The broken promise of OmniChannel

with Ian Bezanson

Commerce Cloud Practice Lead, Ian Bezanson, is back and discussing the broken promise of the OmniChannel experience. Where are companies going wrong? And how can we unify the experience for customers?

Transcript:

Nichole: For years, we’ve been promised a seamless omni channel experience. So, why does it still feel like we’re fighting the very companies we’re trying to shop with? Today, we’re breaking down the disconnects.So, we’re back with Ian Bezanson, talking about all things e-commerce. So, to start off, Ian, what are people finding frustrating about the omni channel experience right now?

Ian: Well let’s start with what I call the digital echo. You spend days researching a new product. You finally buy it. For the next two weeks, every website and social media feed that you visit
is still aggressively trying to sell you that exact same product that you already own because the ad systems never got the memo. Now, let’s take that disconnect into the physical store. Your own website, which drives customers to your locations, is often treated like a competitor by your sales associates because their commission structures are not aligned with how modern customers actually shop.

Nichole: So, are those two separate problems or really just one big problem?

Ian: Good question. They’re not really two separate problems. They are symptoms of the same root cause. Your business is still operating in channels. Your marketing, your e-commerce site, and your store operations are all run like separate companies with separate data and more importantly, separate goals.

Nichole: And what does that mean for companies?

Ian: The result of that disconnect is wasted ad spend, frustrated employees, and confused customers. This is the broken promise of old school omni channel. You may have connected your channels, but until they are truly unified with a single source of data and one common goal, they will continue to work against each other.

Nichole: So, how do companies get to that single source of data with a common goal?

Ian: That’s the billion-dollar question. The answer is to stop operating in channels and start acting like one unified brand. It’s about delivering on that Salesforce promise of the customer 360 with a single platform creating one continuous experience from the marketing email that they open to your e-commerce store to the final conversation that they have with an associate in the aisle.