The importance of getting it right

Just spotted this posting on TheRetailBulletin - "Multichannel Strategy Drives Customers Away".

It describes a recent survey conducted by BT Global Services and highlights the fact that if you get it wrong and the customer experience isn't consistent across channels then your missing out on sales. Almost all repondent (97%) expect the interactions to be consistent across channels.

If you get it right there's the likelihood that those using 2 or more channels will spend 114% more than those only using a single channel!

An interesting final statement, “The difficulty with multichannel strategies is often a chicken and egg one. Organisations will only invest significantly in a new channel when they can prove its worth. They should remember, however, that customers will only use a new channel if it offers them a truly effective experience.” - surely this is actually a result of the barrier to adopting a new channel being too high. So, what are these barriers? It's probably a fair split between lack of IT agility and resistance to organisational change or new process adoption.

I've a few thoughts on the IT agility one that I think the NRF/ARTS are starting to address and I'll elaborate more as my blog continues.