Omnichannel is still a myth in Brazil, warns experts in digital transformation

Although the term omnichannel is already part of the corporate vocabulary, market experts note that in practice it is still treated more as a buzzword than as a consolidated strategy. According to these professionals, despite the growing demand for integrated and personalized journeys, many companies still face structural and conceptual obstacles that hinder their effective implementation.

According to research State of the Connected Customer from Salesforce, 86% of consumers expect consistency across all channels of interaction with a brand. However, data from PwC show that only 22% of Brazilian companies claim to have full integration between their digital and physical channels & a direct reflection of the distance between expectation and reality.

“Many companies still confuse multichannel presence with omnichannel strategy. Being on several channels does not mean, by itself, delivering a good experience. The real challenge is to ensure that the customer journey is continuous, fluid and frictionless regardless of where it starts or ends”, says Guilherme Carvalho, CEO of Backlgrs, the leading consultancy and implementer of Salesforce in Brazil.

He also adds: “It is no use for the consumer to start an interaction on WhatsApp, then migrate to email and, subsequently, call the SAC and have to repeat all the information. This is a symptom of a unstructured operation, which generates frustration, breach of trust and loss of loyalty opportunity. True omnichannel requires integration between systems, alignment between areas and a customer-centric culture. Without this, what we have is just fragmented multichannel, which delivers value neither to the business nor to the consumer.

With more than 60 projects implemented, among major brands in the country, Backlgrs has observed recurrent errors in omnichannel strategies, ranging from the lack of interoperability between systems to the absence of a customer-centric view.A survey by Aberdeen Group reinforces the impact of these errors: companies with a strong omnichannel presence retain 89% from customers, while those with weak strategies retain only 33%.

Among the main misconceptions, the expert highlights:

• Misalignment between areas: Marketing, sales and service act in isolation, damaging the integrated view of the customer;
• Investment without strategy: Adoption of several tools without clear architecture or integration plan;
• Low data maturity: Lack of governance, inconsistent bases and lack of intelligence to personalize interactions;
• Focus on the channel, not the journey: Implementations focused on presence and not fluidity.

For the expert, omnichannel should be treated as a strategic pillar, not as a technological fad. “Today we talk about total experience, where the focus is not only on the customer, but also on the employee and internal processes. Brands that understand this will come out ahead, not only offering good services, but building lasting relationships”, reflects.