shares his opinion on the product across social platforms, engaging and interacting with future customers within the same target group. Creating a loyal customer by actively participating in every part of the purchase process is crucial for the success of a business.

Studies have shown that crm loyalty programs can hold the key to effectively chart out customer journeys and turn customers into brand advocates. The biggest benefit of an omnichannel crm loyalty program is its ability to extend benefits beyond just points and cashbacks and offer truly personalized, experiential rewards based on a Single-view of the customer.
These loyalty programs can be in the form of travel vouchers, media streaming subscriptions, exclusive access to latest launches, spa/gym memberships or similar experiential rewards based on the customer profile and interests. It’s also vital to communicate these benefits effectively to the customer and most brand fail at this final step. Consumer awareness about the benefits should be clearly communicated through email, social media, app and the brand website.

Setting Up An Omnichannel CRM Loyalty Program

Before embarking on a the omnichannel loyalty crm implementation journey, it's vital to remember the ultimate goal of the program. This step-by-step method of converting customers into returning customers by targeting them through different channels with different marketing communications and offering them personalized rewards to further amplify brand loyalty is the crux of a omnichannel loyalty CRM program.

Omnichannel CRM Loyalty

Success Story

One brand that has been successful in creating a omnichannel loyalty crm experience is Starbucks. First off, Starbucks offers a free rewards card that can be used whenever a customer wants to complete a transaction at the store. Unlike traditional loyalty programs, Starbucks made it really convenient for users to recharge their card via their phone, or in person in a Starbucks store. If you make any changes to the card or to your profile, it gets updated across all the relevant channels, in real-time. Being a member of the Starbucks loyalty program also ensures that members are eligible for free drinks, free size upgrades and free drink customisations.There are three main tools that a brand/marketer needs in their toolkit for setting up a successful omnichannel crm loyalty program -

From Rewards & Redemption to Experience and Content

When it comes to loyalty rewards, it’s no longer just about the transaction at point of purchase; it’s about additional experiences and services that create new touchpoints. Pursue content and experiences to drive up engagement and get consumers more connected with the brand. By balancing monetary rewards with experiential offerings you can provide value beyond the transaction, appealing to the consumer’s head and heart.

From Siloed Programs to Connected Offerings

Tap into complementary product and service offerings to create your own brand ecosystem. Look across all you can offer customers to tie together their commerce and non-commerce moments.

From Company-focused to Ecosystem enabled

Look at strategic partnerships to provide consumers with more holistic experiences, tailored to individual consumer lifestyles and ecosystems. It offers a host of benefits for all member brands - broader access to consumer data, cross-marketing opportunities for customer acquisition and engagement, and economies of scale from shared IT infrastructure and more.

Capillary’s Value Delivery Framework for Loyalty and CRM

Capillary stands out in the Loyalty Solutions industry by offering services such as Loyalty program design, Strategic program consultation, Agile program modification, and updating. This approach empowers businesses to adapt swiftly to changing market dynamics.
Our Value Delivery Framework for Loyalty and CRM is a revenue-based commercial model based on best practices, benchmarking, and learning from hundreds of in-market programs. The framework can determine the financial impact delivered by your loyalty program, measure true loyalty delivered sales, quantify the financial impact of the loyalty program and unlock up to 20% topline growth!

Faster Deliveries6

An intelligent order management system can foresee bottlenecks in delivery according to real-time conditions, and reroute the delivery onto the fastest route. Additionally, an OMS offers flexibility with delivery. Based on the clients requirements, the order can intelligently be split into multiple shipments based on costs or delivery location. In comparison to a traditional delivery system, using an OMS automatically provides the inventory personnel detailed information on the delivery at hand, leaves less room for human error, saves time and streamlines the entire process.