Omni-Channel Customer Care

Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless Experience

October 2013
Omer Minkara

Omni-Channel Customer Care: Empowered

Customers Demand a Seamless Experience

October 2013

Analyst Insight

Customers are no longer confined to a single channel or device to engage

businesses. Todays customer journey might start in one channel (e.g., web)
and proceed through numerous other ones (e.g., social media, email, and
phone). Furthermore, these conversations can take place across numerous
modes of interaction (e.g., in-store / person, smartphone, and tablet) where
each modality has its own characteristics (e.g., mobile device operating
systems and screen sizes). Findings from Aberdeens March 2013 NextGeneration Customer Experience Management research shows that the ability
to deliver a seamless / consistent experience across multiple channels and
devices (a concept referred to as omni-channel) is a top challenge
impacting customer experience management (CEM) programs in both
B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) organizations.

Aberdeens Insights provide the

analysts perspective on the
research as drawn from an
aggregated view of research
surveys, interviews, and
data analysis.

This Aberdeen report will outline the business value of deploying an omnichannel CEM (see sidebar for definition) strategy designed to address
changing buyer needs. It will also highlight several best practices that help
top performing organizations differentiate themselves through achieving 89%
customer retention rate while growing their annual company revenue by
9.5% year-over-year.

Definition: Omni-channel
Customer Experience

The Business Value of Omni-Channel Care

Omni-channel customers are not only a reality for B2C organizations such
as retail and hospitality firms, but also a key factor impacting CEM programs
of B2B businesses. Similar to an airline traveler who might use different
devices and channels to interact with travel firms, a B2B industrial
equipment manufacturer seeking information on shipping services providers
can use multiple modalities (e.g., in-person, laptop, or smartphone) to
engage logistics firms over phone, email, or web prior to the purchase of
their services to transport its goods. In other words, omni-channel
customer interactions apply to both B2B and B2C organizations requiring
these firms to be laser-focused on addressing client expectations of
receiving a consistent experience regardless of the interaction channel or
device. Findings illustrated in Figure 1 below illustrate the year-over-year
performance outcomes omni-channel CEM program users enjoy, compared
to peers with asynchronous customer engagement efforts.

For the purposes of this

research, Aberdeen uses the
terms omni-channel CEM and
omni-channel customer care
interchangeably to define
strategic customer care
initiatives designed to deliver
seamless customer experiences
across multiple channels (e.g.,
phone, social media, web,
mobile, and email) and devices
(in-store, laptop, and smart
phone). The end goal of these
programs is to ensure that the
context and experience from
each channel and device carries
over to the next touch-points
to ensure consistency of
conversations via multiple
touch-points.

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies provide for objective fact-based research and
represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc.
and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by Aberdeen Group, Inc.

Omni-channel Customer Care: Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless

Experience
Page 2

Figure 1: Year-over-year Performance Changes

Year-over-year percent change

8%
6.5%

Metrics Definition
For the purposes of this
research, Aberdeen makes the
following definitions for
performance metrics:

Companies with omni-channel CEM programs

All Others
6.1%

6%
3.4%

3.4%

4%
2%

1.0%

0%
-0.7%
-2%
Customer retention
n=305

Average profit margin per

customer

Customer lifetime value

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

As depicted above, businesses that adopt an omni-channel CEM strategy far

outpace their peers that lack this strategy. They achieve 91% greater yearover-year increase (6.5% vs. 3.4%) client retention rates, compared to
businesses that fail to incorporate omni-channel as a key customer
engagement strategy. Furthermore, they also enjoy superior financial results
in key measures such as customer profitability and customer lifetime value
see sidebar.
The above benefits validate that delivering seamless messages via multiple
touch-points helps companies reduce customer confusion and effort a
key factor in improving customer satisfaction and retention. Using
interaction data to maintain the context of omni-channel interactions also
helps businesses with crucial insights to tailor product and service offerings
to address the specific needs of each client, ultimately leading into increases
in customer profitability.
While adopting an omni-channel CEM strategy is a step in the right
direction towards delighting empowered customers, findings on Best-inClass (see sidebar for definition) firms performance validates that the
benefits of omni-channel CEM programs extend beyond the performance
results in the above figure. Aberdeen Group used four key performance
indicators (KPIs) to assess organizational performance in engaging
customers in a seamless manner across multiple channels and modalities.
Table 1 below illustrates the Best-in-Class results across these four key
measures, in comparison to businesses falling behind the top performers.

Average profit margin

per customer: The
difference between revenue
accumulated from a
particular customer and the
cost of serving the same
customer during a specific
time frame (year).
Customer lifetime value:
The total profit accumulated
by serving a customer
throughout the time they do
business with the
organization. Discounting to
reflect the time value of
money provides a more
accurate measure of this
metric.

Aberdeen Methodology
The Aberdeen maturity class is
comprised of three groups of
survey respondents. Classified
by their self-reported
performance across several key
metrics, each respondent falls
into one of three categories:
Best-in-Class: Top 20% of
respondents based on
performance
Industry Average: Middle
50% of respondents based
on performance
Laggard: Bottom 30% of
respondents based on
performance
Sometimes we refer to a fourth
category, All Others, which is
Industry Average and Laggard
combined.

2013 Aberdeen Group.

www.aberdeen.com

Telephone: 617 854 5200

Fax: 617 723 7897

Omni-channel Customer Care: Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless

Experience
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Table 1: Top Performers Earn Best-in-Class Status

Definition of
Maturity Class

Mean Class Performance

Best-in-Class:
Top 20%
of aggregate
performance scorers

89% customer retention rate

9.5% average year-over-year improvement in annual
company revenue
8.5% average year-over-year improvement in first
contact resolution rates
7.5% average year-over-year improvement (decrease)
in average cost per customer contact

All Others:
Bottom 80%
of aggregate
performance scorers

33% customer retention rate

3.4% average year-over-year improvement in annual
company revenue
1.6% average year-over-year improvement in first
contact resolution rates
0.2% average year-over-year improvement (decrease)
in average cost per customer contact
Source: Aberdeen Group, June 2013

As depicted above, Best-in-Class firms outperform All Others across a

number of KPIs. Their success in improving first contact resolution rates is
demonstrative of the ability to detect and address customer needs
seamlessly within a single interaction. This interaction doesnt necessarily
need to be within one channel, but may span multiple channels or devices
until the customers needs are resolved. Research shows that top
performers achieve an 89% customer retention rate while their peers retain
33% of their clients due to poor and inconsistent interactions. These
performance outcomes ultimately translate into financial benefits where the
Best-in-Class enjoy drastic improvements in increasing their annual company
revenue and reducing their customer care costs measures regularly used
by the C-suite (e.g., CEO, CFO, and CSO) to assess organizational
performance.
In the next section, well observe the activities that help top performers
differentiate themselves across numerous KPIs.

Building Blocks of Success in Omni-Channel CEM

Aberdeen data indicates that top performing firms use a series of capabilities
that help them preserve the context of an interaction through multiple
touch-points. Providing employees with the skills, knowledge, and
technology tools needed to use customer data for an effective omni-channel
CEM program is one of the main pillars of the Best-in-Class success story.
Customer behavior and preferences change rapidly. Use of data captured on
omni-channel conversations enables companies to have a holistic view of
their customers interaction history a capability that allows businesses to
deliver a consistent message and experience regardless of the channels,
devices, and employees involved in managing particular aspects of the
2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com

Telephone: 617 854 5200

Fax: 617 723 7897

Omni-channel Customer Care: Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless

Experience
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customer journey. As illustrated in Figure 2 below, top performers are 29%

more likely (85% vs. 66%) than their peers to regularly train their customer
care representatives to empower them with the knowledge needed to
effectively use customer data and ensure consistency of messages delivered
via numerous touch-points.
Figure 2: Key Differentiators for Omni-Channel CEM
90%

85%

Best-in-Class

All Others

77%

77%
70%

66%

48%

50%

42%

30%
Regular training of agents on
handling omni-channel
interactions

Customer contact data is Agent technology skills used

retained across multiple
to route customers
touch-points
Percent of respondents, n=305

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

Another capability deployed by Best-in-Class firms is matching the right

customer with the right employee (e.g., contact center agent) who has the
skills and experience to handle the precise needs of each client an
activity that might require the involvement of different employees across
different phases of the customer journey. The Best-in-Class are 83% more
likely (77% vs. 42%) than All Others to assess the technology skills of each
member of the customer care team to execute this strategy. For example,
an organization using social media, web, live chat, email, and phone as part
of their customer interaction mix would screen employees individual skills
in interacting with clients across each one of these channels and incorporate
the findings within employee profiles. When a customer interacts with the
business, this capability helps organizations ensure that employees involved
at each touch-point are the ones that have the right technology skills to
provide a seamless experience through utilizing data on the customers
prior interactions with the business.
As noted in conjunction with the two strategies observed above, customer
data is the key ingredient that helps businesses ensure delivering a seamless
experience regardless of channel or mode of interaction, whether it is via a
smartphone, tablet, or in-person. Aberdeen research shows that top
performers are 60% more likely (77% vs. 48%) than their peers to utilize
customer data to maintain the context (e.g., information and experience) of
prior interactions across future ones that might take place across other
channels or through different modalities. This helps companies provide their
buyers with a single brand image and experience regardless of the individual
components involved through the process. Findings from Aberdeens March
2013 Next-Generation CEM study sheds further light on the value of this
2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com

Telephone: 617 854 5200

Fax: 617 723 7897

Omni-channel Customer Care: Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless

Experience
Page 5

strategy: Best-in-Class organizations (see sidebar for details) within this

study are far more likely to leverage customer behavioral data captured
across different channels and devices (omni-channel) to personalize their
future interactions. This supports their ability to accomplish the
performance results demonstrated in the sidebar.
Findings depicted in Figure 3 below illustrate several other activities the
Best-in-Class use to successfully utilize customer data as part of their omnichannel CEM efforts. One of these activities is tracking customer interaction
data to identify if a client used different channels or modalities to seek
resolution of the same issue. Identifying such repeat customer contact helps
businesses identify the weaknesses in their omni-channel efforts that result
in delivering fragmented and sub-par customer care. The Best-in-Class are
60% more likely (69% vs. 43%) than their peers to have this process
designed to identify the weaknesses that might result in delivering
asynchronous messages across different customer touch-points. The findings
from this process are invaluable in helping businesses improve continuously
their client messaging activities.

Maturity Class Definitions

The following Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) were used to
determine the Best-in-Class for
the Next-Generation CEM
report:
Current customer retention
rate Best-in-Class: 88% vs.
Laggards: 35%
Year-over-year improvement
in annual company revenue
Best-in-Class: 23.0% vs.
Laggards: -4.6%
Year-over-year improvement
(decrease) in response time
to customer inquiries
Best-in-Class: 16.3% vs.
Laggards: 2.2%

Figure 3: Key Differentiators for Omni-Channel CEM (continued)

80%

77%
Best-in-Class

69%

All Others

62%
60%
41%
40%

43%
36%

20%
Conduct cost / benefit
Isolate topics associated Measure the impact of each
analysis of omni-channel
with repeat contact
customer interaction on
programs
CEM results
Percent of respondents, n=305

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

Another important use case of customer data is in assessing the

organizational performance in CEM programs. As depicted in Figure 3
above, Aberdeen research shows that Best-in-Class firms measure the
performance of their omni-channel CEM programs through both financial
and operational metrics. While 77% of these organizations have a formal
process to evaluate the cost and benefit of their customer engagement
efforts, only 41% of All Others have this process in place. Establishing this
capability requires companies to adopt a holistic view of their customer
interactions. As discussed in Aberdeens March 2012 research, The ROI of
Best-in-Class CEM Programs, there are numerous ways to identify the cost
and benefit impact of each customer interaction. Mapping the customer
journey across all the client touch-points and utilizing analytical tools (see
sidebar) to identify how each specific interaction influenced customer
2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com

Technology Adoption
Research shows that companies
with omni-channel CEM
programs are twice more likely
(48% vs. 24%) to deploy
customer analytics tools to
support their CEM efforts,
compared to those where
omni-channel is not a key part
of client engagement activities.
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Omni-channel Customer Care: Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless

Experience
Page 6

behavior helps companies gather crucial insights on the revenue and cost
impact of each sales, marketing, and service program. Best-in-Class firms are
72% more likely than All Others (62% vs. 36%) to complement their cost /
benefit assessment of CEM programs with additional measures such as first
contact resolution and customer satisfaction to ensure establishing
financially sound and customer-friendly omni-channel programs.

Key Takeaways
Customers today are empowered: they arent confined to a single channel
or device to interact with businesses. Indeed, findings from Aberdeens
Next-Generation CEM study indicate that 65% of businesses use at least six
touch-points to engage with their clients. Managing customer needs across
all these touch-points in a synchronous way is no easy endeavor. This is
where omni-channel CEM efforts come in they help companies establish
a coordinated strategy that ensures delivering a seamless experience to the
same customer regardless of the number devices or channels they use to
engage with the business by retaining the context of each prior interaction
within the following ones.
Findings outlined within this report show that while deploying an omnichannel CEM strategy is a step in the right direction to meet the needs of
empowered customers, companies need to deploy Best-in-Class practices
to reap maximum rewards from these efforts. Aberdeen recommends that
organizations carefully assess the differentiating capabilities highlighted
within this document in conjunction with the recommendations provided
below to enjoy Best-in-Class results in retaining more clients, increasing
revenue, and reducing costs:

Ensure that your employees have the knowledge, skills, and

technology tools needed to handle customer interactions in a
seamless way. Utilize customer data to direct each customer to the
right channel and employee equipped to handle the specific needs.

Integrate disparate customer data repositories to empower

employees with the right and consistent information needed to
deliver seamless client interactions.

Regularly measure the impact of each activity taking place across the
customer journey to identify their cost and benefit for the business
as well as role in addressing customer expectations across
numerous touch-points. Map all the customer touch-points and
identify the most relevant performance metrics to effectively deploy
this activity.

2013 Aberdeen Group.

www.aberdeen.com

Telephone: 617 854 5200

Fax: 617 723 7897

Omni-channel Customer Care: Empowered Customers Demand a Seamless

Experience
Page 7

For more information on this or other research topics, please visit

www.aberdeen.com.
Related Research
Speech Analytics: Making Effective Use
of Voice in a Multi-Channel World;
September 2013
Social Customer Care: Secrets to Build a
Winning Strategy; August 2013
Bringing Customer Service into
Marketing: Empowered Customers Make
Service Excellence an Imperative; July
2013
Contact Center Optimization: Use Data
to Deliver Superior Customer Care; July
2013
Workforce Optimization in the Contact
Center: Secrets to Improve Agent
Performance; June 2013

The Rising Financial Impact of Customer

Service; May 2013
Next-Generation Customer Experience
Management; March 2013
Multi-Channel Contact Center:
Establishing the Tie Between Mobile and
the Customer Experience; March 2013
The Hidden ROI of a Cloud-based Contact
Center; January 2013
Multi-Channel Contact Center: Delight
Customers Where They Live; November
2012

Author: Omer Minkara, Senior Research Analyst, Contact Center & Customer
Experience Management (omer.minkara@aberdeen.com), LinkedIn, Twitter
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This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Groups methodologies
provide for objective fact-based research and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless
otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc. and may not be
reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by
Aberdeen Group, Inc. (2013a)

2013 Aberdeen Group.

www.aberdeen.com

Telephone: 617 854 5200

Fax: 617 723 7897