Digital Interactive Services
Customer experience is taking centre stage: CX trends and best practices
Remember the time when a product and its price was enough to woo a target audience?
Well, there never was such a time. Customer experience (CX) has mattered for as long as businesses have existed. Today, digital customer experience has been rapidly evolving and has changed the definition of meaningful customer relationships.
The customer’s attention is the new benchmark every business strives to possess. With innovation, technological advances, and a variety of products available in the market, your business probably faces tremendous competition when it comes to delivering CX.
Research shows that customer experience is now becoming a top priority for any business to thrive in competitive marketplaces where product differentiation is unclear.
Why improving digital CX matters
- 66% of customers switch brands due to poor customer service, causing annual losses nearing $1.6 trillion.
- 76% of customers expect companies to understand their needs.
- Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable.
Such numbers prove that online customer experience is steadily taking centre stage among the metrics that matter to businesses. Businesses that invest in big technology for product and service processes, but keep CX as an afterthought stand to lose a lot in the long run.
It’s never too late to pick up the customer experience ball though. Here’s a look at some significant CX trends and best practices that are bound to gain more traction in the coming years.
Customer experience trends and best practices in digital
Artificial intelligence (AI):
Automation is the future. Companies are adopting AI-based automation to fill gaps in the technical and operational side of services and are taking the load off of contact centre agents. An increasing presence of bots or artificial intelligence in digital customer service can offer 24 x 7 support, quicken resolutions, and handle large call volumes, making CX seamless and efficient.Self-service:
Few CX statistics can be this significant — 75% of customers prefer solving problems through self-help. The rise of self-service in customer experience (like self-registration kiosks) is because customers now have a stronger desire to educate themselves about products and services as well as actively resolve issues through tools such as FAQs, guides, interactive videos, and knowledge bases. Self-service not only improves CX but also reduces cost, time, stress, and effort on the part of the business.Transparency:
Transparency is valued by customers more than ever in business practices, data, pricing, products, and advertisements. Because of the increase in the number of hacks and scams, customers are now highly conscious of the information they share and use. The takeaway for enterprises is simple — being honest and clear by stating the intention of using data, seeking permission, and keeping users aware of ‘why’ the information is required for better service. Such steps help build and maintain trust in brand messaging and improve customer loyalty.Hyper-personalised experiences:
According to research, marketers have experienced a 20–30% increase in sales through personalised marketing, while 80% of customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalised experiences. Hyper-personalisation takes things beyond just knowing customer preferences. The idea is to act upon these data points in real time. It enables businesses with in-depth data to offer deeply engaging customer experiences through timely services, specifically tailored for individuals.The ‘mobile’ element:
Smartphones have inundated our lives as the most convenient mode of interaction and connection with the outside world. It should be no surprise that 84% of companies feel that a great mobile experience is now the gateway to a customers’ attention.Integrating social media platforms:
Today, customers use multiple touchpoints to connect to businesses. Unified service experience as an omnichannel customer strategy has reportedly retained 89% of customers. Businesses are getting serious about investments in omnichannel servicing to maintain a consistent dialogue with customers across all channels (in-store, website, social media, or live chat) for a seamless customer journey.
Such trends, combined with analyses in digital customer experience, can revamp and make digital customer services seamless, engaging, and worthwhile for customers.
The adoption of practices, such as creating a customer-centric culture at work, improving employee experience, integrating customer support channels, and consistent communication, will help businesses find new avenues to structure their customer experience in mutually beneficial ways.
How can Infosys BPM help?
Turn customer experience management around with our team of digital business experts. We manage customer experiences across multiple websites and microsites that are customised for different geographies and customers.
Our digital process framework uses the 3 Es [Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Experience] to provide credible information, enabling enhanced customer experience, better sales leads, and quality conversions.
