“In today’s competitive market, customer-centric approaches are critical. It is becoming increasingly important. Companies that are prioritizing will be the winners. That comes from a solid data foundation bridging the physical and digital worlds. Those brands will provide more personalized experiences,” says Rob Coyne, vice president at Tealium, a US-based customer data platform. He was speaking at a RetailX webinar.
“Businesses, through data, can get better in time and drive better customer experiences for us as consumers. That’s what we require. That’s what we would like to see,” he says.
Artificial intelligence in the customer support process
“I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon because it has already left the station, but artificial intelligence is going to be increasingly important in how brands and retailers embrace this new world and exciting world of AI to drive customer experience,” says Coyne.
With technology improving, businesses must give consumers that human experience. “Understanding the behavior of consumers and being able to act in real-time in response to that behavior. Brands don’t fully understand where you are in that moment [of receiving bad customer service]. Brands must be in that moment with their consumers to deliver sustainable and great customer experiences,” says Coyne.
Measuring customer experience
Measuring customer experience is difficult until you receive a notification about an unhappy shopper’s review on your social media platforms to express dissatisfaction.
Salesforce questioned over 6,000 customers about their expectations during online shopping. The survey found that 91% of the recipients are more likely to make a repeat purchase after a positive experience. More than 70% of those questioned indicated that they made a purchase decision based on experience quality.
Adding value
Giving customers value for their money goes further than any good deal. German-based pricing expert Sara-Marie Gansert says customer experience is vital. “How you address the customer and shipping and sending your parcels. This is a way of bringing value, which is not via the price, which is key for smaller businesses,” says Gansert.
First impressions
Locate2u CEO Steve Orenstein says it’s essential, in the e-commerce world, to focus on first impressions. “When that order gets placed, the customer knows when that product will arrive. Do they have a time window when the product will be there? And is it going to match the time window you set when you actually did the checkout? At checkout, you want to consider giving the customer certainty. This way, they will know when the product will arrive rather than estimating it will arrive in 5 days.”
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About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
