The Future is Now: Exploring the Future Developments in Customer Experience

Think about it for a minute. You have customer information, purchase history, some contact information etc. and before we start thinking about AI, prediction, analytics and the like, ask yourself who has reached out to the customer of late? Who has engaged your existing customer to see how they are going, ask them for some feedback, check to see why they haven’t been back for a while and perhaps offer them something relevant, valued and personalized to increase their engagement with you.

This data is quickly becoming the lifeblood of every organization across all industries—the ability to monetize it responsibly will be key—both now and to future proof organizations.

DATA—GROWING YOUR GOLD

For the companies out there who aspire to grow annually at 5, 10, 20, even up to 50 percent annually—is there a way to extract this value from within? All other things being equal, which would mean, at a minimum one in every 20 customers would need to double their annual spend with you? When the visibility (data) of your existing customers can provide the insights into their relationship with you—a whole new world opens. One of the ways to do this is to have all the relevant customer information on one screen. Having been a part of this work myself, it is amazing that the simple yet delightfully quick insight you get and the opportunity to have a great positive impact on your customers and boost your relationship with them at more personal level to helping your business grow in a sustainable way.

With this example above currently in operation, I can now see how my customer and their family are served and/or protected financially, but I also can see where they are not—now I can act relevantly to their needs and quickly. This gap is enormous in so many banks and insurance players, but the sense of urgency to capture this seems a little passive.

In the retail, food and hospitality industry, what would it be worth to capture an additional 1, 2 or 5 repeat purchases beyond their current spend with you based on relevant information that you already have. The key to finding this out is in the data. Unlocking the power of data and insights that create relevant and personalized experiences and the needs of your customers, will certainly increase the likelihood of retaining these customers and their loyalty, hence setting your business up for future growth. But this is a journey, and continuously enriching the lives of your customers is a must to retain their business.

NOW AND THE FUTURE—START TODAY

We have seen first-hand the power and influence of leveraging data to provide more personalization and more relevance to those customers we serve. We have also seen it used irresponsibly and with regulators tightening their restrictions on this area, it will come back to your customers’ trust in the use of their data with you and its impact to make their experiences more meaningful. Find out how people like to be engaged—empathize, experiment and find out what is relevant and valued. Then tackle the challenge of getting them back again or more often and keeping them as advocates and gain their trust. Then, in turn, your new customers will come.

Whilst the unknown future and all its potential may be exciting, pause for a moment and look at the pot of gold under your nose and take action—unlock the power you have in your grasp to engage your customers better than ever and continue to personalize their experiences making each one of them feel valued as one of your customers. It is exactly here where the excitement and opportunity beings.