omni-channel comes to small business

A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit

Sponsored by

Omni-channel comes to small business

© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20141


Small businesses—defined here as companies with fewer than 100 employees and up to US$20m in revenue—have tended to rely on strong and close relationships with their customers. Consumers, in turn, have always appreciated the local, friendly touch of a small business. But as consumers embrace mobile devices and new-media channels, they are faced with a deluge of new options, tools and messages—consequently, their purchasing behaviours are evolving rapidly. In this era of “omni-channel” marketing, small businesses face the challenge of engaging their individual customers better than ever and securing their satisfaction and loyalty.

In November 2014, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) polled 363 executives and owners of small businesses from across the US to gauge how well they understand customer satisfaction, and

how they intend to deliver unique and differentiated experiences across multiple channels. Some of the key findings to emerge from the research include:

l Small businesses may be overestimating how satisfied their customers really are. Small businesses pride themselves on cultivating a close and personal connection with their customers. Yet for most of them, understanding customer satisfaction is still a very organic, unsophisticated process. The EIU survey shows that small businesses rarely deploy sophisticated metrics and processes, such as tracking the rate of repeat purchases by customers, analysing the rate of customer referrals, tracking complaints and returns, and conducting occasional spot surveys with customers, to capture and measure customer

Executive summary

Significantly outperformed

Moderately outperformed

Performed on par

Moderately underperformed

Significantly underperformed

Revenue growth vs competition

Profitability vs expectations

Customer satisfaction vs expectations

Self-reported performance over the past 12 months across revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction metrics (% respondents)

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, November 2014

5 28 51 11 6

4 25 44 21 6

26 32 38 2 1



satisfaction. In fact, the number-one method they deploy, chosen by 37% of respondents, is “no method”, and another 25% rely on qualitative measures of satisfaction based on in-person conversations with customers.

At the same time, small companies appear to be overestimating their customer satisfaction performance. When asked to rate their own performance over the past 12 months, they are modest across most metrics—only 4-5% of respondents believe their company significantly outperforms peers in revenue growth or profitability. However, some 26% believe they significantly exceeded their customers’ expectations and only 3% conceded that they might not be meeting customer expectations. The smaller the respondents’ companies, the more likely they are to be over-confident about their customer-satisfaction performance.

l Human interactions are still critical to customer satisfaction, but new-media channels are the future. Human-interaction channels, such as physical stores, phone hotlines, online chats, and e-mail and text correspondence, are still the most heavily used vehicles for customers to interact with small businesses and their brands. At

the same time, next to product and service quality, the quality of human interactions is seen as the foremost driver of customer satisfaction (47% of survey respondents selected it as a top-three factor), followed by the ability to resolve customer issues and complaints in a satisfactory manner (39%).

It is no surprise, therefore, that personal interaction channels are perceived to be the most critical in keeping customers engaged and happy. And while Internet, mobile and social media channels still lag in usage, investment in these channels is outpacing their perceived importance—reflecting the expected future importance of new-media channels in delivering a high-quality, seamless customer experience.

l A “reverse showrooming” phenomenon may be emerging as consumers rely more on new media to research and select products, but prefer a brick-and-mortar outlet for purchasing. Much attention has been paid to the “showrooming” phenomenon plaguing retail, that is, the tendency of consumers to browse and try out products in brick-and-mortar stores, but then turn to online stores to find the lowest purchase price.

The EIU survey indicates, however, that new-

Most critical drivers of customer satisfaction (% respondents)


Quality of products or services

Quality of staff communications and interactions with customers

Ability to resolve customer issues and complaints in a satisfactory manner

Ease and speed of executing customer transactions

Providing the best possible price

Strong corporate values and a socially responsible mission

Availability and co-ordination of multi-channel communications and interactions with customers (including online, mobile and offline channels)

Quality of corporate communications and marketing messages

Flexible exchange or refund policies

Don’t know/None of the above

63

47

39

29

23

11

10

8

4

5



media channels play a bigger role in the pre-purchase phase of the customer journey while traditional human-interaction channels are seen as relatively more important during the purchase phase, causing a potential “reverse showrooming” effect. This suggests the need to rethink the balance and relative importance of different channels that drive customer experience and satisfaction.

l Seamless omni-channel delivery is still rare, hampered by old habits and the lack of financial and human capital. Consumers—particularly those considering purchasing from businesses with fewer than 25 employees—are increasingly relying on multiple channels throughout their purchasing journey, especially when they research and select products and services. However, most businesses do not yet deliver a seamless omni-channel experience; only about one-fifth of survey respondents believe their company is able to do so. And their omni-channel delivery is more focused on the purchase phase and least targeted at the pre-purchase phase, where consumer omni-channel needs and behaviours seem to be concentrated. One-quarter of respondents indicate their omni-channel delivery is very weak—10% of

respondents claim to offer a poorly co-ordinated omni-channel experience and about 15% offer no omni-channel experience across the entire customer journey.

What prevents small businesses from providing better and more uniform omni-channel experiences? According to survey respondents, the top reasons are: insufficient funding, old habits and lack of human capital (all chosen as top-three obstacles by 23% of respondents). Other challenges include lack of technical skills, insufficient training and lack of focus from top leadership on the need to create an omni-channel experience for customers. Less common obstacles are lack of understanding of customer needs and behaviours and poor collaboration among departments.

Nearly one-fifth of survey respondents report no major challenges and believe they already deliver a seamless omni-channel customer experience. Whether this reflects reality or is merely an inflated perception is a question to explore further. Smaller companies are considerably more likely to say they face no major obstacles, as well as to state that they offer a seamless omni-channel experience during both the purchase and post-purchase phases. Smaller companies generally have simpler

Top challenges preventing companies from delivering a seamless omni-channel customer experience (% respondents)


Lack of financial capital to invest in creating a seamless omni-channel customer experience

Shortage of human capital required to co-ordinate the customer messaging and experiences across channels

Strong dependence on one or two channels for driving company revenues and customer satisfaction

No major challenges – we deliver a seamless omni-channel customer experience

Lack of training and skills to co-ordinate customer messaging and experiences across channels

Lack of technical skills and knowledge to develop seamless customer messaging and experiences for emerging channels

Lack of focus from top leadership on the need to create an omni-channel experience for customers

Lack of understanding of the needs and behaviours of our customers across channels

Poor collaboration and incentive alignment among different departments within the company


23

23

23

19

15

15

13

12

8

23



operations and are sufficiently focused on their customers, hence co-ordination is not as much of an issue. But they need to keep an eye on their customer satisfaction metrics to make sure they sustain this seamless experience as they grow.

l The ability to recognise the customer, seamlessly complete transactions across channels and deliver a synchronised marketing message are key to customer satisfaction. When interacting with a business and a brand across different channels, customers want to feel that they are dealing with one entity—an entity that speaks to them with the same voice and operates in a uniform, reliable manner—regardless of which channel they happen to be using. It is not surprising, therefore, that survey respondents selected the ability to recognise the customer and track their preferences in different channels as the most important omni-channel feature (69% rated it as very important or somewhat important), closely followed by the ability to initiate and seamlessly complete a transaction across different channels (65%). Addressing the customer with a synchronised marketing message and brand communication across channels was also deemed important.

For the time being, small businesses rely on simple methods (or none at all) to ensure that they deliver co-ordinated and coherent experiences across channels. Twenty-nine percent of survey respondents say they actively solicit and act on customer feedback about channel experiences, while 30% admit to having no co-ordination tactics. More sophisticated small businesses rely on having top leadership actively focused on monitoring the coherence of customer experiences across channels, consolidating responsibility for content and activities across all channels under one senior executive, and developing all marketing content and customer experiences with customers’ omni-channel needs in mind.

Most companies are focused on building and delivering omni-channel features to their customers, but investment may not be keeping up with demand. The survey reveals that between

one-sixth and one-fifth of respondents admit to having weak capabilities in these areas and only 9-10% of respondents say their company plans to make significant investments in these features in the coming two years. Thus, many companies will be playing catch-up with the omni-channel leaders and customers’ expectations. In the meantime, the omni-channel train will keep moving. As these top-three features become table stakes in the future, attention will likely shift to the more sophisticated omni-channel capabilities, such as unified product assortment and pricing and real-time visibility of inventory across channels.

l Delivering a seamless omni-channel customer experience is highly correlated with strong financial performance. What does it take to beat the competition? A number of things for sure, but one factor setting top performers apart seems to be a thorough understanding of their customers and the ability to give them a uniform experience across channels. The EIU survey shows a strong correlation between being a leader in omni-channel delivery and strong business performance across several key metrics. Respondents who rated their company as a market-leading omni-channel operator and innovator were more likely to outperform the competition in revenue growth (66% vs 29% among non-market-leading omni-channels operators), beat profitability expectations (55% vs 26%) and exceed customer expectations (74% vs 57%).

At the core of this superior performance is a more sophisticated understanding of customer needs and satisfaction. Companies that beat profitability expectations are much more likely to deploy a variety of methods to measure customer satisfaction, such as conduct regular formal quantitative surveys (18% vs 9% among companies that are on par with or do not meet profitability expectations), track and analyse frequency of customer referrals (23% vs 15%), rate of repeat purchases by customers (23% vs 17%) and customer complaints and product returns (21% vs 12%).

Small businesses, just as well as large ones, are



facing the omni-channel imperative. They are discovering the need to interact with their customers across the full spectrum of communication and transaction channels—from in-person and phone interactions to Internet, mobile and e-mail to packaging and signage, and potentially other media. Those that overcome the

inertia of old habits, invest in capturing pertinent customer information and in understanding the drivers of their customer satisfaction, and deliver a truly seamless customer experience throughout the customer journey and across channels will build a competitive advantage and achieve superior performance.

Methods used by companies to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty (% respondents)


We do not have a formal method for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty

Maintain a qualitative measure of satisfaction based on ongoing in-person conversations with customers

Track and analyse rate of repeat purchases by customers

Track and analyse frequency of customer referrals

Track and analyse customer complaints and product returns

Conduct regular formal quantitative surveys of customer satisfaction

Collect and analyse customer ratings and reviews of our products and services

Conduct occasional spot surveys and interviews of customers


Exceeded profitability expectations On par with profitability expectationsFell short of profitability expectations

28 40 41 27 21 29

23 14 21 23 14 15

21 12 12

18 9 9

16 11 9

14 13 15

4 11 7



Appendix: Survey results

Percentages may not add to 100% owing to rounding or the ability of respondents to choose multiple responses.

In the past 12 months, how has your company performed relative to your competitors with regard to revenue growth? (% respondents)

Significantly outperformed the competition

Moderately outperformed the competition

Performed on par with the competition

Moderately underperformed the competition

Significantly underperformed the competition

5

28

51

11

6

In the past 12 months, how has your company performed relative to expectations with regard to profitability? (% respondents)

Significantly exceeded expectations

Moderately exceeded expectations

Met expectations

Fell moderately short of expectations

Fell significantly short of expectations

4

25

44

21

6



In the past 12 months, how has your company performed with regard to customer satisfaction? (% respondents)

Significantly exceeded customer expectations

Moderately exceeded customer expectations

Met customer expectations

Fell moderately short of customer expectations

Fell significantly short of customer expectations

26

32

38

2

1

Which of the following methods does your company use to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty?Please select three. (% respondents)

Maintain a qualitative measure of satisfaction based on ongoing in-person conversations with customers

Track and analyse rate of repeat purchases by customers

Track and analyse frequency of customer referrals

Track and analyse customer complaints and product returns

Conduct occasional spot surveys and interviews of customers

Conduct regular formal quantitative surveys of customer satisfaction

Collect and analyse customer ratings and reviews of our products and services

We do not have a formal method for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty


25

19

17

15

14

12

12

37

8

In your opinion, which of the following are the most critical drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty? Please select three.(% respondents)

Quality of products or services

Quality of staff communications and interactions with customers

Ability to resolve customer issues and complaints in a satisfactory manner

Ease and speed of executing customer transactions

Providing the best possible price

Strong corporate values and a socially responsible mission

Availability and co-ordination of multi-channel communications and interactions with customers (including online, mobile and offline channels)

Quality of corporate communications and marketing messages

Flexible exchange or refund policies


63

47

39

29

23

11

10

8

4

5



Through which of the following channels do customers commonly interact with your company and your brand? Please select three.(% respondents)

In-person human interaction channels (eg, brick-and-mortar stores, showrooms, branches, offices)

Remote human interaction channels (eg, phone, online chat, online collaboration)

Remote correspondence channels (eg, e-mail, SMS, text messaging)

Traditional Internet channels (eg, websites, cloud solutions, online stores)

Social media channels (eg, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube apps and websites)

Public and trade event channels (eg, PR events, conventions, trade shows)

Mobile channels (eg, mobile apps, mobile Internet, alerts)

Non-traditional media channels (eg, blogs, online video channels)

Traditional media channels (eg, TV, radio, print, outdoor advertising)


62

60

53

23

15

9

7

2

2

4

In your opinion, which of the following channels are most critical to driving greater customer satisfaction and loyalty? Please select three.(% respondents)




Traditional Internet channels (eg, websites, online stores, cloud solutions)







70

54

41

25

14

10

6

4

2

5



In which of the following channels has your company invested most heavily in the past 2 years? Please select three.(% respondents)











50

37

33

26

15

9

9

8

3

16

In your view, which of the following channels are most critical to your customers’ experience during the pre-purchase phase (ie, when they discover, research, compare and decide to purchase your products and services)? Please select three.(% respondents)











59

50

38

29

12

10

7

5

4

8



In your view, which of the following channels are most critical to your customers’ experience during the purchase phase (ie, when they select, order and pay for your products and services)? Please select three.(% respondents)











64

56

45

20

6

6

3

4

4

7

In your view, which of the following channels are most critical to your customers’ experience during the post-purchase phase (ie, when they receive, utilise and troubleshoot your products and services)? Please select three.(% respondents)











62

60

51

17

12

7

3

3

3

7



Consistently use multiple channels

Sometimes use multiple channels

Rarely use more than one channel

Consistently use only one channel

Don’t know/Not applicable

Pre-purchase phase (ie, when customers discover, research, compare and decide to purchase products and services)

Purchase phase (ie, when customers select, order and pay for products and services)

Post-purchase phase (ie, when customers receive, use and troubleshoot products and services)

In your view, what is the pattern of your customers’ needs and behaviours when they interact with your company across the different phases of the purchasing journey? (% respondents)

18 33 23 10 15

13 31 29 14 13

15 29 25 15 15

Seamless omni-channel experience

Somewhat co-ordinated omni-channel experience

Poorly co-ordinated omni-channel experience No

omni-channel experience


Pre-purchase phase (ie, when customers discover, research, compare and decide to purchase products and services)

Purchase phase (ie, when customers select, order and pay for products and services)

Post-purchase phase (ie, when customers receive, use and troubleshoot products and services)

How would you rate your company’s delivery of an omni-channel experience to your customers across the different phases of the purchasing journey? (% respondents)

18 35 11 14 22

21 31 11 15 21

19 35 10 15 22

In your view, what are the main challenges preventing your company from delivering a seamless omni-channel experience for your customers? Please select three.(% respondents)

Shortage of human capital required to co-ordinate the customer messaging and experiences across channels

Lack of financial capital to invest in creating a seamless omni-channel customer experience

Strong dependence on one or two channels for driving company revenues and customer satisfaction

No major challenges – we deliver a seamless omni-channel customer experience

Lack of training and skills to co-ordinate customer messaging and experiences across channels

Lack of technical skills and knowledge to develop seamless customer messaging and experiences for emerging channels

Lack of focus from top leadership on the need to create an omni-channel experience for customers

Lack of understanding of the needs and behaviours of our customers across channels

Poor collaboration and incentive alignment among different departments within the company


23

23

23

19

15

15

13

12

8

23



Very important

Somewhat important

Not important


Synchronised marketing message and brand communication across channels

Ability to recognise the customer and track their preferences in different channels

Co-ordinated promotions and marketing events spanning multiple channels

Unified database of products and prices used across channels

Co-ordination and real-time visibility of inventory in different channels

Ability to initiate and seamlessly complete a transaction across different channels

In your opinion, how important are the following omni-channel features to driving customer satisfaction and loyalty? (% respondents)

30 36 12 22

33 36 12 19

23 36 19 22

25 36 15 23

22 34 18 27

33 32 15 20

Strong capabilities

Moderate capabilities

Weak capabilities





Unified database of products and prices used across channels



How would you rate the strength of your company’s capabilities with regard to the following omni-channel features? (% respondents)

19 40 16 26

24 33 19 24

15 31 23 30

15 34 17 33

13 30 18 38

22 30 21 27

High investment

Moderate investment

Low investment Don’t know/Not applicable




Unified database of products and prices utilised across channels



In the next 2 years, how extensively do you think your company will invest in the following omni-channel capabilities and features? (% respondents)

9 34 29 28

11 34 28 27

10 30 30 29

9 28 29 34

7 28 31 35

9 32 31 28



How do you identify and prioritise what investments to make and in which customer channels? Please select all that apply.(% respondents)

Poll customers for their needs and opinions

Track and analyse customer behaviours across channels

Follow industry trends and adopt emerging best-practice strategies

Strive to match or exceed the channel capabilities of our direct competition

Measure and analyse channel activity and transactions

Rely on external consultants to assess periodically our channel capabilities

Employ external experts to help us devise and implement our channel strategy

Channel strategy is a top priority and our top leadership is actively engaged in omni-channel capabilities assessment and investment decisions


35

29

27

20

19

9

9

8

29

How are you ensuring that customer messaging and experiences are co-ordinated and coherent when customers interact with your company across different channels? Please select all that apply.(% respondents)

We actively solicit and act on customer feedback about channel experiences

Responsibility for content and activities across all channels is consolidated under one senior executive

Top leadership is actively focused on monitoring the coherence of customer experiences across channels

All our marketing content and customer experiences is developed with customers’ omni-channel needs in mind

We leverage the same technology and tools to deliver content and experiences in different channels

We conduct regular staff training to ensure that employees understand our omni-channel capabilities and can communicate them well to customers

Departments responsible for different channels and activities collaborate closely to ensure co-ordination

We invite mystery shoppers, bloggers and reviewers to test and critique our customer experiences in different channels


29

20

20

20

15

15

12

6

30

Relative to your competition and other market players, how would you rate your company’s position as an omni-channel operator and innovator? (% respondents)

Market leader

Early adopter

Follower

Laggard

10

32

34

23



Northeast

Midwest

South

West

In which region are you personally located?(% respondents)

25

26

26

23

$1m or less

$1m to $5m

$5m to $10m

$10m to $20m

What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars?(% respondents)

45

32

15

9

1-10

10-25

25-50

50-100

Approximately how many people does your organisation employ?(% respondents)

50

27

15

8

Professional services

Retailing

Construction and real estate

Financial services

Entertainment, media and publishing

IT and technology

Manufacturing

Automotive

Education

Agriculture and agribusiness

Consumer goods

Government/Public sector

Healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

Transportation, travel and tourism

Chemicals

Energy and natural resources

Logistics and distribution

Telecommunications

Other, please specify

What is your primary industry?(% respondents)

15

8

7

7

6

6

4

3

3

2

2

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

27

General management

Sales

Operations and production

Finance

Customer service

Business development

Marketing

IT

Communications

Human resources

Procurement and supply-chain management

Other

What is your main functional role?(% respondents)

48

9

8

6

5

3

3

2

2

2

1

12

Founder/Owner/CEO/President

CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller

CTO/CIO/Technology director

CMO/Head of marketing

Other C-level executive

Head of business unit

SVP/VP/Director

Manager

Other

Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)

53

2

1

1

1

5

11

20

6



Whilst every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of this

information, neither The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. nor the

sponsor of this report can accept any responsibility or liability

for reliance by any person on this white paper or any of the

information, opinions or conclusions set out in the white paper.

Cove

r: S

hutt

erst

ock

London20 Cabot SquareLondon E14 4QWUnited KingdomTel: (44.20) 7576 8000Fax: (44.20) 7576 8476E-mail: [email protected]

New York750 Third Avenue5th FloorNew York, NY 10017United StatesTel: (1.212) 554 0600Fax: (1.212) 586 0248E-mail: [email protected]

Hong Kong6001, Central Plaza18 Harbour RoadWanchai Hong KongTel: (852) 2585 3888Fax: (852) 2802 7638E-mail: [email protected]

GenevaBoulevard des Tranchées 161206 GenevaSwitzerlandTel: (41) 22 566 2470Fax: (41) 22 346 93 47E-mail: [email protected]