The Omni-Channel Trap!
Not having a solid framework to build your omni-channel strategy on can lead to a quick “one-size-fits all” approach that is a trap.
The people on your team charged with omni-channel strategy rarely have the support needed to make big changes nor a solid foundation of tools and processes to succeed. Leadership usually wants quick sales results. This can easily lead to the trap of treating all your digital channels the same and knee-jerk decisions to replicate success (or stop the bleeding.)
different channels often serve different Consumer need states
The hard reality is that your consumers fluidly move between digital devices with an expectation that their interaction with your brand will be seamless and feel unified. Yet the consumer mindset in each channel and the plain ole’ functional capability of each digital platform/device is different. Customers intuitively get this. Brands don’t. You need to understand your customer’s journey, mindset along the way, and psycho/functional realities of each touchpoint.
product prioritization that worked in one place may NOT work everywhere
I have frustratedly watched Top 10 QSR clients take a quick look at raw POS data and clumsily attempt to redesign their digital menu/ordering experience by smashing anything that is working in one place into every other platform. Knee-jerk reactions without a solid strategic framework will ultimately produce designs that fail and not give you that quick success you crave. This only succeeds in frustrating customers with the wrong stuff in the wrong place at the wrong time.
IRL EXAMPLE:
A major national Top 10 QSR brand looked at their POS data and realized that the bulk of their sales volume was in the drive thru lane. And the order sizes they were seeing at their in-store kiosk were off the charts due to the ease of customization and add-ons. They were also seeing initial success with personalization on their new mobile ordering app. Leadership was pressuring the team to replicate it all.
So they cherry-picked the best data in their kiosk, mobile app and drive thru to justify clumsily redesigning their drive thru menu experience using a bit of everything working smashed together. The hope to replicate what worked in one channel and completely missed that they each channel serves a slightly different functional and need-state purpose. Ultimately they frustrated their customers by overwhelming them with lots of “stuff” in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sales in test locations tanked, customers were angry, and franchisees were pissed.
The SOLUTION
Yes, you should create a ‘seamless’ omni-channel experience between all your digital consumer touch points. Your ordering channels should all live connected in a digital ecosystem that is fully integrated and feels like it is from the same brand. No, they shouldn’t all be the same or work the same. Period.
The true solve would include a digital integration and design approach using real-time data, with nimble menu testing methodologies approved by the organization and franchisees, and a flexible strategy based on their customer’s need states in each channel, by day part, store profile, and region. And all your channels would be controlled by the same team on a tech stack that is integrated and easy to feed content into and manage. And omni-channel content planning would be baked into your process from the beginning, not an after thought once the brand was done with the above the line creative.
Simple right?
Check out my blog where I detail the specific must-haves needed to ensure you have a solid omni-channel foundation to build upon. Or some top drive menu board design fails.
