The Chemical Supplier's Guide to Creating an Effective Omnichannel Strategy

In Part 1 of this blog series, we discussed the definition of chemical omnichannel and its importance for chemical suppliers. Now, we will dive deeper into the steps required to create an effective omnichannel strategy for your chemical supply business. 

1. Define Your Chemical Customer Journey

To create a successful omnichannel strategy, it is essential to understand your customers' buying journey. You must identify the touchpoints where your customers interact with your business and ensure that each touchpoint provides a seamless and consistent experience. 

Potential customer touchpoints to consider: 

• How do your customers find you? A google search? Word of mouth?
• Where do they find your products listed? In a downloadable spreadsheet? A digital product catalog on your site?
• How do they buy your products? Do they initiate a quote? Do they call directly? 
• How do they pay for the product? Invoice? Credit card? 
• How do they get help or support during their buying process? 
• Have you used this data to inform how to optimize your selling channels?
  
  

2. Implement a Customer-Centric Approach

Once you have identified all the ways that a potential customer would interact with your business, you should then ask, do they receive the same level of support and is the experience seamless across the entire customer journey? To succeed in an omnichannel environment, you need to prioritize the needs of your customers. This means tailoring your marketing and sales strategy to match their needs and ease the barrier to transact.
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Customer-centric questions to ask about the chemical buyer:

• Are you ranking in search terms for what your customers are looking for? 
• Are your product catalogs clear, updated, and easy to navigate? Are they segmented? Are they searchable? 
• Is the quoting and buying process the way the customer would want to buy? 
• Do you have the payment methods that a customer would prefer to pay?
• Do you provide a means for a potential buyer to ask questions and get support  every step of the way? Can they get the help they need immediately? ‍

3. Leverage Data and Analytics

Data is a critical component of creating an effective omnichannel strategy. Analyzing customer data from different channels can help you gain valuable insights into their preferences, behaviors, and expectations. For example, by analyzing order data, chemical suppliers can identify customer behavior and preferences. 

Ways chemical suppliers can utilize data: 

• Are there trends in what your customers are buying? 
• Can you make similar product recommendations or prompt repurchases of the same product?
• Are there more efficient ways of operating given the geography, type of orders, or order volume that you’re seeing? 
  
  

4. Integrate Your Sales and Marketing Channels

Integrating your sales and marketing channels can help your business achieve a unified customer experience. 

Ways chemical suppliers can integrate their sales and marketing:

• Creating personalized marketing emails at each part of the sales journey 
• Using customer data from orders or online activity to create targeted email campaigns to match their previous purchasing behavior
  
  

5. Monitor and Optimize‍

The final step in creating an effective omnichannel strategy is to continuously monitor and optimize your channels. 

Areas chemical suppliers should regularly monitor and optimize: 

• Is your customer feedback regularly logged and actioned upon? Is there an easy way for customers to give feedback? 
• Are there trends in the customer feedback?
• Are you using feedback and sales data to inform your product strategy and customer journey strategy?  
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Creating an effective omnichannel strategy is critical for chemical suppliers looking to stay competitive in today's market. By defining the customer journey, implementing a customer-centric approach, leveraging data and analytics, integrating sales and marketing channels, and continuously monitoring and optimizing your channels, your chemical business can create a seamless customer experience that drives sales and loyalty.

Here at Agilis, we specialize in helping chemical suppliers start, scale, and enhance their omnichannel journey. Book a consultation with us to start implementing your omnichannel strategy and more. 

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Another area you might want to explore as you’re building out your omnichannel strategy is How to manage your product information? 

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