How does digital transformation impacts customer experience?

Digital transformation is the process of adapting to and implementing new digital technologies across all aspects of business, from customer interactions to back-end processes. With the proliferation of mobile devices, cloud computing, social media, and the internet of things, businesses are increasingly pressured to adopt these digital technologies or risk being left behind. While digital transformation can offer many benefits, such as increased efficiency and cost savings, it can also be disruptive to employees and customers if not executed properly.

Digital transformation has disrupted customer experience. Customers now expect a more personalized experience that is tailored to their individual needs. They also expect companies to be able to provide a consistent experience across all channels.

To meet the demands of customers, companies need to undergo a digital transformation. This involves transforming the way the company operates to be able to provide a better customer experience. It also includes the use of new technologies that are reshaping the customer experience.

These technologies include:

• Virtual Reality: Virtual Reality allows customers to experience products and services in a virtual environment before they make a purchase. This helps customers to make more informed decisions and reduces the chances of them returning products or services.

• Augmented Reality: Augmented Reality allows customers to interact with digital objects that are displayed in the real world. This technology can be used to provide product information, coupons, and discounts to customers who are near a store.

• IoT: The Internet of Things refers to the interconnectedness of devices, which allows for data collection and analysis that can be used to improve customer experience.

• AI/Machine Learning: This technology uses algorithms to learn from data, and then make predictions that can be used to personalize the customer experience.

How to create an engaging customer experience strategy?

There are a few things you can do to make sure your strategy is successful.

First, you need to make sure you understand your customers.

• What motivates them?

• What are their pain points?

• What are they looking for in a customer experience?

Once you understand your customers, you can start designing experiences that will engage them.

Second, you need to make sure your team is on board with the strategy. Your team needs to be passionate about providing a great customer experience and be willing to go the extra mile to make sure customers are happy.

Digital transformation has the potential to completely reshape the customer experience as we know it. Businesses that can stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on the latest technologies will be the ones that come out on top.

If you're interested in learning more about how you can improve your customer experience, please contact Going Digital today.

We would be happy to discuss your options and help you get started on your digital transformation journey.

Brand building with Digital Technologies

Which famous business brands do you use daily & give you happy moments? Top names come to our mind are Apple, Disney, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Cadburys which are occupying most part of our lives.

Company’s brand is the summation of all the experiences and interactions business has with their customers. In the digital era, there will be even more brands to choose from. Perceptions of the brand are based on the simple user experiences. and to stay relevant, it needs to be managed very effectively.

Today’s digital consumers do not have the brand affinity. They switch from app to app and from brand to brand when it is convenient. They have endless options at the click of a button, which makes it easy to switch when they are unsatisfied with a brand.

Customers want quick, easy access to information across channels without needing to enter conversations with product sellers before they are ready. At the same time, they also expect businesses to personalize their experiences with the first interaction and to be available the moment they are ready to learn more or buy.

As a result, many brands struggle to keep a competitive advantage. They have to re-think their strategies for attracting and retaining customers.  More than ever before, brands are turning to the power of digital technologies like Analytics in an effort to attract, engage and retain customers.

For CMOs it is important to bring the power of human relationships back into the entire brand experience that will create more lasting loyalty. They need to look beyond optimizing lead generation to nurturing relationships throughout the entire customer lifecycle, from creating awareness through acquisition, service, and recommendation

The success of digital transformation depends on the CMO-CIO partnership. Today CMOs need the support of the CIO to connect internal systems that translate into customer experience and brand performance.

It is extremely important to leverage digital technologies and bring your brand to the minds of prospects and deliver seamless and meaningful experiences for current customers is extremely important.

Brands need to embrace mobile-first as a strategy not only for customers but also for staff and partners. Consumers use mobile as a key tool for research, so having relevant and the easy-to-access information is essential. Several brands are using emerging technologies like chatbots, AR/VR to make customer experience a memorable one.

We know the top global brands like Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Disney, Nike & BMW for the experience they give when we interact with them.

• Ikea uses an Augmented Reality app that works like a virtual interior designer and allows customers to visualize 3D versions of its furniture in their homes.
• Zappos created a brand by focusing on what customer wants and is considered the gold standard for online customer care.
• Louis Vuitton was one of the first luxury brands to develop an active presence on Snapchat.
• Gucci & Burberry have exploited digital to reach their customers wherever they are.
• L’Oréal’s ‘Makeup Genius’ app allows women to virtually try on its cosmetics products using augmented reality technology.
• Dollar shave club knows how to grab the attention of their target audience with digital technologies.
• Airbnb created their brand by digital marketing using user-generated photos and videos.

The ultimate aim of any digital transformation initiative should always be the strengthening of your company’s brand identity.

Role of Mobile in Digital Transformation

Our world has become increasingly digital. 

The mobile-first strategy is no longer valid as we live in the mobile-only world.

Today a number of people having mobile phones on the planet is much bigger than bank account holders or credit cardholders globally.

People use mobile devices as Swiss pocket knives: they serve a range of needs, activities, and purposes.

We shop and buy more of our products online or via mobile, we decide where to eat, buy a car, and hire a plumber by looking at the app digitally. Any critical decision that is made, a credit decision, admissions into a top university, accessing your social security benefits statement, etc. are all made electronically.

With the proliferation of new digital platforms, businesses are forced to rethink their physical presence. Gone are the days where you just have an app and a website: it’s vital now that mobile’s role is understood within the larger digital ecosystem.

Mobile is now present along every step of the end-to-end customer journey, from research and inspiration to return. Mobile is one of the most important touchpoints in the customer lifecycle.

Mobile has already stormed the Banking, Travel, Retail industries. Mobile has become an integral part of the shopping experience as consumers spend more time with mobile devices than with desktop and laptops combined.

Users leave billions of data points, which brands use, by applying analytics to personalize & keep them actively engaged to generate revenue. Integrating social media networking channels with mobile apps would further allow the consumers to interact freely with the enterprise, paying the way for increased brand loyalty.

With so many advances in mobiles, the mCommerce has also changed the face. Since the launch of the iPhone, mobile commerce has moved from sheer text messages to apps. There are so many uses for ticketing, money transfers, information services like news, stocks, traffic alerts, etc.

Mobile payments have gained momentum and as more options become available, usage is set to surge. Consumers are adopting mobile wallet apps, Google wallets, smartwatches and devices with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay t capabilities.

Mobile brings various advantages like portability, instant connectivity, personalization & localization of services. Further, it allows businesses to be visible to the customer at all times, build brand and recognition.

Even at work and out of office employees can benefit from mobile access to information, work from anywhere, reduce traveling and increase overall efficiency. While an organization can benefit from easy collaboration with team members, helping sales folks with quick information at their fingertips.

Businesses are focused on delivering growth and profitability with faster; better decision-making, & mobile technologies appear to be in the driver’s seat in this Digital Age.

Artificial Intelligence in Financial Lending

I remember the 90s when I wanted to get a home loan and it took me 3 months to complete the process from providing all the hard copies of my income, tax returns, identity proofs then bank checked my creditworthiness & provided the approval.

Today everybody has some kind of loans like home loan, auto loan, education loan, two wheeler loan or even loan to buy appliances like HD TV and Refrigerator.

How do they assess your creditworthiness? There are so many cases of defaulters, which keeps increasing and hence established banks or lenders constantly looking for ways to improve the returns or proactively identify risks.

Lenders traditionally make decisions based on a loan applicant’s credit score, a three-digit number obtained from credit bureaus such as the TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.  But these credit scores are based solely on credit-history and do not take into account rich data available, which can potentially give lenders access to data points as varied as online purchases, the strength of social connections and travel patterns. When viewed this data holistically, lenders can get a complete picture of potential borrowers & can significantly improve their ability to predict loan defaults.

Today digital transformation has changed everything. While the interest rate and closing costs on loans are still primary considerations, the speed, simplicity, transparency and customer service of the entire process is important.

As the purchasing power among millennials & gen Z continues to increase, they tend to purchase property and acquire assets that will provide stability & generate wealth.

The ability to cross-sell to these customers on loan products drives a significant portion of new loans. The difference for a digital-first customer is that they do their shopping online and may select an alternative provider based on the right combination of cost and ease of process.

Artificial Intelligence is used today, to determine the creditworthiness of those who don’t have any credit history like students or immigrants etc. It also helps to improve customer experience, e.g. by showing pre-approved loan amount. AI makes loan approvals quick and easy, reduce operational costs and these savings can then be extended to customers in the form of lower rates. Artificial Intelligence can process large amounts of data that human underwriters would simply not be able to make sense of.

Machine learning streamlines the process, drastically reduces the likelihood of errors and significantly cuts down the time it takes to approve a loan and disburse funds to the borrower, thereby enhancing the customer experience.

AI & Machine learning also helps to detect fraud by comparing customer behavior with the baseline data of normal customers and removing outliers.

Today apart from credit score and income, lenders are also looking at the digital footprint, payment data from other sources, purchase history, professional reputation from LinkedIn and other sources.

This is called alternative data sourcing. The use of machine learning to analyze this alternative data in loans and credit rating is going to raise some privacy, ethical, and legal concerns.

The future of digital lending will reduce the friction associated with the borrowing process, eliminating paperwork and moving all of the steps of the customer journey to an online and mobile capability. AI and Machine learning will become an inherent part of financial lending.

How Digital is changing the workplace?

Remember the early 90s, when the mobile phones were not there. The only way to communicate to an out of office employee was landline phone or personal message via a colleague. Today there is no distinction between professional and personal lives as we are always connected.

In the age of Uber, Netflix and Airbnb disrupting traditional industries like Taxis, Video, and Travel; it is a required for organizations that their internal work environment also has a digital disruption.

The workplace is changing at an extraordinary rate. Employees have embraced the latest mobile devices and digital technologies at home. They now expect and demand the same in the office. As the latest digital natives join the workforce, having these kinds of tools and applications in place is more important than ever.

Improving customer service is the end goal of a digital workplace but the first step is to bolster the employee experience. Organizations are creating digital workplace by integrating e-mails, instant messaging, social media tools, and internal applications.

From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, today’s workplace contains a mixture of generations. Everyone has grown up with very different environment, technological and cultural experiences but still, all face similar challenges at work such as information overload, and daily changing technology. 

Employees want to be connected across devices and with their colleagues and processes during their workdays

With digital enablement, IT service departments are most benefited with services like virtual desktops, software upgrades, remote support are possible.

As a digital workplace, many organizations are moving from a physical office or cubicle to a more flexible, open workplace that leverages digital technologies like social, mobile, analytics and cloud computing to create a digital workplace that senses and responds to the information needs of employees – anytime, anywhere, and on any device.

By adopting digital workplace, an organization gets diverse benefits:

·      Increased employee productivity – with direct communication via digital channels with partners, colleagues, and customers

·      Increased employee retention – due to increased engagement the retention has gone up. Many companies qualify for best place to work

·      Increased talent attraction – the flexibility coming from digital, helps attracts the best talent, who would like to be free from 9 to 6 physical cubes and give their best creativity to organizations

·      Increased satisfaction – this is a no-brainer, as employees get to enjoy full internet connectivity and communication, they are happy at work and off work

·      Increased compliance and governance – with remote connectivity, today IT governance is easy, no need for physical presence of help desk

The potential benefits of digitally enabling both staffs and the business mean that organizations will go a long way in satisfying their end customer, which is the very purpose of being in the business.