Customer Experience (CX) is the sum of all interactions and emotions a customer has with a brand from the first touchpoint to the last, and it is evolving fast. Customers want instant gratification – something that is predetermined, personalized, and readily available for consumption. This determines the baseline or the minimum expectation that the organization needs to meet. Businesses then need to determine how to improve the experience from the baseline.

Using Technology to Elevate Customer Experience

Technology plays a crucial role in CX as it serves as a channel through which exceptional CX can be delivered. However, everything starts with data. In order to understand the customer, organizations will need both general and individual data to identify situations, usage, requirements, patterns, etc. This would then be fed into a system or tool for analysis. While many AI tools are still in the experimental stage, I can see them evolving to a point where they can provide personalized data on each consumer.

If relevant data is scarce, finding suitable proxies or establishing methods to collect and utilize existing data will be crucial. Leveraging technology for data processing, insights generation, and user interface design will help to improve the system continuously. This makes the consumer experience even better.

 Strategies and Best Practices to Enhance Customer Experience

Enhancing customer experience requires a strategic approach and a focus on key elements. First, defining the vision of the desired customer experience is essential. Second, once the vision is established, benchmarking the current state of customer experience provides a baseline for improvement. The last step involves outlining a clear path from the present to the envisioned future, considering factors such as data and technology.

Organizations can build GPTs for their own customers, which can then be fed with data, proprietary models, and customer response methodologies. If the GPT needs to perform the way we envision it, it needs to understand how we work and have access to the data we work with. This could be SOPs, decision-making criteria, customer service practices, and all acceptable and non-acceptable processes. We would also need to create data based on past experiences, including typical pitfalls, normal failure points, success points, etc. All these data points are unique to the business, and over a period of time, and with more data, the answers will become increasingly customized.

Additionally, the cost and return on investment (ROI) must be carefully evaluated. While aiming for a fantastic customer experience, ensuring customers are willing to pay for the experience is essential. Striking a balance between the desired experience and an acceptable price point is key.

Measuring and Improving ROI

While metrics such as customer lifetime value and churn rate can be used to measure ROI, the fundamental questions that need to be answered remain the same – Has my revenue grown? Have my profits improved? Has my customer satisfaction increased? Has my employee satisfaction gone up? These metrics must be measured from before the implementation of the experience until after the implementation.

When one of India’s largest IT companies required a month-on-month service of converting large volumes of technical raw content received daily into case studies within 72 hours, we used technology to streamline the process. Through real-time automation, the content was segregated, assigned to writers, and completed within deadlines. Daily dynamic reports, generated automatically, kept the client updated on progress. Investing in this innovative technology and customer experience resulted in tangible benefits for the client and a successful ROI for us. While they had four vendors initially, the entire process was consolidated and given to our organization as we provided a better customer experience through technology.

Aside from technology, traditional methods, such as surveys and feedback mechanisms, can be employed to measure and assess the ROI. This could be done through pen and paper, phone calls, or electronic means. Another method of ensuring good ROI is to assign a Customer Success Manager (CSM). A CSM can improve the experience for the client and identify other areas where we can upsell or cross-sell.

Hard ROI takes time to measure, but with technology and a well-trained CSM, we have seen month-on-month and year-on-year growth for the business.

Ideating and Prioritizing Customer Experience

Customer experience has become crucial for businesses to survive and thrive. To deliver a desired experience, companies must define the experience and establish a method and process for its delivery. It must consider customer expectations within the industry or service and explore opportunities to provide a truly unique and personalized experience. The goal should be to transform the customer experience into a competitive advantage. Technology can be utilized to revolutionize and disrupt how customers experience and interact with a product or service.

For instance, I was speaking to the founder of a company that makes ID cards. He needed a system that would make the process of collecting, printing, and disseminating ID cards easier. I recommended developing an online platform or portal into which the customer can directly upload information, which the founder’s company can then process. But to provide a differentiated experience, I suggested using AI to get customers to design their own ID cards. Just like in Mid-journey or Dall.E, they can give prompts, answer a few questions on color, font, industry, etc., and Generative AI will create templates that the customer can choose from.

Although building such a system may require a significant investment, utilizing AI-generated templates can bring substantial benefits. Disrupting the traditional process of ID card creation, where manual data collection and design iterations are necessary, can significantly improve customer experience.

Conclusion

Ultimately, whatever method is used, it is all about measuring the customer’s experience. I might believe I have provided a superior experience, but the customer may disagree. Gathering customer feedback is crucial for understanding their perception of the experience delivered. Ensuring alignment between the actual experience and customer perception is essential for enhancing customer experience.

I am noticing that the experiences consumers have in B2C will also drive the expectations for B2B. The only difference would be that B2B organizations must work with partners to meet those expectations.

By incorporating innovative technology and reimagining existing systems, businesses can transform the customer journey and stand out in their industry. Just as Apple disrupted the smartphone market by not only designing a sleek device but also creating an entire ecosystem, building a good customer experience requires an all-encompassing approach that covers every aspect of the product or service. 

The post The Role of Technology in Improving Customer Experience (CX) and ROI By Ganapathy Sankarabaaham appeared first on CEO Medium.

• The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused supply chain disruptions and staffing shortages.
• The war in Ukraine, which has caused energy prices to rise and disrupted global trade.
• High inflation, which is reducing consumer spending power.
• The enforcement of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), which is making it more difficult for customers to complete online payments.

Four key challenges that will determine the success or failure of businesses in 2023 in the UK and the European Union have been identified in the ecommerce report for 2023 by fraud protection platform Signifyd. 

The new normal for payments
Payments have always been a critical part of the customer journey, and merchants who take a strategic approach to payments are seeing the benefits, even in today’s challenging economic climate.

Meeting the needs of all customers
Consumers are increasingly embracing a variety of payment methods as they adapt to the new era of ecommerce. According to Signifyd’s report, buy now, pay later (BNPL) has seen a 68% increase in usage in the last year, while debit and credit cards are becoming less popular. PayPal and Apple Pay have also seen significant growth, with usage increasing by 274% and 70% respectively.

The increasing popularity of a variety of payment methods creates an urgency for retailers to diversify their accepted payment methods portfolio. Retailers need to accommodate the fact that one customer might use a different payment option depending on the situation.

Merchants who do not offer a variety of payment methods risk losing customers. A survey by UK consultancy Merchant Advice Service found that 20% of consumers will abandon their purchase if their preferred payment method is not available. This means that merchants in the European Economic Area (EEA) are losing an estimated £1.8 billion per year due to a lack of payment options.

To ensure success, retailers need to be aware of the payment methods that are trending among their target audience and integrate them into their checkout process.

The power of data in payments
Merchants are being encouraged to use data throughout the entire customer journey to improve their risk management and approve more legitimate orders. According to research by CMSPI, merchants lost £21.7 billion (€25 billion) per year in 2021 due to false declines and £1.9 billion (€2.2 billion) to fraud.

Data is key to using machine learning to improve authorisation rates, drive loyalty, and understand customers better. These are all essential aspects of the ecommerce game, especially as Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is causing friction in the checkout experience and leading to cart abandonment.

How COVID-19 has changed the way we return items
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online shopping, and with it came an increase in online returns. According to Mintel, 38% of customers became more comfortable with the idea of returning goods during the pandemic.

However, this comes at a higher cost for retailers, who are expecting lower annual revenue due to the increase in returns during the cost-of-living crisis.

While some of these returns are legitimate, others are fraudulent. As the checkout process is becoming more difficult to penetrate due to Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), fraudsters are finding other ways to exploit the online customer journey. Some of these methods include:

While it is important to protect against fraudulent returns, it is also important not to deter legitimate customers. The key is to find a balance between the two. This can be done by having return-friendly policies for legitimate customers and by building barriers against those who would take advantage of the system.

New growth opportunities
Global e-commerce is poised for exponential growth despite current economic headwinds. Online sales have continued to grow rapidly, increasing by 33% year-over-year in 2021, according to a report by Signifyd. While shoppers are returning to in-store shopping, which is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, the online shopping space has solidified its place in the retail market.

The rapid growth of global e-commerce presents a vast opportunity for businesses to expand internationally and reach a wider customer base, which can lead to increased revenue. In fact, cross-border sales are up 45% this year compared to pre-pandemic figures, according to Signifyd.

Customers appreciate the convenience of online shopping and are looking for foreign goods at the best possible price. This is a great opportunity for businesses to capitalise on this demand and give their business a boost, especially if they have reached a plateau in their home market.

Expanding globally can be challenging, and it is important to carefully consider if this is the right move for your business. Some of the things you need to do to prepare for cross-border expansion include localising your content, diversifying your payment methods, and becoming familiar with local fraud trends.

Each market is unique, so it is important to do your research, use data, and ask yourself the right questions before expanding into a new market. These questions should include why you are expanding into the market, where you want to expand, and what you are willing to risk.

If you’re considering expanding internationally, now is the time to do it. According to Signifyd’s ecommerce report, 85% of UK consumers are already shopping cross-border. Foreign markets are hungry for new and innovative products, and you can gain a competitive advantage by being an early mover.

Overcoming the challenges of SCA
The enforcement of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) was the biggest change in online payments since 2007. It was designed to reduce fraud in the wake of the booming e-commerce sales and create a safer online shopping environment. However, the two-factor authentication that comes with SCA has had an unintended consequence: it has caused friction in the customer journey, leading to frustration.

Customers today expect a fast and seamless online shopping experience. Any disruption, no matter how small, can lead to a negative customer experience. In fact, a report by Signifyd found that 71% of UK consumers rate unsuccessful checkout experiences due to SCA as five or higher on a frustration scale of one to ten.

As a result, customers are likely to leave their shopping carts unpurchased, decide not to shop with a particular retailer again, or even worse, switch to the retailer’s competitors.

Although the enforcement of SCA has been met with some challenges in the UK and the European Union, the experience has not been the same across the region. Some countries have experienced less friction than others, but what is it that sets them apart?

3D Secure, the EMVCo’s SCA authentication protocol, is the main factor that differentiates countries’ experiences with SCA enforcement. Some countries are still using the original and outdated version of 3D Secure, which is causing significant transaction declines. For example, Signifyd’s analysis shows that 42% of Italy’s approved orders were met with significant friction due to the 3D Secure version 1 review, and 22% were rejected and abandoned.

This means that merchants need to implement an SCA-friendly strategy that takes into account exemptions and out-of-scope transactions. This will help to reduce the friction caused by SCA and improve the customer experience.

2023 is shaping up to be another great year for e-commerce. While there are many challenges ahead, merchants who have the right tools and a strong strategy will be able to overcome them and thrive.

Sources

https://fintech.global/2021/08/17/nearly-2bn-lost-annually-by-online-retailers-due-to-lack-of-payment-methods-in-paytech/

https://cmspi.com/eur/en/resources/content/card-costs-soar-as-european-retailers-feel-the-heat-from-inflation/

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61822539

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