Today, we are in the midst of a revolution wherein customer experience is the currency by which companies will live or die. More than ever before, customers are now truly in charge with the power to express their opinion in the open and make it count. With the convergence of cloud, social and mobile, the customer can now be an instant expert, instant advocate or an instant critic.
Gone
are the days where they have just been numbers or accounts. It is high time
they are regarded as unique human beings with distinct sets of needs. We need
to acknowledge that they now expect more than just a product or service. They
expect a relationship that is on equal terms. We need to earn their trust and
keep up to it.
Today we are in the midst of ever-connected, always-on, highly opinionated, on-the-move customer.
Not so
long ago, every business assumed that the key to delivering great customer
experience was about understanding the need and reacting to it.
But
now, customers expect to be at the center of the world and giving them that
special attention would mean empathizing and connecting to them at an emotional
level. When we treat customers like individuals, predict their interests and
preferences and proactively deliver those experiences, magic happens.
Thanks to the
large amount of data that organizations have, it is used as leverage to
identify patterns and build new models to predict future actions. While one
aspect of using this data can help businesses achieve saving cost, the other
most important use of this data will be in delivering superior experiences even
before the demand.
This layer of intelligence to deliver a personalized and
contextual Predictive Experience (that I may call) is going to be the way
forward for businesses to become a customer’s company.
The
latest report reveals that only a third of surveyed businesses are already in
the game. Successful companies will only be ones that can harness real-time and
predictive aspects of analytics and combine it with the user experience.
Here
are a few such companies that are revolutionizing predictive experiences,
making them have a notable advantage over the competition.
Their
effort in becoming a customer’s company is evident with their investment on
developing a “Digital Companion”. The predictive experience they aim to deliver,
elevates the notion of a car. It transforms from the “best driving experience”
to “an old friend” who knows you and you learn to trust.
The
Anticipatory shipping initiative by Amazon has set the retail industry on fire. With anticipatory shipping, the idea
is to use the data to predict what customers want and then ship the products
automatically.
Think
of the feelings you get when you see that an Amazon package has arrived at your
door — it’s delightful and exciting, even though you know what it is. I bet
those feelings are amplified when you don’t know what’s in the box.
To
remain the pioneer in moving the customer experience needle, you need to
deliver predictive experiences to your customers that can connect at an
emotional level.
And it
is this emotional bond that can turn your customers into loyal advocates.
Share the strategy that has helped you attract and retain customers at every touch point.
Share the strategy that has helped you attract and retain customers at every touch point.
