With the advent of the personal computer in the 1970s, the world of e-commerce has rapidly changed — and businesses have been trying to keep pace ever since.
This digital revolution continues its rise as companies try to appease rapidly evolving customer expectations in a realm where every part of the consumer experience, from engagement to the final transaction, has heightened the importance of brand loyalty.
Follow along as we discuss how businesses are looking to these intuitive technology trends to meet consumer demands, increase engagement and offer superior solutions.
Personalization of Customer Service
Today’s customers don’t want to receive generic telephonic or email responses when interacting with customer support. Instead, they expect a level of personalization to come through in each part of their interaction with a company. Yet, while a majority of consumers prefer a more personal touch, they also want a high level of automation to ensure faster outcomes.
This is where intuitive self-service options such as interactive voice response systems enter the equation. In particular, this technology provides consumers with the type of ease-of-use support they’re seeking, whether that’s interpreting their needs and routing them to the appropriate department or giving them the resources they need to resolve an issue via automation.
IVR, with its ability to adapt to each caller’s experience level and needs, uses predictive intent to limit customer frustration and effort. Ultimately, it’s an essential component for any business looking to personalize their customer experience and stand above competitors.
Action-based Metrics Driven by the Customer Experience
The idea of measuring customers’ complete brand experience may seem complex — and it can be — but in 2019 it’s a must. Businesses that take the time to understand how their brand is viewed by customers and gauge their overall satisfaction through each step of the customer journey will see their profit margins increase.
A crucial step toward gathering this valuable information begins with businesses fine-tuning the data they collect from consumers. In fact, AI tools such as chatbots, interactive text response, visual search methods and more can help. As machine learning becomes increasingly better at predicting individual customer preferences, scores of active and passive data will emerge that businesses can mine when mapping their customers’ ideal journey.
This level of personalization can go far deeper than ever before when companies look at integrating their CRM platforms and data collection to a point where AI can actually use algorithms to interpret customer service calls as they happen. This creates new, action-based metrics that show companies the next best step forward to create superior customer engagement.
Interconnectedness
While the communication channels that consumers use to interact with companies are always bound to change, the actual engagement taking place doesn’t, so this process must continue to remain seamless and swift for all involved parties. For many businesses, that means shedding their old methods and embracing the digital world throughout each level of the organization.
Omni-channel solutions offer customers the option to start their interaction on one channel and finish on another without disruption. These multi-channel platforms also allow companies to limit IT complexity, which is one of the main roadblocks owners cite in the digitalization of their business.
Ultimately, customer engagement will have to become a company-wide initiative, where every level of an organization works to anticipate and manage customer expectations while keeping up with a transformative digital business model.
Leave a Reply