Omnichannel Strategies Hold the Key to Success in a Digital Era

India is undergoing a large-scale digital transformation – one that will blur the boundaries between online and offline models of doing business. The digital medium has been growing rapidly in recent years and an increasing number of brands are going online to expand their reach and increase revenues. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has strongly underlined the importance of the online medium for business continuity even during tough times. Moreover, every brand, today, is trying not only to sell its product or service but also to build a long-lasting relationship with its customers. Such relationships are based on the consumer’s experience before, during, and after purchase. The experience should be consistent across all channels and touchpoints. All these factors are driving brands to adopt an omnichannel approach to their business.

Integrating online and offline channels for delivering better customer experiences

Omnichannel is a model in which a business operates through a mix of online and offline channels. With the traditional customer journey giving way to continuous engagement between companies and its partners and customers, an omnichannel strategy entails a multi-channel approach for providing customers with a seamless, personalized experience throughout the product purchase journey and beyond. It offers consumers a choice of how they want to shop. There are many who discover and select products online but prefer to do the actual purchasing at a store. There are others who prefer to browse and feel the products in person and then buy them online. These behaviours are especially true in the case of high-value products, such as electronic goods.

Evolving Customer behaviour driving brands to reinvent GTM strategies

Today, customers can easily discover laptops or printers from the comfort of their home, office, or even while they are on the move. But the offline presence of tech brands needs to be just as strong and inviting. HP is among those who are integrating online and offline channels to meet this need. Even when brick-and-mortar businesses were under pressure, we not only opened new stores across the country but also transformed our existing stores under project Parivartan to embark on a strategy to enhance customer experience and build a long term relationship.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about significant shifts in the purchase behaviour of consumers. People are looking to limit face-to-face interactions during the purchase cycle and preferring that the products be delivered to their doorstep. Cash payments have seen a decline. Reliability, safety, and convenience have become additional differentiators for brands. The omnichannel model ticks all these important boxes. As the number and the frequency of people shopping online grows, the omnichannel approach will enable retailers, especially those in the technology products space, to thrive in a changing environment.

Adopting Data & Insights driven Omnichannel model for success

Today, product development and marketing strategies are guided by data – about consumer’s purchase patterns and preferences; market developments; about current and expected trends. Brands that employ technologies such as Big Data and Predictive Analysis will be better positioned than others to drive innovation and get ahead of competitors – something that HP is doing to help itself and its partners transform themselves digitally and become more customer-centric than ever before. An omnichannel business model can enable greater operational efficiencies, sharply defined strategies, and higher profitability for brands and their partners through the sharing of such data and insights.

The prevailing situation is a good time for brands to reinvent their go-to-market approach and the way they engage with consumers. Embracing a digital-first business model will go a long way towards helping them leverage existing opportunities and create new ones. As Indian consumers go digital, brands will have to do the same, if they are to be relevant and competitive in the new age. The transformation is already underway, and the omnichannel model will play a very important role in ensuring that even old brands continue to be relevant, accessible, and successful in these new times.

Contributed by: Gurpreet Singh Brar, Channel Sales and Distribution Head, HP India

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