Transforming Customer Engagement with Omnichannel Strategies

For businesses that need to engage with their prospective and current customers regularly, the omnichannel approach—and the necessary tools for successful engagement—have gone far beyond being nice-to-haves. Today, they are must-haves.

New opportunities to engage with customers on their preferred channels is an exciting and potentially lucrative prospect, but the strategy comes with its fair share of new challenges. Among these are the compliance considerations that come into play when businesses utilize multiple channels for engagement.

The scope of telemarketing activity allowed by the FCC and state laws is narrowing, for example. States are passing individual “mini-TCPA” laws and other privacy regulations. Revisions like the FCC’s “Closing the Lead Gen Loophole” propose that lead generators obtain consumer consent on a one-to-one basis. 

There are also regulatory areas that cause confusion. The most recent TCPA regulations, for example, stipulate that texts are subject to many of the same regulations as phone calls. This means that if a company is using different systems for different channels, they must be able to cross-communicate, which can present challenges regarding consumer opt-outs. In general, for compliance purposes, an opt-out on text should also apply to voice calls and vice versa. Yet consumers may intend to only opt out of one campaign or channel and may unintentionally block themselves from any further communications with a company with whom they want to maintain a relationship.

This increasingly wide variety of requirements and rules makes doing business in multiple locations increasingly complex. Maintaining compliance with all of these evolving regulations for outbound communications across different channels—while at the same time properly serving customers and maximizing revenue for your business—remains a challenge. 

However, while compliance can sometimes resemble a minefield for omnichannel marketers, there is no reason to abandon the strategy. Instead, marketers can follow basic steps that will help them stay within the bounds of the law.

Best Practices for Compliance

With regulations so far-reaching and always subject to change, businesses should consider following specific steps to stay in compliance. These include:

• Utilize in-house compliance experts. See to it that you have a dedicated compliance expert in-house who can serve as the point person for all compliance-related matters. This individual should be well-versed in the latest regulatory changes and best practices.
• Seek good legal support. Consult with an attorney who is an expert in compliance for the specialized legal advice this complex landscape requires. An attorney who understands regulations and ensures that all communication practices adhere to legal standards can take a tremendous amount of work off your staff's plate, including your legal counsel.
• Choose solution providers with a compliance mindset. Partner with solution providers who prioritize compliance. These providers should specialize in creating tools and technologies to help you stay compliant despite changing regulations.
• Stay updated on regulatory changes. Keep abreast of the constantly changing regulatory environment, including state-specific regulations (like “mini-TCPA” laws) and the latest pronouncements from federal regulatory bodies like the FCC. 
• Implement compliance tools. Utilize tools and software settings to ensure compliance. Outbound contact center operations work most effectively when they employ purpose-built technology that supports higher connection rates, automated lead and list management, analytics that track performance metrics, and tools to support compliance with evolving federal and state regulations for telecommunications (whether calls or texts). 
• Join an organization like R.E.A.C.H. (Responsible Enterprises Against Consumer Harassment).

Marketers need to consider compliance, and fortunately, today, there is a wealth of technological tools and experts to help them navigate the legal landscape. Once worries about compliance begin to recede, marketing pros can return to doing what they do best: leveraging new techniques and technologies to reach customers and truly engage with them.

Embracing the Future

Omnichannel customer engagement is more than just a buzzword—it’s a game changer for businesses. The market for this type of customer engagement is expected to grow by 13 percent annually and reach nearly $18 billion in revenue by 2030. 

The omnichannel approach ensures a unified and consistent customer experience across all interaction points with your brand. By integrating data and leveraging advanced technologies, companies can deliver personalized and timely communications, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty while boosting revenue.

For businesses with revenue-producing teams that utilize contact centers, omnichannel strategies are essential to the customer and prospect experience. They enable such companies to reach customers on their channel of choice while also letting them respond at a convenient time, which may not be when an agent calls them the first time. 

Marketers can leverage data and analytics to better understand customer preferences, including their preferred time of day for engagement, preferred communication channels, preferred tone, and more. At the same time, conversational AI programs can take much of the mundane, manual work off their plates so they can devote more time to customer interaction.

For marketers who can navigate the complex legal and regulatory environment, it’s a golden time for using the omnichannel approach.

Meg Mananian is CRO at Convoso. Mananian is a results-oriented leader spearheading revenue strategies to drive growth and optimize sales pipelines. In her prior role as VP of operations, she led an international support team to consistently drive customer success and satisfaction. Mananian’s career includes several years of experience in public accounting, establishing her own consulting firm, and pivotal positions in the technology and healthcare industries.