Today is a good day to come full circle and consider how customers will drive your digital engagement strategy. Yes, it’s pi day. And if you’re eyeing a bigger slice of it in the coming year, it’s time to consider just how much things have changed.
As always, we’re here to help. We put together this plum of a list of things you’ll want to achieve before the next pi day if you want to get your organization ready for digital context. We hope you’ll find this to be some delicious food for thought that drives many fruitful discussions:
1. Recognize you’re no longer in control.
The best customer experience leads to more engagement. It all starts by giving customers control of how and when they engage. Giving customers control means more than offering them numerous engagement channels.
2. Understand the difference between mobile and digital.
Mobile is so 2013. Digital is far bigger than an engagement channel. Widespread adoption of digital –from web to smartphones- has changed the way consumers behave. Digital is not just a technology, it’s a lifestyle. The digital lifestyle may be mobile-first, but it’s not mobile-only.
3. Acknowledge omni-channel is just a step toward digital context.
When you focus on channels of engagement you lose sight of what engagement is all about: settings and scenes. Circle back and take the customer’s perspective.
4. Create the right mindset for digital engagement.
It’s the Golden Rule applied to the digital age. Do unto your customers as you’d do unto yourself. Sure, it’s circular reasoning because we’re all customers in some part of the food chain. So just find your inner customer.
5. Consider a focus on agent and employee experience.
You can accomplish this counter-intuitively: by flipping control to your customers. (See #1 above.) Believe it or not, this can create a virtuous circle. Flipping control to the customer creates a better experience for the customer, and that creates a better experience for agents. And happier agents are more likely to create a better experience for customers.
6. Understand the behaviors and expectations of digital consumers.
Digital consumer behavior is continually changing and evolving thanks to constantly improving consumer technology that’s training them to behave differently. You might need a change in your approach to stay relevant.
7. Understand the customer journey before automating customer-facing processes.
Customer journeys are evolving too thanks to the same tech improvements. If you automate prior to understanding these journeys, you’ll make frustration happen faster and more efficiently.
8. Apply an Assisted-Service model across your delivered experience.
Assisted-Service is a core component of giving your customers control. Make it happen. Provide assistance as required to shorten the distance between thought and action. Sometimes that’s proactive assistance during self-service, other times it’s an effortless path to assistance from a live person. Either way, you’ve got to give your customer the freedom to choose.
9. Understand the difference between enterprise mobile apps and consumer apps.
With everything mobile-first, it’s easy to lose sight of the difference between consumer apps and their enterprise counterparts.
10. Know the signs of when to buy, build, or customize Enterprise Mobile Apps.
There are implications for any of these choices. Understand them before you take action.
11. Recognize the traps of focusing with too much granularity on technology.
It’s easy to get transfixed by the functionality of different technologies available to you. Deeply understand how they may affect the experience you deliver before you jump in. The experience you want should drive the technology you choose, not the other way around.
12. Know what it takes to overcome the Digital Disconnect.
There is a disconnect between they way your customers want to engage and the way you are able to engage with them in traditional channels. Gain perspective by reading our Digital Disconnect white paper.
Until next 3.1415926535897….day
One year from today, some of these things will seem like yesterday’s news…that’s how quickly digital consumers are evolving. If you want a bigger slice of the pi, make sure you take the steps necessary to keep up with them.
