What is omnichannel customer support and why do you need it?

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Selling to new customers is great, but earning their long-term loyalty is even better. Repeat purchases create predictable revenue and stronger customer relationships, and they significantly increase customer lifetime value. 

You only achieve this when the experience stays positive from the moment someone buys to the moment they need support.

Today’s customers expect to connect with businesses on the channels that suit them best, whether that’s phone, chat, email or social media. This means your after-sales support must be seamless, responsive and available wherever your customers already are.

An effective way to deliver this is through an omnichannel communication strategy. Below, we’ll break down what it takes to set one up and the benefits it brings to your business.

TL;DR

• Omnichannel support connects all customer communication channels into one unified system so customers never repeat themselves and agents always see full context.

• Disconnected tools slow teams down, increase manual work, hurt CSAT and make scaling support harder.

• Clear warning signs you need an omnichannel strategy include repeated calls, inconsistent service, rising churn, bloated tech stacks, and slow resolutions.

• A strong omnichannel approach improves customer insight, simplifies journey mapping, speeds up resolutions, enables personalised support and increases agent productivity.

• To build it, understand customer expectations, focus on preferred channels, invest in self-service, automate routine interactions and integrate all communication tools with your CRM and helpdesk.

• Measure success through FCR, TTR, CSAT, NPS, channel volume, agent productivity and escalation rates.Aircall delivers a voice-first omnichannel experience by consolidating calls, SMS/MMS and WhatsApp, streamlining admin and syncing with 200+ tools to keep every customer interaction consistent.

What does omnichannel support mean?

Customer support as a service is no longer limited to phone calls. As the name suggests, omnichannel customer support refers to providing a seamless customer support service across different communication channels. 

Along with phone calls, this could include text messages, email, chat support and social media messaging.

Omnichannel support aims not only to answer customer queries but also to provide a seamless customer service experience. For example, a customer may raise a request through a website AI Agent, which can then be followed by a phone call or an email.

What are omnichannel platforms?

Omnichannel contact centre software acts as a central hub that connects every channel your customers use to reach you:

• Voice: Ideal for when customers need to talk to a human support agent and get clarity fast.

• SMS, MMS and WhatsApp: Perfect for fast-moving conversations and alerts like sending an order confirmation, a delivery update or a quick follow-up message after a call.

• Email: Best for detailed queries and cases that don’t need immediate attention.

• Chatbots/live chat: Ideal for quick answers and filtering routine questions before they reach an agent.

• Social media: Useful for building brand presence and offering rapid support whenever customers reach out publicly, from complaints to compliments.

• Self-service/FAQs: For customers who prefer solving issues on their own.

But having the various communication channels isn’t enough. What really defines an omnichannel strategy is the connective tissue between them: The shared data and continuous context that follow the customer from channel to channel.

What's the difference between omnichannel and multichannel customer support?

At first glance, omnichannel and multichannel support may sound similar. Both focus on connecting with customers across different channels. But the key difference lies in how those channels work together.

With multichannel customer service, businesses offer unified support through phone calls, text messages, emails, social media platforms, chat support, and so on. This gives customers a choice, but not continuity because each channel operates independently. 

For example, if a customer starts a conversation on your website and later calls the support team, the phone agent won’t see the chat history and will not know the background to the issue. This means that the customer has to retell the story from the beginning.

With omnichannel customer support, the experience is connected end-to-end. All channels share context, so customers can move from chat to phone to email without repeating themselves. Every agent sees the same interaction history which helps them to solve an issue faster. 

The cost of disconnected support channels

When support teams juggle disconnected tools, the impact shows up everywhere: Repeated work, slower resolution times, and frustrated customers. Agents spend valuable time re-entering information or searching for context across systems. Ultimately, this takes away from valuable time that could be used to help customers. 

In fact, our research shows that agents can reclaim up to eight minutes every hour simply by removing manual admin and fragmented workflows. Over time, those delays drive up Time to Resolution (TTR) and push Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT) down.

Disconnected systems also create operational drag. Without integrated support channels, ops leaders lose visibility and spend more time on maintenance, reporting, and manual fixes. The study shows that teams who move to connected communications see a 20% lift in operational productivity and lowered maintenance costs. 

All of this underscores a simple truth: Siloed channels impact far more than efficiency. They weaken satisfaction and, in the long run, hurt retention.

10 signs your business needs an omnichannel support strategy

After seeing how disconnected channels impact performance, the next question is simple: how do you know it’s happening inside your own business? 

If your team or customers are running into any of these issues, it’s a clear signal that exploring omnichannel contact centre solutions could make a big difference:

1. You’re losing visibility into the customer story: Data is scattered across systems, so agents can’t get context and customers have to repeat themselves.

2. Customer frustration is rising: Complaints about slow or inconsistent service are becoming more common.

3. Problems take too long to solve: Your team is spending more time finding context than actually helping.

4. Repeat calls are piling up: Low first-contact resolution shows your team doesn’t have access to the full picture.

5. Your team is juggling too many tools: Constant switching reduces efficiency and increases mistakes.

6. Service quality varies by channel: Customers notice if chat is smooth but email is slow.

7. Reporting is painful: Hard-to-access data makes it tough to track trends or coach agents.

8. Churn is rising: Frustrated customers are leaving instead of staying loyal.

9. Growth feels harder than it should: Scaling support means multiplying the inefficiencies instead of streamlining.

10. You’re stuck in reactive mode: Without integrated insights, proactive support is nearly impossible.

How can your business benefit from an omnichannel support strategy? 

These days, customers don’t want to jump through hoops to get help. They want fast, seamless support wherever they are: Phone, chat, email, social. If your channels don’t talk to each other, it slows everyone down and leaves customers frustrated. 

With an omnichannel approach, your team can deliver connected customer communication with ease. In fact, research by Forrester shows that by applying an omnichannel approach, companies have seen a 46% increase in customer lifetime value and a 35% increase in retention rate. 

Here are some of the key benefits of an omnichannel support strategy:

Access data to understand customer needs

Opening up additional (connected!) channels for communication gives businesses more touchpoints to collect customer information. You’ll be able to better understand customer behaviour and gather insight into what your customers want.

Take a simple example: A customer may call customer service about servicing their washing machine, then later use the website chat to look for a replacement. With omnichannel customer support, the company can see the machine the customer owned previously and better understand what they need next.

Give agents full visibility into the customer journey

To give customers a good overall experience, brands must be able to map their entire customer journey. This becomes easier with an omnichannel customer service strategy.

For example, a customer may browse the website and get basic questions answered through online chat before they call the service team. By the time they pick up the phone, they have already moved from awareness to consideration. 

With an omnichannel setup, the agent can see that journey and tailor the conversation to the customer’s stage. They can skip repeated questions, build on what the customer has already found, and guide them toward the right next step.

Improve query resolution rates

Companies can solve customer issues and resolve requests much faster when they have an omnichannel customer service strategy in place. This is because they can extract data from different touchpoints and create a better customer profile.

For example, if a customer reports a payment issue via email and later follows up via live chat, the agent can see the entire history and pick up where the customer left off. This prevents repeated questions and helps resolve the request quickly.

Deliver customised service experiences

Leveraging data from every support touchpoint allows businesses to deliver more customised service. Teams understand customer expectations, past behaviour, and communication preferences, which helps them tailor each interaction to the customer’s needs.

For example, say a customer usually reaches out via chat and has a history of using self-service tools, an agent can tailor the conversation to that preference and offer links to relevant help articles or quick step-by-step guidance. 

If another customer prefers phone support and has an open high-priority ticket, the agent can prioritise a call with full context already in hand.

Increase agent productivity

Before calling a customer service agent, customers may try to get their requests resolved through digital customer communication channels such as web chat. When these interactions feed into a unified support system, agents gain instant visibility into what the customer has already tried and which touchpoints they’ve used.

Omnichannel support streamlines agent workflows by reducing manual admin and consolidating information in one place. Instead of switching between systems or re-creating context, agents can pull up the customer’s full history and focus on solving the issue from the first moment of contact.

This removes repeated tasks, shortens the time spent gathering information, and helps agents deliver faster, more confident support. With fewer distractions and clearer context, teams work more efficiently and can handle a higher volume of conversations without sacrificing quality.

Want to uncover the hidden workflow gaps slowing your sales and support teams down? Learn how unified, AI-powered customer communications cut costs and improve performance. Download the guide.

5 tips for creating an effective omnichannel customer support strategy

Building an effective omnichannel support strategy starts with understanding how your customers move across channels and what they need at each stage. 

The steps below outline the foundations every business should put in place to deliver a consistent, connected experience.

1. Understand your customers’ expectations

To build an effective customer service strategy, you first need a clear understanding of what customers expect from every stage of their journey. This includes the level of responsiveness they want, the type of support they look for, and the friction points that commonly appear.

By understanding intent and behaviour, you can map the journey, anticipate needs, and design support processes that meet those expectations consistently.

Pro tip: Review customer feedback, survey responses, and support transcripts to uncover patterns in frustrations, response-time expectations, and what customers consider a “good” or “bad” experience.

2. Identify their preferred channels for communication

Once you understand customer expectations, the next step is identifying where customers actually prefer to communicate. Not every channel carries the same weight, and preferences can shift based on demographics, urgency, industry, or even the type of question being asked.

By pinpointing the channels your customers use most, such as phone, chat, email, or self-service tools, you can focus resources where they’ll have the greatest impact and avoid spreading your team too thin.

Pro tip: Analyse previous interactions across all touchpoints to see which channels drive the highest engagement. You can also ask customers directly through surveys and quick polls.

3. Create self-service content

Providing reliable self-service options is a key part of an effective omnichannel customer support strategy. Self-service support can take many forms, including:

• Manuals

• step-by-step tutorials

• Demonstration videos

• FAQ pages.

Developing this content helps optimise your team’s resources while giving customers a positive experience. After all, 91% of customers prefer to use a good knowledge base to solve simple issues on their own whenever possible.

Pro tip: Start by analysing the most common customer questions and issues from your support channels. Prioritise content that addresses these pain points, and make it easily accessible across your website, app, and chatbots. 

4. Automate communications where it makes sense to

Automation can be a game-changer when applied strategically. By handling routine or repetitive interactions, you free up your agents to focus on complex issues that require human attention. 

Automation can include chatbots for instant responses, automated SMS or email follow-ups, and even voice agents to handle common enquiries. 

For example, Aircall’s AI Voice Agent can answer basic questions over the phone, triage requests, and route calls to the right agent to ensure that customers get quick, consistent responses while your team works on higher-value interactions.

Pro tip: Identify repetitive tasks and high-volume queries in your support channels that can be automated without compromising the customer experience. Then, implement tools like Aircall for AI-driven voice handling, and integrate chatbots or automated email/SMS workflows through Aircall’s existing integrations or platforms like Zendesk, HubSpot, or Intercom. 

Want to automate routine calls without sacrificing quality? See how Aircall’s AI Voice Agent handles queries, triages requests and frees your team to focus on real impact. Learn more.

5. Integrate communication platforms with business software

For an omnichannel strategy to truly work, all your support channels need to connect through a single platform. This is one reason more businesses are moving from traditional PBX networks to VoIP systems: They allow you to handle voice and messaging in one place while keeping data flowing seamlessly.

Integrating your communication platform with other customer communication management tools is key. 

For example, connecting your VoIP system to a CRM gives agents instant access to detailed profiles and can automatically update customer records after every interaction. This not only saves time but ensures your team always has the context they need to provide a smooth, personalised experience.

Pro tip: Use a platform like Aircall, with 200+ integrations, to connect your communication channels to your CRM and other business tools. Start with the systems your team uses most to create a centralised workflow.

How to measure the success of your omnichannel support strategy

It’s one thing to roll out an omnichannel support strategy, but how do you know it’s actually helping? The answer is in the metrics. Here are the key metrics to monitor and how to calculate them:

1.First Call Resolution (FCR)

Why it matters: FCR measures the percentage of customer issues resolved on the first interaction, without the need for follow-ups. High FCR means your agents have the context and tools to solve problems quickly, which improves satisfaction and reduces operational load.

How to calculate:

FCR (%) = Number of issues resolved on first contact ÷ Total number of issues × 100

2. Time to Resolution (TTR)

Why it matters: TTR tracks how long it takes, on average, to fully resolve a customer issue. Lower TTR indicates efficiency and fewer touchpoints for the customer. This helps reduce frustration and increase loyalty.

How to calculate:

TTR = Total time spent resolving issues ÷ Number of resolved issues

3. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

Why it matters: CSAT measures how happy customers are with your support interactions. It’s a direct indicator of the quality of your service and the effectiveness of your omnichannel strategy.

How to calculate:

CSAT (%) = Number of satisfied customers ÷ Total survey responses × 100

4. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Why it matters: NPS gauges customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend your company. High NPS shows that your support strategy is creating positive experiences that encourage advocacy.

How to calculate:

NPS = % Promoters − % Detractors

5. Channel volume

Why it matters: Tracking volume across different channels helps you understand which channels are most used and where you might need to allocate more resources. It also highlights trends in customer preferences.

How to calculate:

Channel Volume (%) = Interactions per channel ÷ Total interactions across all channels × 100

6. Agent utilisation / productivity

Why it matters: This metric shows how efficiently your agents are using their time and whether automation or process improvements are freeing them up for higher-value tasks.

How to calculate:

Agent Utilisation (%) = Time spent handling customer interactions ÷ Total working hours × 100 

7. Escalation rate

Why it matters: The percentage of cases that require escalation indicates how often frontline agents can’t resolve issues themselves. Lower escalation rates suggest agents have the right tools, training, and access to customer context.

How to calculate:

Escalation Rate (%) = Number of escalated issues ÷ Total number of issues × 100

Develop a voice-first omnichannel support strategy with Aircall 

Aircall puts every customer conversation in one place by helping you craft and deliver a true omnichannel strategy. Voice calls, SMS/MMS, and WhatsApp messages all flow through the same platform, so agents can see the full history and respond without making customers repeat themselves. 

Features like click-to-dial, call tagging, and voicemail transcription reduce administrative work and keep agents focused on helping customers. Aircall integrates with 200+ business tools, including CRMs and helpdesk software, so every interaction is logged automatically and workflows stay consistent. 

Real teams are already seeing the impact. Businesses like The Cookware Company have used Aircall to cut response times, keep customer data unified, and let agents focus on solving problems rather than switching between systems.

With flexible plans that scale with your business, Aircall lets you build a practical, voice-first omnichannel support setup that will increase customer engagement and make daily operations easier for your team.

Try Aircall for free for 7 days and see how our telephony software can optimise your customer service operations.

Frequently asked questions about omnichannel support

What does omnichannel mean?

Omnichannel refers to a connected approach to customer communication where all channels work together as one unified system. It allows customers to move between voice, email, SMS, social media and chat without losing context, and it gives agents full visibility into the customer’s history.

What is an example of omnichannel customer service?

A common example is when a customer begins a conversation through website chat, follows up by email and later calls the support team. Every agent can see the full interaction history, so the customer does not need to repeat themselves and the agent can continue the conversation without interruption.

What are the 4 C's of omnichannel?

The 4 C’s of omnichannel are Consistency, Convenience, Context and Connection. These principles describe what an effective omnichannel experience delivers: the same level of service across all channels, easy access to support, complete visibility into customer history and smooth movement between touchpoints.

Published on December 12, 2023.