Digital transformation brings many possibilities, but arguably one of the most important is transforming the customer experience.
Yet, digital transformation does not always deliver this. One research study showed that only 19% of customers felt they had a significant improvement in their experiences with companies following $4.7 trillion of digital transformation investment. Many companies (47%) have not even begun with digital transformation. These organizations are fast getting left behind and are missing a trick when reports show that companies that have transformed digitally are 26% more profitable than those that have not. Given that companies that have undertaken digital transformation report the process taking between two and eight years, it is time to get underway.
What Customers Want
Customers have become increasingly demanding in recent years. Digital technology has driven this change. Shopping online and via mobile has presented customers with the opportunity to get what they want when they want it, and now they expect this. At the same time, e-commerce, personalization, and novel ways of communicating with customers have led to tremendous benefits for customers. In short, customers want instantaneous interactions and experiences. To communicate with the organization in how they prefer. Delivering this through digital transformation can bring significant benefits.
Why Be Customer-Centric?
Many digital transformation efforts focus too heavily on the opportunities this brings to lower costs for the business. This is unlikely to lead to greater customer satisfaction with the company. It is better to put the customer experience central to the process of digital transformation to reap the greatest rewards.
There are many quantifiable benefits to being customer-centric to engage customers. Customers that are very engaged have been reported to purchase 90% more frequently. They spend almost two-thirds (60%) more per purchase. This presents a massive opportunity for businesses across all industries. Happy customers are much more likely to be retained. It costs much more to gain a new customer than maintain an existing one. This means that focusing on the customer experience with digital transformation efforts makes much sense.
If you aren’t convinced, consider this statistic: Companies that earn $1 billion a year have the potential to earn an extra $700 million over a three-year time frame through investing in delivering an improved customer experience.
How to Improve the Customer Experience through Digital Transformation
There are many ways in which companies can have a great impact on the customer experience through digital transformation. One example is the use of chatbots. When implemented thoughtfully, chatbots improve the customer experience by allowing customers to communicate with the business at any hour of the day and on any day of the year. They get a rapid response to their question as well. Studies show that 84% of customers prefer this because of the instant availability of chatbots. It is worth considering what you can do to automate customer communication for greater customer satisfaction through this approach.
Another remarkable benefit of digital transformation is the amount of data that companies can glean about their customers. Digital technology offers the opportunity to capture this data and analyze it to learn much more about their customers than ever before. For example, it is possible to understand better customer purchasing habits, which can drive improved marketing. This offers a significant advantage, but only if implemented effectively (as I will explain below).
Also, using Digital technology to integrate the back end and the front end of systems. This can streamline the customer journey. This means customers have a smoother, easier experience and are more likely to come back.
These are just a few of the countless benefits that digital transformation can bring to enhance customer experience.
Transforming the Customer Experience
It is important to note that when considering the use of digital transformation to improve the customer experience, enterprise-wide approach should be taken. An overarching effort like this will help to ensure that they include all possible customer touch points. The interactions with the business are taken into account too. So that digital transformation can genuinely deliver everything it sets out to for the customer experience. From a cultural perspective, it is important from the outset to shape a genuinely customer-focused organization.
A common mistake in going transforming the customer experience was revealed in a study that showed that just 25% of respondents had set out to map the digital customer journey before trying to undertake digital transformation in this area. This shows a bigger problem, which is a lack of organizational focus on customers. The problem is that some organizations are focusing on a narrow approach of only using data in marketing to customers. This has the potential to seem robotic in nature and not welcome from a customer perspective. Having empathy with the customer and considering what customers might want is critical in the digital transformation process to avoid these problems. Taking a human-focused perspective is important to get it right.
Summary
In conclusion, placing customers centrally can bring benefits in Digital Transformation. A focus on the customer journey can increase revenues by enhancing customer loyalty and driving additional sales. The benefits of digital transformation for the customer are many. They include the ability to get what they want when they want it — which customers now expect. It is important to take an enterprise-wide approach to improve the customer experience through digital transformation. We should avoid a cold and impersonal approach that may alienate customer.
Until next time, you are up to date.
Originally published at https://www.projecttimes.com.