Omnichannel customer service has quickly become the gold standard for support, and one which is expected by a growing number of customers.
In short, omnichannel CS means that there are multiple contact methods for reaching customer service – such as phone, email, chat, etc – and that all customer history records are shared across all channels. If a customer begins a support ticket via chat, but decides to switch to phone support, the telephone agent will have a record of the chat log and can pick up exactly where the customer left off. This creates an excellent omnichannel customer experience (CX).
That's the main difference between omnichannel and multichannel support. Multichannel simply means there are multiple channels, but they're disconnected and handled separately. Within a multichannel system, when that hypothetical customer uses chat but switches to phone, the phone agent would not have access to the chat log.
What Are the Key Differences Between Omnichannel and Multichannel Customer Service?
The differences are clear-cut:
| Multichannel | Omnichannel |
| Many disconnected channels | Many integrated channels |
| Redundant tickets repeated across channels | Single tickets shared across all channels |
| Customers repeat themselves | Customers only give info once |
| Agents wastefully duplicate effort | Agent activity is optimized |
| Higher CS support costs | Lower CS support costs |
| Results in poor customer experiences | Creates excellent customer experiences |
Between the two, there's no comparison. Multichannel is better than having a single contact channel, but omnichannel delivers a far better customer experience as well as cutting costs by optimizing agent activity.
What Are the Core Channels of Omnichannel Customer Service?
Omnichannel customer service encompasses all possible contact points a customer might utilize. In general, this includes:
- Telephone voice support
- Social media accounts
- Website chat rooms
- Self-serve portals
- Mobile apps
- In-person support, when applicable
Ideally, all of these channels feed into the same central database. So whenever an agent (or AI bot) in any channel interacts with a customer, they instantly have access to that customer's contact history across all channels.
How can you implement an effective omnichannel contact center? With a better Knowledge Management System (KMS) facilitating your customer management.
Why Is Knowledge Management the Foundation of Omnichannel Service?
The key challenge of implementing omnichannel support is centralizing the customer records so they're instantly available to all agents across all channels. This is most easily accomplished with modern Knowledge Management Systems.
Current AI-powered KMS tools are excellent at pulling in data from across your operation and collating it in realtime. All customer records go into the same knowledge repository, regardless of the origination point. Then they become available to agents, AI bots, or potentially even the customers themselves via self-service portals.
This means:
- All agents have a full overview of the customer's history.
- The customer does NOT have to repeat their information or start over when working on a tech support problem.
- AI systems can deliver contextual suggestions and support based on the customer's complete history.
- Agents – human or AI – deliver more accurate answers.
- Contact average handle times go down; first-call resolution goes up.
- Overall support costs drop due to efficient processes.
- Customer satisfaction rises thanks to improved CX.
An investment in a new KMS can pay dividends almost immediately, through lowered support costs and improved customer retention.
Frequently Asked Questions
The difference is integration. Multichannel CS offers many contact options, but those options are separate and do not share data. Omnichannel support offers the same choice of contact methods, but with a unified customer history that tracks all touches across all channels with instant access.
Omnichannel can integrate any/all customer contact channels, but the most common are:
- Phone/voice
- Chat
- Social media
- Mobile apps
- Self-service portals
- In-person (if applicable)
Customers quickly become frustrated if they have to repeat the same information to different contact agents, over and over. Omnichannel ensures all agents are aware of all contacts, regardless of channel, creating a much smoother customer experience. This translates directly to improved CustSat scores.
A centralized Knowledge Management System is a must-have. This allows all customer records to be handled through the same system, and be available to all agents.
When customer records are centralized and instantly updated in real time, all contact channels have access to the same information. Support becomes unified, and customers receive better service.
In Conclusion: Omnichannel Support + KMS = Happy Customers
When new customer acquisition typically costs 5x-10x as much as customer retention, implementing services based around improving customer satisfaction simply makes sense. Omnichannel support can significantly boost your CX and prevent frustrated customers from churning, while also streamlining your overall CS operations.
KMS Lighthouse can be your partner for improved knowledge management! Our cutting-edge AI-powered KM tools are already in use around the world, as businesses discover the benefits of next-gen KMS systems.
Contact us to learn more, or to request a free demonstration.