Conversations: The Key to Unlocking Complex Customer Journeys

The seemingly endless proliferation of digital channels continues to grow, both the available channels for retailers and the manner in which they can reach customers. New media interactions and more complex customer journeys are increasingly the norm. While the funnel remains a popular basic structure for understanding the sales process, retailers are finding that the way in which they attract, inform, convert and engage customers is increasingly nonlinear.

For retailers spanning both online and offline channels, creating a more personalized two-way interaction with customers is a critical requirement. Bridging brick-and-mortar experiences and e-commerce interactions requires adapting to different journeys and engaging and supporting customers through the buying process, however complex it might become.

A joint report by WARC and Meta looks at how business messaging can help retailers navigate this landscape. Messaging solutions can help retailers conduct ongoing, personalized conversations at scale, addressing a range of customer interaction requirements. This creates opportunities to build two-way relationships that can be leveraged across the full customer lifecycle.

Applying the L.O.O.P. Framework

The L.O.O.P. framework is useful here, which outlines how retailers can engage with consumers across the customer cycle. It stands for:

Leading them to discovery;

Orchestrating their journey to conversion;

Optimizing the purchase and post-purchase experience; and

Providing meaningful reasons to re-engage.

Whatever stage customers have reached in the lifecycle, content can be crafted to nudge them around the L.O.O.P. This offers businesses the opportunity to drive interest, sales, satisfaction and recommendations from both their customer and prospect bases.

Recommendations for Retailers

The following are five key principles for organizations developing a business messaging strategy:

1. Prioritize key brand and audience needs: Focusing on prime high-payback areas will drive internal support for this strategy, though there are initial advantages in targeting quick wins at launch.
2. Respect customer privacy: This is non-negotiable; it's absolutely critical for building a trusted relationship with the customer.
3. Leverage third-party skills and technology: Partners can offer ready-made tools and analytics platforms and provide the benefits of their experience, saving both time and investment.
4. Maximize performance by integrating with other enterprise systems: Success will be related to integration with other enterprise systems to create seamless customer experiences.
5. Be proactive in adopting new features: New functionality is emerging rapidly in this space. It's important to stay informed and set your brand to adopt new features rapidly.

It is, of course, critical that these interactions feel authentic and engaging. But for retailers that can deliver, there could be significant advantages, starting with a closer, more trusted and more valued customer relationship.

Aditya Kishore is the Insight Director for WARC, the global authority on marketing effectiveness.