What Is Omnichannel Communication?

Did you know that companies with strong omnichannel communication retain an astonishing 89% of their customers, and witness a 9.5% increase in annual revenue year-over-year?

Imagine a world where your app isn't just a standalone platform, but part of an interconnected ecosystem that makes a more satisfying user journey. This is the reality of omnichannel communication.

Ready to see how combining an omnichannel strategy with in-app chat can enrich the user experience? Let’s dive right in.

What Is Omnichannel Communication?

Omnichannel communication is basically creating a seamless user experience across multiple channels – be it in-app chats, social media, email, or even phone support. 

It's like knitting together various platforms so users can hop from one to another without feeling like they’ve entered a different world.

Omnichannel Communication In Action

Let’s say a user starts a conversation with customer support on live chat within the app, but has to dash out and can’t continue the conversation. 

With an omnichannel approach, they can pick up right where they left off but this time, through email or even a social media DM. The user doesn’t have to repeat themselves, which is a huge win in providing a frictionless user experience.

Why Apply An Omnichannel Communication Strategy?

The main reason is that it can boost user satisfaction and engagement. 

For example, you can incorporate in-app chat that syncs with the user’s email and social media channels. If a user asks a question in the app and then later sends a follow-up question via Twitter (X), you can connect the dots and provide a more informed, personalized response.

Using these interconnected channels lets you gather a holistic view of user interactions and preferences. This goldmine of data helps you tailor your app to meet the needs of users and fix bugs or issues that may cause UX hiccups.

The beauty of omnichannel communication is that users are more likely to stick around longer. They’ll be more engaged because the environment is user-friendly and responsive to their needs. Plus, it positions your app as more modern and user-centric – a solid reputation to build in competitive app markets.

Real-Time Communication Through In-App Chat

When you integrate real-time chat into an app, you’re likely to see a significant spike in user activity. People are more engaged because they get instant responses to their queries or issues. You create a space where users feel heard and valued. 

Without in-app chat, users send emails or messages and wait for a response. With in-app chat all interactions in the app become a two-way street. Response rates go up which stops users from becoming frustrated. This helps to boost user retention.

In-app chat also opens up community building within your app, as users can connect with each other in chat channels. If your app is centered around common interests or goals – say a gaming or e-learning app – users can connect to share experiences and provide support to each other.

Healthcare App Example

The stakes are high when dealing with individuals’ health information and care. Real-time communication is more than just a feature in an app like this – it’s a necessity.

The first step is to implement a secure, HIPAA-compliant in-app chat feature. Patients can use it to instantly chat with healthcare providers to ask questions about their prescriptions, appointments, or general health concerns – all in a safe and secure way. 

Similarly, healthcare providers are able to send real-time notifications about appointment changes or test results. This is a massive upgrade from email notifications that often go unnoticed.

Additionally, in the spirit of omnichannel communication, you can ensure that your in-app chat is interconnected with other platforms. 

For instance, if a user initiates a chat in the app but later moves to email or SMS, the conversation continues seamlessly without losing any context. This feature is ideal for elderly users who may not be overly familiar with using in-app chat but still want to maintain real-time communication with their healthcare providers.

You can also set up various chat channels categorized by health topics and conditions. This allows users to join channels that resonate with their health journey. For instance, you can add channels for diabetes management, mental health support, fitness, and many others. 

The idea is to create a safe and supportive environment where users can share their experiences, ask questions, and provide support to others going through similar health challenges. However, please note that chat channels like this will need chat moderation to keep them safe. 

Consistent Brand Messaging

Omnichannel communication helps you achieve brand consistency. 

Brand consistency isn't just about having the same logo or color scheme across all channels. It's about delivering a uniform message and UX regardless of the platform. This consistency builds trust and a strong brand identity. 

Let’s consider an e-learning app for a moment. Learners will be expecting a uniform learning experience, whether they access courses through the app, website, or social media platforms. 

An omnichannel strategy helps you integrate these platforms, so learner progress is updated in real-time across all channels. For instance, if a learner completes a module on the website, the progress is instantly reflected in the app as well.

In-app chat functionality serves as a real-time communication channel between learners and instructors. The same chat feature can be available on your website, with conversations synced across both platforms. So, a learner can ask a question on the app and later check the response on the website, or vice versa. This consistency in communication makes the learning process more engaging and fluid.

Using a chat API like Sceyt means that you can keep your branding consistent in your app with a customizable UI Kit.

The Power of Data Analytics

Data analytics puts a goldmine of insights in your hands to enhance user engagement and retention when used correctly. 

Let’s imagine that you’ve built a FinTech app with in-app chat features to boost omnichannel communication and offer real-time support. The in-app chat does more than simply facilitate communication. It also provides you with valuable data. 

It gives you insights into the common queries, concerns, and suggestions your users have. For example, many users might inquire about the transaction history feature which they find hard to navigate. You can then make focused app improvements to suit. 

You can also use the data to tailor offerings to individual user needs. Suppose your FinTech app provides a platform for users to invest in various financial instruments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or cryptocurrency. Analyzing the conversations and queries in the in-app chat, you might find that a group of users is particularly interested in ethical or green investments.

Armed with this insight, you can tailor your offerings by introducing a new feature where users can find information on environmentally friendly or socially responsible investment options, news updates on green markets, and even get suggestions for green investment opportunities based on their previous investment patterns.

Scalability, Privacy, and Security

Scalability

If you’re successful, your app user base could grow exponentially with time. The in-app chat feature should be able to scale seamlessly as the user base expands. Sceyt is highly scalable, allowing millions of users in a single channel at all price points. 

This is especially important for retail or ecommerce apps. The user base can surge around Black Friday and other sale events. When this happens, the in-app chat has to handle a massive influx of user queries, product discussions, and transaction confirmations without a hitch.

Privacy

Users entrust us with their data, and upholding this trust is paramount. You can also end up with penalties if you don’t comply with data protection regulations. Your in-app chat should have robust privacy measures to ensure data confidentiality.

For healthcare apps, ensuring the privacy of user’s medical data discussed over chat is critical. That’s why it’s important to maintain end-to-end HIPAA-compliant encryption and keep all discussions between users and healthcare providers confidential.

Security

In-app chat should guard against potential threats, ensuring the security of the data being transmitted and stored.

In a financial app, users may want to discuss their investment strategies, for example. Ensuring a secure environment for these discussions is needed to prevent potential financial fraud.

Checklist for Implementing In-App Chat

• Evaluate Scalability - Assess the Chat API for its scalability to handle an increasing number of users and messages.
• Privacy Measures - Ensure that the chat API supports end-to-end encryption and complies with privacy laws.
• Security Protocols - Implement strong authentication and authorization protocols. Employ real-time monitoring to detect and mitigate threats promptly.
• User Education - Educate users on maintaining privacy and security while using the in-app chat.
• Continuous Monitoring and Optimization - Keep an eye on the performance, and gather user feedback for continuous optimization of privacy and security measures.

Key Takeaways

Unifying User Experience

Omnichannel communication is your passport to creating a cohesive user journey, ensuring interactions flow effortlessly across different touchpoints.

Powering Real-Time Interactions 

In-app chat isn’t merely a feature—it’s the conduit for real-time communications that can significantly uplift user engagement.

Brand Consistency 

Maintaining consistent brand messaging across all channels builds trust and a stronger brand identity.

Data-Driven Insights

Unleash the power of data analytics via in-app chat to glean valuable insights, helping to refine your app to better meet the needs of your users.

Security and Privacy 

A careful approach to ensuring privacy and security in in-app chat builds user trust and compliance with regulatory standards.

Try Sceyt’s Low-Latency Chat API Today

If you want to see what Sceyt can do for you, check out our demo app or sign up for a free trial.

Dan Martin

Dan is a an experienced B2B tech writer with a background in engineering.

He specializes in writing about IT, software, SaaS, and engineering.