RP2 – Assessed Coursework – Multi Channel User Experience

what is a multi channel experience and how is it used?

A multi- channel experience is a marketing strategy that lets customers use their preferred method of interacting with brands on numerous platforms online. It is important for big brands and companies to use some multi-channel experience in their advertising. It is important to do this as at any given moment the users can be found online on multiple applications; whether it be smartwatch, phone, TV or computer etc. This can help businesses find the pattern of what platform is deemed the easiest to access and the most engaging. With more potential customers to allow customer experience through online at any given time, this opens up for a lifetime value. This is where the user measures the value of how valuable a customer is to your company over the whole period of their relationship. It costs companies less to keep existing customers than to find new ones. This is because attracting new customers is more expensive as brands would have to use special discounts, advertising and marketing. An example of customer lifetime value are paid subscriptions or a mobile contract.

For this week we had to look into how companies use multi-channel experience in marketing and discuss on how successful the strategies are and the things to improve on. I need to find at least 3 examples of companies that use these marketing techniques.

1- Starbucks

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Starbucks promotes multi channel distribution with a loyalty points & rewards promotion which strengthens the customers loyalty making their coffee the first choice when shopping for beverages. They also include rewards for birthdays which is a common example that’s used in retail practices. Every time the customer spends money on foods, cups or drinks they can collect points that adds up.

2- Nando’s

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Nando’s is a high-street fast food chain that serves African/Portuguese foods that was founded in 1987 from South Africa. It has grown popularity in the United Kingdom making it a household favourite. Nando’s restaurant has an example of a good use of multi channel experience. This is because users can order food without having to wait on staff would be more convenient for customers and helps staff to make the job easier whilst helping the customer order. The ordering/transaction process is also very quick which makes the customer experience more pleasant by keeping up with customer demand. The QR code helps the customers to order food. Once scanning the QR code from the users camera it tracks the location of the restaurant. You can then sign into the app and gain a Nando’s cards rewards with every £7 the customer spends you gain a chilli point which adds up to rewards such as free meals. This promotes loyal existing customers to choose Nando’s as a first choice of restaurant so that it encourages them to frequently spend money in store.

3- ASDA.

Asda is a British supermarket chain, the company was founded in 1949 Asda is very big on marketing and providing users with multi channel experiences with TV advertisements on new seasonal discounts, foodstuffs and promotional videos. Asda is also advertised on social media advertisements, radio & magazines making the supermarket always frequently talked about everywhere.

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ASDA also gives you a decent amount of apps you can download from any device of your choice with 3 main apps that you can install:

ASDA Scan & Go

Asda scan & go is an app customers use to scan their shopping. This is a good companion app for shoppers who wish to fasten the process and keep on track of their budget. This is a good example of an omni- channel experience as the payment and shopping can be done on their very own devices and helps users take half the amount of time to finish shopping and reduces queues as there is a section of the store where buyers can purchase from. The app can be done by creating an ASDA account, using a handset provided in the building then scanning each product.

ASDA

The ‘ASDA’ app is the most commonly used out of the apps shown above as its a way to browse for groceries online without any hassle. The customers can pick up and collect the groceries or have it delivered to doorstep at any given time. This is useful for people that do not have time to shop and rather fasten the process of purchasing products. Or the app can be a means as to look for certain items in stock then customers can then proceed to collect it in store, have it delivered or walk in and buy the product in store.

George at ASDA

Unlike the other two apps George at ASDA specialises in the accessory & clothing department. It is a separate website from the ASDA groceries website to purchase clothes and lifestyle products online delivered to your door.

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References

Beans. (n.d.). Starbucks Loyalty Program Analysis. [online] Available at: https://www.trybeans.com/blog/starbucks-loyalty-program-analysis [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].

Mycustomer (2018). Multichannel. [online] MyCustomer. Available at: https://www.mycustomer.com/hr-glossary/multichannel [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].

Sebastian, J.S. (n.d.). The Technology Behind Nando’s QR Ordering System. [online] Blog- Business | Lifestyle | Technology | Travel | Cuisines. Available at: http://orderpin.co.uk/blog/nandos-qr-ordering-system#:~:text=Now%20they%20have%20implemented%20a%20QR%20code%20on [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].

Andrew Seymour (2021). Nando’s reveals 85% of orders are now placed digitally after integration of new system with kitchen operations. [online] Foodservice Equipment Journal. Available at: https://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com/nandos-reveals-85-of-orders-are-now-placed-digitally-after-integration-of-new-system-with-kitchen-operations/ [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].

ASDA (n.d.). Asda.com – Online Food Shopping, George, & more. [online] www.asda.com. Available at: https://www.asda.com/about/instore/scan-and-go [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].