Customers will always have some expectations from the brand they spend money on, and rightly so. Is your business living up to its customers’ expectations by providing the best customer service? Are you clear about the significant differences between multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support?

Customer expectations keep changing over time. That’s true, especially over the last few years.

Customers now want more options and additional freedom to interact with their favourite brands across multiple communication channels, primarily via their favourite platforms.

Are you able to do that for them and still stay on top of your customer service game?

Don’t worry. We are here to help.

This blog post will discuss two types of customer service approaches you should be crystal clear about. At the end of it, you’ll be able to compare and contrast multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support.

Why should you focus on customer service?

Customers’ needs are growing exponentially, and all modern businesses should be working toward keeping up with them. Therefore, ensuring you are offering excellent customer support is your best bet.

However, the definition of “excellent customer support”, as we know it, keeps evolving.

In addition, it’s not easy to know where, when and how to get started. Hence, this article.

We’ll outline all you need to know about multichannel customer service and omnichannel customer service so that you can effectively choose between them.

Multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support: Are they the same? 

The answer is no. 

Multichannel is not the same as omnichannel, even though you might think it is. 

The latter involves multiple communication channels, similar to multichannel, but the final customer experience differs significantly. 

Here’s how in short.

• Multichannel customer support does not integrate channels and isolates customer engagement.
• Omnichannel customer support integrates all channels into one dashboard to deliver a consistent customer experience.

Let’s go into more detail to understand this better.

What is multichannel customer service?

In simple terms, when you provide customer support services through two or more different channels, it’s referred to as multichannel customer service.

The sole purpose of having multiple customer interaction touchpoints is to provide customers with a seamless experience. This approach allows them to choose their preferred channels when engaging with you.

However, unlike omnichannel customer service, the details and context of any customer’s previous interactions are not collated.

In addition, different agents attend to different conversations across available communication channels.

That certainly does not mean that this approach is entirely effective or ineffective.

So, why do we need the omnichannel approach, then?

Let’s have a look.

What is omnichannel customer service?

Think of the omnichannel approach as a box. That box contains all the customer data your business has collected across different communication channels.

Having such data enables customer service agents to quickly access what they need in a single dashboard view. That’s incredibly helpful, right?

A single dashboard view doesn’t just make things easier for your agents. It also makes things better for your customers.

It completely changes your customer experience because agents can solve customer queries in a matter of minutes.

Beyond that, this approach makes sharing information among agents much easier and faster.

All of that will have a remarkably positive impact on your customers. They won’t need to repeat their issues more than once so that customer support agents can work on solutions.

Additionally, omnichannel customer service gives your customers the freedom to choose between the different communication channels available to them. That way, they connect with your business through the medium best suited to their needs.

Multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support: Do you understand the critical differences?

Here are three critical things to keep in mind while differentiating these two approaches.

1. Multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support: Personalisation 

Multichannel customer service focuses on the number of ways a customer can connect with a brand. 

While the goal of an omnichannel approach remains the same, it focuses a lot more on understanding the customers and using data to provide a highly personalised experience.

When they contact your business, they expect to be valued and heard. The omnichannel approach achieves this threefold and keeps your customers happy.

2. Multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support: Channel or customer-centric

The multichannel approach allows customers to reach your brand through the maximum number of channels.

The omnichannel approach, on the other hand, is more customer-centric. It focuses on developing stronger customer relationships through a holistic approach—connecting different channels for a unified customer experience.

So, adopting such an approach means giving the utmost importance to your customers’ needs.

3. Multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support: Uniformity

Inconsistency in delivering customer service leaves your customers dissatisfied and gives your business a negative reputation.

The multichannel approach lacks integration, which leads to inconsistency and frustrating experiences for your customers across different channels and agents.

On the other hand, the omnichannel approach offers a uniform and holistic experience that leads to consistency and a more satisfactory customer experience.

Also read: 7 must-have features to look for in call/contact centre software

Multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support: Why should you choose the latter?

You now know the basics of multichannel vs. omnichannel customer service.

Still unsure about which one to choose? We’ve laid it out below.

Here’s why omnichannel customer service is the better option for your business.

1. It increases your return on investment (ROI)

To build a solid customer base that can keep your business as profitable as possible, you need to develop long-lasting customer relationships.

Delivering consistency in customer engagement and experience is one way to do that. Adopting an omnichannel approach is a great way to make that happen.

As a result, you’ll retain existing customers and attract new ones, meaning a more significant return on your investment.

2. It will allow you to save on costs

Saving costs is one of the most crucial things to pay attention to when running your business. Adopting an omnichannel approach can take you one step closer to achieving that goal.

The customer data insights collected by various agents on different channels and stored on a single platform don’t just enable a seamless customer experience – they’ll help you save some money.

Knowing what works and what doesn’t is great for budget cuts.

Such insights can also help you decide where to invest more of your efforts and resources. An example would be studying the metrics that indicate which channels customers engage with the most.

3. It will enable a great customer experience

The omnichannel approach makes sure that your customers receive answers to all their queries via their preferred channels. And if that happens, they are bound to find it very easy to contact you.

Thanks to the collated history, they’ll also enjoy faster resolution times from agents who are well-informed about their history with the brand.

4. It will help improve brand awareness, recall and loyalty

The omnichannel approach increases brand awareness and visibility by offering an integrated customer experience across various channels. 

The emphasis is on consistency and uniformity. That means that your customers experience your brand in the same way across all the channels, resulting in better brand recall and loyalty.  

---

You should also read:

• Inbound vs. outbound call/contact centres: Understand the critical differences
• IVR: What it is and how to create an IVR flow
• Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS): A Complete Guide To What You Need to Know
• 6 Emerging Trends in Digital Communication To Watch Out For

Dive into the world of omnichannel customer support 

We hope that you now have a better understanding of these two different customer support approaches available for your business. 

Having multiple media up and running doesn’t necessarily mean you are all set for customer support success. The exact “how” behind each medium you have set up matters. That is why choosing between multichannel vs. omnichannel customer support is essential.

When you are ready to explore the countless benefits of the latter, we recommend that you choose the right contact centre software to power your efforts.

In particular, we suggest TelebuHub—the easiest way to go “omnichannel” and significantly improve your customer support process! 

Feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or request a demo to get started at any time.