We recently teamed up with Rik Vera of Nexxus to bring you a forward-thinking webinar about the evolution of customer interactions with companies. As a summary of Rik’s presentation, Extreme Customer Centricity, I have highlighted a few of his conclusions around the expectations of today’s customers and how companies must respond to them in order to survive digitization.
The Disruption of the Customer
Customers have evolved as their environments and behaviors have changed, and brands need to catch up! Many companies are stuck in a cycle of trying to market to customers who have outgrown their business model.
If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside the end is near. – Jack Welch
We’ve entered into an era that Rik describes as “the empowered customer”. With the help of technology and hyperconnectivity, it is now the customer and not the brand that has the power to dictate your success.
Customer Interactions Must Take Precedent
According to ICMI Toolkit, 80% of customers say companies put more effort into selling than providing excellent customer service.
When implementing a digital strategy for your company, you must begin with your customers. Think about how today’s customers operate and what they have come to expect from the brands with which they interact. People can make or break a company overnight.
It’s not about products, it’s not about services, it’s not about solutions. It is about customer experience. We’re all in the CEx industry, we’re all selling CEx, customer experience. – Rik Vera
What Today’s Customer Expects…
Rik breaks down the expectations of today’s customers into four categories. Once you understand these concepts, you can set them as the foundation of your business model adaptation for the digital age.
Personalization
Customers want to be recognized. Brands should use the data they are collecting to identify their customers and understand their history with their brand. Customers want to have one on-going conversation with your company that spans departments, specific interactions, open tickets, etc. There is an opportunity to surpass customer expectations by using data to automate processes and bring joy to your customers.Data automation increases customer intimacy
The Right People & Culture
Make sure you employ people who are skilled in passion, empathy, and creativity. You need to empower them to impress your customers and blow their expectations out of the water. It’s important to implement value-driven behavior and focus less on specific processes when you’re getting started in your digital transformation.
Extreme Simplicity
Time is money. Time is one of the most valued things we have in life. So keep it easy, provide people with a simple interface for interacting with your product. Try to provide the ultimate convenience. “Convenience is the new loyalty.”low-effort-interactions
Storytelling & Attitude
Don’t bore your customers with never-ending details about features and fact, tell them an enticing story! If you provide a customer with a narrative about your product, it will be easier for them to tell others about your brand. Today’s customer responds to inspiring stories.
