Customer expectations have been dramatically reshaped by digital technologies, and companies must realize the distinct shift. Today’s digital age requires companies to remain relevant by reacting to digitally disrupted behavior with personalized experience offerings and creating tangible moments for their customers that bind them to the brand. There are a number of factors to consider to engage customers better and thus achieve much faster growth and better ROI.
Understanding how customer behavior has changed
Digital transformation has resulted in many changes. Not the least of these is how we all must view our customers. It’s not just offering a product or service any longer. It is now a dynamic customer journey - an experience we must provide to our customers if we truly want them to connect with our brand. Customers rightfully expect a broad set of self-service capabilities and a means to customize their encounter with us. They anticipate related interactions offered through a variety of different online and offline channels, on top of surpassing their expectations with quality and benefits, addressing buying behavior and preferences, and keeping them interested. The new path-to-purchases is no longer linear, and involving several interactions and channels. Let’s dig in further.
The new path-to-purchases is no longer linear, involving several interactions and channels.
Core business capabilities being changed
As modern customers silo themselves into associations that share like-minded goals and ethos, they search for brands that are ubiquitous and can be integrated into many aspects of their lives. Companies must change their business capabilities accordingly, especially in the front office; to create curated, memorable experiences and be relevant to their customers where they are. This goal can be better achieved by implementing an omnichannel presence: digital reminders (i.e., emails and text messages), AI in the form of chatbots, and physical client service hosted by actual people. A strategy should begin by making Customer Engagement the focus by utilizing digital technologies to generate purposeful and astute connections with new and existing customers. Then, take advantage of new data sources and analytics to implement automated recommendations and services. In practical terms, this could mean cross-selling another product a customer might not realize they need, which could be discounted as part of a bundle; or giving the customer the ability to customize their payment dates or amounts to meet their financial goals. As customers seek quicker resolutions for their daily tasks, companies must leverage their entire ecosystem and digital capabilities to offer seamless first-class customer service across the whole customer journey. To put it another way, companies need to acknowledge the new behavior by engaging with each touchpoint and brand purpose, building fresh business models, and presenting data-driven specific correspondence that makes each user feel has been designed specifically for their unique set of needs and circumstances.
Spotlighting the creation of a connected experience
Companies where each unit of business has its own set of customer engagement applications usually keep different views of isolated customer data, leading to different disconnected (read, “friction-full”) instances for the customer. While today’s consumers are in a state of constant connection, their expectations have yet to be met by the experiences offered to them by most companies. To enable intelligent and connected customer touchpoints, the entire front-office structure needs to shift away from the incorporated model based on technology components and business functions and mature into a customer-centric model, with a foundation of diverse layers that consider today’s customers’ needs and ensures an omnichannel experience that is best-in-class and frictionless. This can be in the form of a marketing email filled with recommendations and vouchers based on previous purchase history, or dynamic content personalized for customers on a website based on their user profile/preferences. By breaking down the walls separating siloed applications and data sources and leveraging the power of analytics and AI, companies can build a secure, intelligent, best-in-class platform that offers customers the connected encounter they are looking for.
Selecting an approach that revolves around the individual while maintaining the ability to remain flexible is a key factor in securing a successful understand of the customer's goals...
Adopting an agile human-centric approach and mindset
Finally, selecting an approach that revolves around the individual while maintaining flexibility is a key factor in understanding the customer's goals, pain points, and needs when modeling for innovation and change. This strategy can only be implemented with the right tools and procedures for organizational culture in line with problem-seeking/solving through the lens of the user’s perspective. A good look at the foundations of customer service offerings is an ideal place to start: incorporating more of the omnichannel approach by offering multiple portals of support while optimizing weight and response times - a strategy that mixes digital and live in-person support. A more contemporary strategy, such as design centered around human capital, requires new mindsets and operating models; such as flexible, collaborative innovation, design-focused creative problem-solving, and iterative product development. This commonly results in market archetypes, community based-personas, and user-centered customer journeys rather than the traditional customer segmentation based on demographics, socioeconomic factors, or defining and describing organization-centered business processes. By adopting this new philosophy and culture, companies can take advantage of the standard drives that back these doctrines to forge and manufacture connected, value-focused, user-centered experiences that will garner enough loyalty from customers to enthusiastically advocate for and act as ambassadors for their favorite brands.
It’s not easy to grow and deliver a comprehensive customer-centric strategy and digital transformation. Many companies tend to manage digital initiatives as minor projects within an apt function or division. Companies wanting to evolve must develop a digital mindset that aligns with the company’s culture: the activities, structure, people, and broad ambition of the organization. It is time for everyone to begin putting the human perspective of digital transformation at the center of their journey to take their customer experience to the next level.
