What is Omnichannel Customer Support and Why It’s a Must in B2B

Written by

Paulina

Published on

Jan 14, 2025

In this article, you can find:

Table of Content

Table of content

What is omnichannel customer support?

Omnichannel customer support is about creating a unified experience across all your company's communication channels. It breaks down siloed conversations, blending phone, email, direct messaging platforms, live chat, and social media.

But it’s not only about blending all these channels together. It’s about consolidating all customer data and history into a single point of truth. The purpose? To create a seamless and consistent experience for your customers.

Omnichannel support isn't just about chatting on different platforms. It's crafting a smooth journey, wherever you reach out. Picture this: you email, then call, and they catch your drift without a redo. That's the magic of omnichannel. It links up emails, calls, tweets, chats, and face-to-face. The idea? To give you steady help, no matter your contact method. It aims to ease your life and quick-fix your issues. Gone are the days of repeating your story with every switch. Everyone's tuned in, leading to smiles all around and snappier help.

So, when a customer switches from a chat on the web to an email or a phone call, the transition should be smooth. They shouldn’t repeat information; the context should already be there.

The Evolution of Customer Service to Omnichannel Support

Gone are the days of endless waits in line or endless loops of hold music. Now, we're in the age of omnichannel support. No longer limited to calls or in-person talks, customer service spans emails, socials, live chats, and apps. It's all about consistent service across all platforms. Picture shooting a tweet and getting a quick response, or diving into a website chat at midnight. Welcome to omnichannel support, making life easier by ensuring support is always within reach, whether via screen or phone. Businesses realize that varied contact methods are no longer a luxury but a need. This change embraces individual communication preferences, making sure no one's left out.

4 reasons you should implement omnichannel customer support

Omnichannel support is what today's customers expect from you, but this equally benefits you as a business. If your customers are satisfied, they will likely become loyal to your company, leading to higher revenue streams.

We all know how expensive customer acquisition costs can be, right? Omnichannel support gives you the best chance to retain customers. When executed effectively, it can be a decisive factor in why customers prefer your business over competitors.

1. Omnichannel support brings you closer to personalization

Omnichannel support seamlessly merges standard service with personalized experiences, truly living up to the idea that 'the customer is king.' Your aim is not just to meet but to exceed customer expectations in every interaction, particularly in customer service.

In today’s market, B2B customers crave the flexibility, convenience, and personalization they're familiar with in B2C transactions. Omnichannel support meets and enhances these expectations, offering deeper insights into customer preferences and behaviors. This enables you to create tailored interactions and solutions, strengthening customer trust and loyalty in a competitive business environment.

2. You can be ahead of the curve

Not everybody is doing omnichannel support. Whether it’s the resources that are holding them back or the lack of management buy-in, just 24% of businesses are investing successfully in omnichannel personalization. If you go ahead with this strategy, you can make strides and get ahead. Seamless customer service is one of the factors that customers look into before choosing a vendor.

By implementing this approach, you're keeping up with the growing customer expectations for seamless experiences and raising the bar in customer engagement. This proactive step in adopting omnichannel support can distinguish your business as a leader in customer-centricity, appealing to a market that values efficient and interconnected service.

3. Access to data-driven insights

You’ll find that omnichannel support systems collect a wealth of data from various touchpoints. When you analyze this data, it can offer invaluable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and pain points.

As a B2B company, you can use these insights to refine your product offerings, customize your services, and make informed business decisions. For example, understanding your clients' most preferred communication channels and the common issues they face allows you to allocate your resources more effectively.

4. Leverage underutilized channels

This is a common occurrence in B2B customer service: companies often limit themselves to one or two channels for providing support, and that's it.

For example, while email is still a popular support channel, what if your customers are primarily using Slack?

With omnichannel support, you can tap into channels that your competitors might be neglecting. This approach achieves two key objectives: it ensures you aren’t wasting any potential touchpoints and maximizes your engagement opportunities.

Using Thena.ai for Omnichannel Customer Support

FeatureDescriptionThena.ai BenefitCentralized Request ManagementManage customer inquiries from various channels (email, web chat, social media) within a unified platform in Slack.- Streamline workflows and eliminate the need to switch between multiple platforms. - Gain a holistic view of all customer interactions.AI-powered Request RoutingLeverage Thena.ai's AI to automatically route inquiries to the most qualified support agent based on urgency, topic, and agent expertise.- Improve resolution times by matching customers with the right agent. - Reduce workload imbalance among support teams.Real-time CollaborationCollaborate with colleagues directly within Slack threads on complex customer issues.- Facilitate faster problem-solving through internal discussions and knowledge sharing. - Improve team communication and accountability.Contextual AwarenessThena.ai surfaces relevant customer information and past interactions within Slack, providing context for faster resolution.- Empower support agents to deliver personalized and efficient service. - Reduce the need for repetitive questioning and back-and-forth communication.Automated WorkflowsSet up automated workflows to trigger specific actions based on pre-defined criteria (e.g., sending automated welcome messages, escalating high-priority tickets).- Reduce manual workload and ensure consistent service delivery. - Free up agent time to focus on more complex customer issues.Sentiment AnalysisUtilize Thena.ai's sentiment analysis capabilities to identify customer frustrations and prioritize critical issues.- Proactively address negative customer sentiment and improve satisfaction. - Allocate resources effectively to handle urgent customer concerns.CSAT SurveysSend automated CSAT surveys within Slack after each interaction to capture real-time customer feedback.- Gain valuable insights into customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. - Continuously monitor and improve the quality of customer support.Omnichannel IntegrationsIntegrate Thena.ai with existing ticketing systems (Zendesk, Freshdesk) and knowledge bases to provide a seamless customer experience.- Consolidate customer data and streamline support processes across different channels. - Empower agents with easy access to relevant resources for faster resolutions.Pre-built Templates & Knowledge Base IntegrationUtilize Thena.ai's library of pre-built response templates and integrate with your knowledge base for faster and more consistent responses.- Reduce agent training time and ensure consistent messaging across the team. - Empower agents to quickly access and share relevant knowledge base articles with customers.Proactive Outreach & Self-ServiceLeverage Thena.ai to trigger proactive outreach based on customer behavior or identify opportunities for self-service through targeted knowledge base suggestions.- Reduce reactive support volume by addressing potential issues before they arise. - Empower customers to find solutions independently, improving self-sufficiency.Internal Knowledge Sharing & GamificationEncourage knowledge sharing within the team by enabling agents to capture and share best practices directly within Slack. Implement gamification elements to incentivize knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.- Foster a culture of learning and collaboration within the support team. - Improve overall team knowledge and expertise, leading to better customer service.Performance Analytics & ReportingGenerate comprehensive reports within Thena.ai to track key metrics like resolution times, CSAT scores, and agent performance.- Gain data-driven insights into the effectiveness of your support operations. - Identify areas for improvement and make strategic decisions to optimize customer support.

The bottom line

In the B2B setting, where every conversation counts, omnichannel support is a relationship builder. It lets you show up for your customers and demonstrate that you truly care. After all, you want your customers to enjoy and succeed in using your products and services.

If you’re a B2B business that uses Slack for both internal and customer-focused communications via Slack Connect channels, you might want to explore Thena.

Thena offers a platform for managing customer engagement and support directly through Slack. It provides tools for omni-channel customer support, including request management, marketing automation, and integration with various ticketing systems and CRM tools.

The platform aims to streamline customer communication and support processes, particularly for B2B SaaS companies, by offering features like AI-powered request routing, analytics for customer insights, and integrations with services like Zendesk, Intercom, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Freshdesk.