Create an Omnichannel Customer Experience

Discover Traditional Distribution Systems

In order to sell a product or service to the public, it's essential to find the right sales channels for that product or service. Nowadays, there are several options that tend to work well, and they include both online and offline channels.

Which ones you choose will depend first and foremost on an in-depth knowledge of your buyer personas, which we explored in the last chapter. Having thorough knowledge of customer profiles enables companies to determine through which intermediaries and/or forms of media to direct their marketing actions.

From there, the company can even combine multiple channels, which improves its market performance.

Let's look at the different types of channels you can adopt in your distribution strategy.

Brick and Mortar

Offline channels are the ones traditionally used by companies to make sales.

The physical point of sale is the pinnacle of the buying experience, because it engages all five of the customer's senses. They can touch the product, sniff a sample of a new fragrance, test the stability of a chair, and try out the features, weight and display of a new smartphone. That's pretty hard to do when you're buying something online. Engaging all five senses encourages buying and consumption in general.

A store is also a reassuring space. When customers are able to get advice or try out products, especially for more technical or high-priced items (e.g., cars, household appliances, mattresses), it helps remove barriers to purchase. 

Physical sales allow the customer to circumvent the risks involved with shipping (theft, damage) and online shopping (product doesn't match listing, wrong size, etc.).

The brick-and-mortar channel is often used by local businesses, such as mom-and-pop stores, bakeries, neighborhood pharmacies, newspaper stands, etc.

Pure Players

The first pure players were start-ups that chose to compete with major distance-selling companies, such as catalog retailers (Land's End, L.L. Bean) or big-box chain stores.

The arrival and proliferation of pure players has revolutionized many of our traditional markets. Pure players are a new, aggressive form of competition for long-established players.

Some of the most well-known pure players include Amazon, Netflix, and Alibaba.

Click and Mortar

Along with the e-commerce boom came the arrival of the click and mortar.

Some well-known examples of click-and-mortar companies are Nike, Zara, IKEA, Nespresso, and Sephora.

For the most part, click and mortars tend to be mass retail businesses. They are usually companies that existed before the internet and started their online business later on.

Here's a graphic showing the three different distribution systems:

Case Study: Home Made

Out of the traditional channels we've discussed here, which ones would you choose to use for Home Made? Why?

Identify Up-And-Coming Channels, Especially on Social Media

With the emergence of digital in recent years, it has become impossible for businesses to ignore social media in their marketing strategy.

Social selling is a term referring to the use of social networks to sell products directly to customers.

On social media, the buying experience is more emotional, so users feel a stronger connection to products.

Well, it's because, on top of being more accessible for nearly every company, the social media channel offers consumers a more fluid buying experience—the barriers to buying are reduced. Consumers have become increasingly familiar with social media and are increasingly confident buying online from a company's e-commerce site. 

Plus, the online payment process has become easier and more secure with credit cards and services such as PayPal.

It has never been easier to contact companies and brands directly and ask questions via customer service chat features on their websites. And, for these companies, a high rate of interaction often means bigger sales!

During the uncertain times brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, social networks started borrowing the methods used in traditional physical retail to boost their online sales. Unlike most e-commerce websites, social networks foster a personal, human relationship with customers. Buying through social media is a great alternative for consumers, who can try out more products virtually (thanks to augmented reality or virtual reality) and get quick responses from companies, all while making purchases from the comfort of their own home.

Instagram has established itself as the most popular social selling platform on the market today, with its Instagram Shopping feature.

This service, which first launched in 2020, offers a new online shopping experience where products can be tagged in photos posted on Instagram, giving users direct access to the product page on the seller's website.

This tool is becoming increasingly popular among influencers who collaborate with brands. With the tagging feature, they can redirect their community of followers to their brand sponsor's online store.

On Pinterest, the social platform all about creating mood boards, social selling is a logical step. Pinterest is a network where users can share mood boards with photos of products—ideas for home decor, for example. Just like on other social networks, companies can create external links to their products, thus steering users directly to the product page on the brand's website.

According to Pinterest's own data, 93% of its users use the app to preview their purchases.

For now, the TikTok app, like Snapchat, does not have the option of buying products directly from its platform. But it looks like the app is currently testing a "Shopping" button in its video advertisements.

Let's look at the example of the brand Domino’s:

This fast food chain is often buzzed about on social media because of its loud, humorous advertising.

Domino’s bet big on a hyper-personalized relationship with its followers—and it's paying off! The company frequently gets its customers engaged with games, contests, and behind-the-scenes photos taken by their employees.

In doing so, Domino’s reinforces its brand image by focusing on three of its most important core values: customer-centricity, boldness, and transparency.

The brand publishes daily content on social networks with lots of pop culture references to engage with their customers..

The upshot? Customers follow their stories, remember new products, and feel more involved in the process.

Today, Domino’s has over 21,000,000 followers on Facebook, 1,700,000 on Instagram and 1,400,000 on Twitter.

Other channels are also gaining popularity, though they're based on an older model. Take pop-up stores for example, which are only open for short periods of time. This type of sales channel enables entrepreneurs to open their own dedicated point of sale for a limited time if a yearly lease on a retail store would not be cost-effective.

Case Study: Home Made

Out of the social media channels we've discussed here, which ones would you recommend for Home Made? Why?

Stay on the Lookout for New and Upcoming Channels

According to some experts, unified commerce is the future of distribution.

It's the next stage after omnichannel, one where all channels will work in perfect harmony. This gives the customer a seamless experience, while the company gets a comprehensive view of the customer.

Online booking and click-and-collect services are examples of unified commerce.

Here's an illustration, or rather a counterexample:

Agnes is shopping in the store of a clothing brand where she's a regular customer.

She falls in love with a dress that's a bit expensive for her tastes, but she decides to treat herself and buys it. When she gets home, she sees an email from the brand offering a discount. The salesperson didn't tell her about the discount when they took Agnes' loyalty card, so she paid full price for an item she could have gotten for a reduced price.

What do you think? As a customer, would this annoy you?

It would only seem logical for the salesperson to let Agnes know she's eligible for a discount when scanning her loyalty card, right?

If you think so, you're already a fan of unified commerce. 😊

Unified commerce is what customers today are looking for. In other words, they want commerce that revolves around... themselves! 

Nowadays, a customer with their smartphone in hand is where all sales channels meet.

“The customer is the channel” has become the new philosophy of some major brands, including Target.

Pay Attention to Emerging and Developing Trends

• Now is the time for shopping local.

The 2020 health crisis showed the enormous potential of local consumption. Consumers nowadays care whether a product is localand where it was made (e.g., “Made in the U.S.A.”).

Shopping local also provides a sense of community and neighborhood living, values that saw a revival during the COVID-19 crisis.

• Using Video for E-Commerce

The future of e-commerce will belong to the brands and creators who know how to marry commerce and content in one seamless, engaging and interactive space.

In other words, video is the perfect medium!

YouTube is already in the process of transforming into a hybrid e-commerce platform, with ads linking directly to product pages for items shown in videos.

• The Recommerce boom (the used/secondhand market)

Recommerce refers to the market for buying and selling pre-owned, or secondhand, goods. It's currently in the midst of a resurgence. What's old is new again!

Many brands are already creating dedicated spaces for consumers to give products they no longer use a second life.

In September 2021, the Galeries Lafayette opened a space called (RE)STORE, where they sell secondhand and sustainable fashion items.

Recent studies predict that this market will double over the next five years. The stakes are high and the market is huge. 

Notably, this trend was driven by changes in consumer behavior (which explains the success of Vinted, a secondhand online marketplace), since consumers are increasingly concerned with the sustainability of mass market products.

• The Thriving Rental Market

In the age of collaborative consumption, rental services of every kind are flourishing on the web. From tools for home improvement enthusiasts to household furniture and appliances, anyone can rent practically anything they might need. The trend even extends to clothing.

This trend hasn't gone unnoticed by the major players in ready-to-wear fashion—multinational brand H&M is already testing this concept in Sweden.

Stay on alert for future trends.

I highly recommend that you keep on the lookout for future developments in these new distribution channels. Situations can sometimes change very quickly, as we saw with the major upheavals caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

Follow news related to your industry, and subscribe to LinkedIn groups around your field or your personal interests.

Seek out influencers who talk about your profession or the industry in which you work or aspire to work.

Case Study: Home Made

To keep track of developments in these new channels, I suggest you create a tracking spreadsheet—and start using it now. Which of the emerging channels we discussed would you recommend for our company Home Made? Why? Can you think of any others?

Let's Recap!

• If your company sells exclusively online, you're a pure player.

• If your company doesn't sell anything online, you're a brick and mortar.

• If your company sells on both types of distribution channel, you're a click and mortar!

• Social media networks have made it possible to make purchases directly from their apps by clicking a link that leads to the brand's website, or even directly to the product page.

• The new major consumer trends are:

  • Shopping local

  • The secondhand and resale market

  • The rental market, which is becoming an increasingly viable alternative to purchasing

We've reached the end of part two! Congratulations! Now you know how to outline your strategy. 

Now you can take the quiz below to test what you've learned. And I'll see you in the next part of the course, where we'll talk about the customer experience and how to map the customer journey.