Customer Experience in the new reality of 4IR

How do we define customer experience?

A totality of the interactions that a user has with an organization over time.

Varying Scopes and Why They Matter

If you consider the relationship between a person and a company across that person’s lifetime, you can define that user’s experience at three different levels:

The single-interaction level, which reflects the experience the person has using a single device in order to perform a specific task

The journey level, which captures the person’s experience as she works to accomplish a goal (possibly using multiple interaction channels or devices in order to do so)

The relationship level, referring to all the interactions between the person and the company, throughout the life of the customer relationship

Who is the new reality customer?

A customer-centric and value-driven customer that wants answers and instant solutions at the tap of a button or as they swipe left and right on the screens of their smartphones or digital devices

How is the new reality experience? (What kind of new experiences do customers demand from organizations)

The new reality is forcing companies to re-examine the way they do business. The bottom line, however, is the same: business leaders and senior executives need to understand their changing environment, challenge the assumptions of their operating teams, and relentlessly and continuously innovate.

Organizations will need to invest in new digital methods of communication and payments. Prioritizing digital security will be key according to KPMG’s Global Customer Experience Excellence report, 2020

The Fourth Industrial Revolution isn’t just about new products and corporate efficiencies; it’s about making people’s everyday lives better. And that can start with the experience your company gives them

What role has technology played in providing the new reality experience to customers?

The technology in the 4ir — whether artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), or blockchain are playing a key role in providing a new reality experience to customers especially when it comes to personalized experiences

Machine learning, data analytics, and artificial intelligence are making it possible to create personalized experiences that customers desire. People crave personalized experiences, with people and animals, as well as with software and content. We want to have that little light lit in us, the one that makes us feel connected, relevant, heard as we count.

Personalization answers all of these basic human needs because it enables every customer to feel like they have their own 24/7 personal assistant who can be trusted to help them make the best possible decisions. Once customers have experienced this type of personalized assistance from a brand, they won’t settle for anything less.

Does it pay for an organization to invest in Customer Experience Excellence? If yes, why?

A consistent and personalized customer experience excellence will transform your products/services from nice-to-haves (Vitamins)to must-haves (Painkiller) as Nir Eyal puts it in his book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.

When customers make a habit of using your product, they are more likely to use it more frequently and integrate it into their daily routine and tell their friends about it — which is great for business growth and gaining market share.

Bottom line

Organizations need to create a constant and Better Employee Experience

In a way, a company’s employees are its first consumers. If they are not excited about the company’s products, they are probably not going to get customers excited about them either. That is why a better employee experience (EX) will unlock a better customer experience (CX).

In addition

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, speaks to the emotive part of the buyer-seller relationship; it’s about compassion, empathy, and kindness.

Adaptability, social and organizational awareness as well as relationship management are social skills that machines (or artificial intelligence) cannot exhibit better than humans, if they can at all.

The ability to feel the pain of the underserviced customer, to nurture a mutually beneficial buyer-seller relationship, and to manage perceived or real conflicts between the customer and the organization in a flexible and conscientious, yet, well-crafted manner of communication is an essential driver for customer satisfaction and retention.