CX strategy - Leveraging digital to meet new consumer trends
Buying a product is becoming an increasingly considered act of consumption, a trend that has increased with the health crisis. First of all, consumers have strongly adopted the reflexes of hybrid consumption between in-store and/or online purchases. What's more, they are taking greater account of the customer experience they have with a brand in their purchasing decisions.
This is a real challenge for brands, who must reinvent themselves to meet these new needs and be present where customers are. It's a long-term task, both in terms of digital transformation and organizational agility, but once it's been achieved, it's much easier to deal with consumers' needs in terms of customer experience.
But where to start? How do we get there? Gabriel Frasconi, Vice President Europe at Zendesk, explains how to get there.
A digital shift to maintain the link with customers
Nowadays, people limit their shopping trips, visiting the website to choose what they're interested in before going to the store. Stores have become a place for advice, to see and touch the product and confirm the purchase. The customer experience must therefore be rethought by harmonizing online and offline strategies. Even for companies that have already begun their digital transformation, as the explosion of digital has reshuffled the deck in terms of the CX strategy to be implemented.
This new paradigm is also forcing them to rethink customer interactions, as some of their requests do not lend themselves to all communication channels. Multiplying the number of points of contact enables us to respond to them. This involves implementing tools to structure and prioritize flows, so that customer service agents can better absorb activity.
These may include ticketing modules or a knowledge base accessible online, so you can find the answer you're looking for in two clicks. Or solutions to help in-store sales staff gain visibility of interactions between customers and the brand.
Messaging, the ally of a successful customer experience
Online, consumers increasingly want to interact with brands directly from the channels they usually use to communicate. In fact, since the pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of instant messaging channels such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. These have proven to be real assets for improving response rates and the efficiency of customer satisfaction teams.
According to the latest Zendesk and ESG study, companies with a better customer experience are diversifying their communication channels. Among those that have chosen a customer experience-centric approach, 89% are likely to adopt messaging applications and 87% social networks. On the other hand, conversational commerce has also emerged as a new opportunity for brands to build loyalty and capture new customers. It's a way of building an active community and even generating new revenues. What's more, being active in conversations with customers only strengthens their trust in the brand.
Agility for competitive advantage
With digital, customers no longer compare their experience with a brand against its competitors. They analyze and compare each interaction with all their previous positive experiences with a brand. For brands, it's not just about engaging consumers, it's also about standing out from the crowd, especially in ultra-competitive industries.
By being agile, a company can offer the most unique customer experience possible. However, agility must not be driven by urgency, but must be part of a real strategic reflection that responds to consumer needs. New positions require changes and processes to enable teams to make agility a reality. On paper, this may seem like a lot of work, especially in the midst of a pandemic. However, with more than half of all customers declaring that they are ready to go to a competitor after just one bad experience*, the ultimate gain far outweighs the investment and effort involved or achieved.
Beyond the technology, there's also the human aspect to consider, so that agents can be more effective, especially in this fast-changing context. Managers must therefore ensure the development of new skills, providing them with the necessary resources to minimize the impact of change, while equipping them with tools to support this adaptability.
The sinews of war lie in companies' ability to adapt on several fronts. This means implementing a global transformation strategy, both internally, to ensure that teams are efficient and agile, and with their customers, to meet their new needs and expectations in terms of customer experience. Only those who succeed in combining these two aspects will be able to stand out in an increasingly competitive economy.
*Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2020.
Article translated from French