Infographic: The evolution of the customer journey and how a DAM helps to master omnichannel

It’s been a journey - Today’s customer journey has come a long way. For many years there have only been a few channels which customers would use for research and purchases like traditional channels such as print and mailings, broadcast and television, and now digital channels. But not only has the number of channels grown, but the way in which they interact with each other has changed. Because of this, today's customer journeys are way more complex, more individualized and more customer-centric than ever before. Discover our infographic on the evolution of the customer journey and find out how you can master the omnichannel customer journey with a DAM to provide an outstanding customer journey, create engagement and boost sales.

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Do you remember the good old times of shopping? Normally, you went to your local shoe dealer and had maybe a vague idea in mind of the pair you wanted.You probably got your inspiration from your friends or because you had seen something on television or in a fashion magazine. Not so long ago, you would maybe additionally surf on the internet from your laptop at home to compare some offers or to buy directly online, if the delivery was not too long or if your local store did not have everything in stock. 1, 2, 3 or maybe 4 channels was everything you used and the customer journey was pretty straightforward. But do you know how many devices and channels people use these days? On average 6 channels on at least two devices!

From single to omni - the evolution of the customer journey

Due to the digital transformation and an on-going growing number of channels and devices, we passed from a traditional single-channel approach to multiple channels.Today, these different channels are also connected to offer a smoother user experience (cross-channel). Omnichannel goes a step further by taking into account how different channels are interactive, interconnected and used at the same time. Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these approaches to fully understand why they differ and why we passed from a single to an omni-channel customer journey and how this is especially important for the retail or CPG industry.  Single channel:

• One single channel and touchpoint
• company-centric

Single channel is the “old-fashioned” way - the customer journey like it used to be back in the days when we typically had only a few options like traditional retail, catalogues, mail order or a few online shops. Even though using only one single channel is kind of outdated these days due to its numerous inconveniences such as missing selling opportunities, not reaching potential clients where they are, missing records of customer behavior, no personalization etc., it can make sense when your financial and human resources are very limited.  Multi-channel:

• Multiple, separate channels and devices
• channels work independently
• no record of customer behavior / compartmentalization
• more customer-centric

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” - this is the multi-channel strategy. In this case, multiple channels are used to provide a more complex customer journey. For example, a traditional retailer would also launch a web shop and place ads on social media. When using multiple channels, content creation, declination and attribution gets more challenging. A DAM solution can support you by providing a central hub for all your content, ensuring brand safety and coherence. The “problem” of a multi-channel strategy is that the channels are separated but today's customer journey is not linear. People switch their devices, they compare offers online and offline, they get inspiration from their Instagram feed, they go back and forth between different channels etc. In order to reach your clients where they are and to understand who they are, multi-channel is not enough.  Cross-channel:

• Multiple, connected channels and devices
• channels are complementary
• record of customer behavior
• more customer-centric

Following a brand on Tiktok, then receiving a promo code via email to finally pass an order online and pick up the item at the next available store, this would be a cross-channel customer journey (and also an example of phygital marketing). In this case, multiple channels are connected and communicate with each other. The final customer experience is way more tailored to the individual, and also allows brands to collect much more data on their clients behavior (when you are using the right tools for data collection like Wedia’s marketing solutions). Omnichannel:

• Key interactions over multiple channels and devices
• Seamless, interactive and interconnected channels
• precise record of customer behavior
• Interaction between brands and customers
• customer-centric, personalized

You might ask yourself, what can there be more than “cross-channel”? Well, you can offer multiple and connected channels, but today you also need to offer an experience. Omnichannel puts the customer at the center of its individual customer journey. It also adds the element of ubiquity: For example using a mobile phone while you are in a physical store. It also suggests that an even greater consistency between channels is needed as customers navigate seamlessly from one to another.

Content as key to your omnichannel customer journey

The omnichannel approach seems quite difficult to handle: Content on scale which also needs to be contextualized, adapted and personalized in order to be used on various channels. As a given, brand consistency needs to be ensured at every step of the customer journey. Powerful tools like Wedia’s Media Delivery and Digital Experience module help you not only tackle all of these challenges but also to analyze how your existing channels perform. So you can precisely track where the most engagement and sales come from and adapt your strategy accordingly. Moreover, you can empower both your online and offline channels and therefore provide phygital shopping experiences. Wedia’s Media Delivery and Digital Experience module is the ideal combination to your DAM solution and very easy to integrate in your existing MarTech stack.

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Wedia, a SaaS software company, offers leading international brands solutions for successfully providing an omnichannel marketing strategy to deliver outstanding customer journeys.