An exceptionally good customer experience leads to demonstrably better business results. Research shows that customer satisfaction increases, brand reputation optimizes and turnover increases as well. How do you improve the customer experience by using digital developments such as personalized websites, IoT devices and voice assistants? Jules Hoppenbrouwers, Manager Digital Customer Experience, explains.
If you want to increase the customer satisfaction of your company, you have to meet the expectations of the consumer and take an extra step at key moments in the customer journey. Companies are therefore expected to create a strong and consistent customer experience during all touchpoints in this process. The customer experience is as good as the weakest link in the entire customer journey.
The difference between an online and offline consumer is fading. Customers are constantly changing from one channel to another. For example, after someone doesn’t feel like they are assisted online, they can decide to call customer service. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that a consumer will have to tell his entire story again.
Many companies are not yet responding to the numerous channels on which a consumer is active. For example, the call center employee does not know about the previous online journey of a consumer. This can give them the feeling of being given the runaround. If a few days later, the customer subsequently receives a general newsletter that does not meet his needs, he will most likely unsubscribe.
One customer view
To prevent this problem, companies need to work from a single customer view, available for all different channels. A customer profile includes information about the (online) behaviour of the consumer, which can be enriched with data from other systems, such as demographic data and purchase history.
First map out which systems contain information about your customer. If you, as a company, carefully bring this data together, one relevant customer view emerges. If all goes well, it is already known where this information is due to the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) (or GDPR) regulations.
Visualize the customer journey
We live in a time where the customer communicates with the brand of your organisation via personalized websites, mobile apps, or smart thermostats. If the customer journey is carefully mapped out, you can easily respond to these new developments. Figure out where you can renew and optimize your customer journey by using new technologies.
The extra data insights that arise from the use of these digital innovations can help you to discover patterns in the behaviour of your customers through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). You can act on this by, for example, responding to possible new purchases; the ‘next best action’.
It is also possible to optimize online sales funnels and service channels through online platforms. This gives employees real-time access to relevant information about their customers. By means of A/B-testing it is possible to observe which statements convert best.
Digital Experience platform
A Digital Experience Platform (DXP) plays a key role in operating all these digital touch points. It brings an omni-channel customer view together with a content management system, allowing you to automatically send relevant information to the right customer over the right channel in real-time. This allows a customer to continue his journey seamlessly from, for example, a physical contact moment to a digital interaction via the ‘my-environment’.
Each channel specific type of service
Incidentally, this does not mean that the customer receives the same service on every channel. When visiting a ‘Brick and mortar’ store, the consumer may want personal advice, while the digital channel is more suitable for offering services efficiently and effortlessly. Give the customer the experience that suits the channel and connects to the integrated customer service.
IG&H has a unique combination of sector expertise and the different competence teams of Technology, Analytics and Organization Transformation. This is why we are positioned to connect the many individual initiatives from an integrated customer view and to turn them into a valuable and memorable customer experience. Want to know more? Contact us.
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