3 Reasons to Write a New Customer Experience Story with Digitalization

Digitalization in India – Additional $250 Billion of Gross-Value-Added (GVA)¹ is what we’re looking at; if the targets of equipping the IT-BPM industry with digital technologies like edge computing, distributed-ledger, AI and AR are met in time. What do you think most of it would enable? Customer Experience and Business Services! While the research shows that 25% of customers could cease being loyal owing to just one bad experience²; almost double the same would want to recommend the company with an improved digital experience. So, there must be some way towards drawing a link between the impending additional GVA and customer expectations of our time. That’s where your average ‘Go Digital’ theory comes in. But how to realize the potential of digitization in the customer experience industry? Here are some ideas on why and how should a business pursue digitalization towards creating better brand advocates.

Digitalization for CX – Proof of Concept

While the internet penetration of customers across the globe has been rising exponentially, their lifecycle dynamics still remain under-explored. 70% of the consumers in India cited lack of regional language support in digital self-service solutions as the reason for their not using the e-commerce platforms or digital self-service³. Common reasons why users would like to have a digital customer experience relates to the simple needs of better turn-around-time, right-at-the-first-time and reduced waiting time. Here are the three reasons why a business should consider digitalization for customer experience.

1. McKinsey reports that using a CRM software has led to an average 58% growth in customer interaction for the businesses in the top quartile of digital adoption.
2. 55% from a global sample of consumers showed more inclination towards using a self-service kiosk or digital channel for service query as compared to any other solution.
3. 40% of consumers consider shopping as just a common chore; one-third of all would rather wash dishes than visiting a store⁴. Almost 57% of customers would want their store to serve some higher experience (self-service kiosk, augmented reality trials, store-app, priority delivery, etc.)

Digitalization opportunities for businesses

Now obviously there are many more reasons which prove the need for digitalization in enhancing customer experiences! But region-specific reasons notwithstanding; there are numerous opportunities for businesses – small and large – to capitalize on the improved digital CX solutions. Consumer affinity for all services and products for both B2B and B2C communities revolves around three major attributes – product, price, and positioning. Here are a few ways in which consumer experiences can be improved using digital solutions.

Product development with digitalization

Rolls Royce started selling engine hours back in 2015 as compared to engines itself to suggest a stronger image of their product to the prospective buyers. An expansion to their services which offered digital monitoring of engine performance to deliver the promised engine life as compared to just the features of the engine. Similarly, Amazon Echo initiated its services by providing quick access to its app services on voice command. Modulation of physical products into digital experiences has always worked for businesses, and there lies your opportunity.

Effect of digitalization on pricing

Efficiency gains of up to 30% were noticed for businesses that adopted digital self-servicing⁵. The benefits of lower call volumes were directly transferred as a benefit to the customers itself in the form of competitive pricing and better quality of services. Similarly, digital transformation leaders who were in the top quartile of digital adoption found their average customer expense ratio to decrease considerably. Reducing the delivery costs by employing smart courier counters, ATM machines (for calling out loud!), cold-drink dispensers with over 100 flavour combinations (Coca-Cola) are real examples of great customer experience stories which eliminated costs and proved to be customer magnets.

Positioning opportunities with Digitalization

Understanding consumer needs; businesses need to meet consumers where they are. The rise of social media marketing and online customer service has been a boon to businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. As high as 62% of the consumers showed interest in becoming brand advocates if the brand responds to their communication attempts⁶. Besides the digitalization of services also offers more attribution points to engage with customers. Amazon, Walmart, and Flipkart despite having established e-commerce platforms are going for in-store experiences by establishing digital ground stores and self-service kiosks.

So, here you have six not three reasons to go digital and write new customer experience stories for your business. The underlying success of Digital India Campaigns in the last few years is only going to rise and with it the demands of an average consumer. Get ready!

Sources

1. https://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/india_trillion-dollar_digital_opportunity.pdf
2. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/customer%20experience/cx%20compendium%202017/customer-experience-compendium-july-2017.ashx
3. https://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/india_trillion-dollar_digital_opportunity.pdf
4. https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/report-making-the-digital-connection.pdf
5. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/customer%20experience/cx%20compendium%202017/customer-experience-compendium-july-2017.ashx
6. https://www.conversocial.com/hubfs/StateofDigitalCustomerExperienceReport2019.pdf?hsLang=en-us