We are in the middle of a re-invention era. Customer experience needs to evolve with new values, channels, and technologies to put consumers at the center. As we examine in our latest Sentinel Report, customer experience (CX) is at the core of business growth, and that has never been more true than in these challenging times. You either focus on the experience you provide to your customers, or you are out of business.
In this blog, we highlight four key aspects that we examine in the Sentinel Report, and that your organization needs to bear in mind to thrive in a digitally-driven era.
1. Changes of expectations: From words to real action
The events that we all are enduring make it our duty to examine what we have learned and what we can do to ensure we adapt and radically change the way we respond – and provide services and goods effectively. We need to plan, prepare, survive, and eventually thrive. We recommend three key actions:
- Radical acceleration. Circumstances have forced attitudes and behaviors to change overnight. The rate of technological change is rapid and exponential, which represents a challenge for many businesses and organizations as opposed to consumers who have proven to quickly adapt and utilize new technologies. According to research by the Global Web Index, 50% of consumers globally expect to shop online more frequently after the Covid-19 epidemic is over. In order to survive and thrive, your organization needs to rapidly accelerate, radically increasing your ability to identify and deploy new technologies, giving priority to the bare-bone essentials of decisions, allowing the organization to better innovate. This will involve streamlining your governance and decision-making process.
- Radical expectations. Committing and taking action towards environmental and social matters has become an important criterion for consumers at the moment of engaging with a brand. Most Americans say brands should respond to social issues related to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Almost three-quarters (71%) of US adults said brands have a role in responding to the issues of racial injustice and police brutality. Businesses need to define their position and act!
- Radical solutions. Organizations that already excel at customer experience are investing heavily in systems that allow them to scale their CX strategies exponentially, with 53% investing in data platforms and 45% in real-time decision engines. This investment will mean that these companies are moving to a position where their CX provision in digital channels will meet or exceed customer needs in the all-important digital space. CX has to be at the heart of every business’ strategy.
2. The buyer’s journey: Relevant communication makes good business
Almost every aspect of a consumer’s daily life has been impacted or altered in some way over the past four months. Today, businesses have been given a generational opportunity to “wow” consumers with seamless, personalized experiences that will impact the way customers buy and interact with brands for years.
There is no better time than today to create brand enthusiasts by providing those elusive “wow moments” within a carefully designed buyer’s journey. Organizations can achieve this by providing an open communication across the users’ journey, instilling trust and customer loyalty.
When building your customer journey, try to answer the following questions:
- What do consumers want now?
- What has changed? Will it revert back?
- How can your organization address these changes?
3. Technologies that enable the right action: From traditional to disruptive
Consumer tolerance for things they are not interested in has shrunk at a vertiginous rate. This means hyper-personalization is key and CX leaders have to be equipped with the right technologies to be able to understand, get their products and services in front of their clients, tailor a more relevant user experience, and compete in the ever so aggressive digital space.
In our Sentinel Report, we dive into more detail about the four essential tools to take the right action in this digitally accelerated Covid era: analytics, automation, experimentation, and social.
4. How does the future look? Personalization and prediction
Research shows that companies with over $1 billion in revenue can expect to earn, on average, an additional $700 million within three years of investing in customer experience. The future of CX is an ecosystem of technologies working together with data scientists, business stakeholders, and marketing analysts to anticipate your customers’ needs. This means it is key for your organization to invest in a diverse workforce and foster integration and co-creation to transform your business inside out.
One of the cornerstones of great customer experiences is AI. The capabilities of this technology to predict customer behavior allows companies to optimize the buyer’s journey, making sure customers are satisfied. Invest in AI now, build your foundation, connect the dots inside your data infrastructure, and map your customer journey with AI today.
CX is your next stepping stone to disruption
Explore in depth how your company can adapt to changes in consumer behaviour. Download our latest Sentinel report and stay relevant through the observation of market trends and industry behaviour from all over the world.
