Johannesburg, 01 Jul 2019
The phrase ‘customer is king’ is an age-old business mantra designed to accentuate the importance of customers to every business. However, while the principle may remain the same, the current technological evolution has created a scenario where ‘the customer is king’ is no longer merely about delivering good customer service. In a digitally transforming world, customer service itself has evolved into something newer and larger, namely, customer experience (CX).
In an environment where it is becoming increasingly difficult for organisations to differentiate themselves on price or product, providing a consistently outstanding CX is the only way to stand out as a brand. Theoretically, the massive growth in devices and connectivity should make it easier for your business to engage with customers wherever they are, and whenever they demand it. The challenge, of course, is that as customers become easier to access in this manner, so, conversely, they become harder to satisfy.
According to Arun Pattabhiraman, Vice-President – Growth and Marketing at Freshworks, today’s customers have higher expectations. Because most are well-informed and digitally savvy, they want to do business with companies that know them, understand their expectations intimately, and design experiences that meet their needs. In other words, the rules of customer engagement have changed, and unless you understand the new ones, you will find yourself left in the CX dust.
“According to Freshworks’ first multi-country survey on customer engagement, and based on the responses of over 3 000 individual consumers across six regions, customers today demand experiences marked by immediacy, personalisation and convenience. When they don’t receive this, many are negatively affected, often after just a single bad customer experience,” says Pattabhiraman, adding that this rising bar of customer expectations has significant implications for service organisations across regions and industries.
“Given today’s well-informed and connected customer, coupled with advances in technology and the vast amounts of data that companies collect about their customers, it should be easy for businesses to deliver an experience that is personalised, simplified, relevant and consistent. However, too many CX efforts are focused on delighting customers rather than getting the basics right.”
These basics are essentially about delivering an experience that is connected, one that understands the customer, anticipates their needs and shows up when needed. Getting the basics right, Pattabhiraman says, will provide the foundation on which these enterprises can build better, longer lasting and more valuable relationships with their customers.
“As far as the new rules of customer engagement go, the first important one is that, in the 21st century, consumer expectations are at an all-time high. The survey indicates that 47% of consumers globally have higher customer service expectations from their favourite brands than they had in the past two years. More worryingly for businesses, consumers are also pushing the envelope of 'great' experiences, to the point that their last best experience becomes the minimum expectation for the future experiences they demand.”
“The second rule is that consumers stay loyal to brands that consistently provide great experiences, but the converse is that customer churn is just one ‘bad service experience’ away. The survey outlined that over half of consumers globally – 56% – have stopped doing business with a brand, or switched to a competitor, after one bad customer service experience in the past year. Furthermore, 60% of customers globally share bad experiences with others, either in-person, or online on peer sites, review forums and social media.”
On the other hand, continues Pattabhiraman, consumers are willing to pay more for great experiences. Fantastic service experiences drive not only competitive differentiation, but also increased or even new revenue streams and greater loyalty. Nearly a third (31%) of consumers globally are willing to pay more for a great customer service experience, and many are also willing to wait longer for better service.
“The third rule is that consumers demand contextual support across multiple channels. In other words, they prefer brands that engage across multiple channels, with 70% indicating they prefer brands that provide service across e-mail, chat, social media and more. And when using these multiple channels, customers crave contextual engagement, saving them from the frustration of having to repeat themselves.”
“Lastly, customers prefer proactive over reactive support. Over two-thirds of those surveyed (69%) indicated a clear preference for brands that offer them proactive notifications and services. Modern, digitally savvy consumers expect brands to move from a state of ‘meet my needs’ to one of ‘anticipate my needs’.”
Achieving this, states Pattabhiraman, will open doors for businesses to interact with prospects and existing customers in a more personalised and intelligent way, with targeted and tailored content based on customer analytics and insights.
“Today, customers know more, and they expect more. Fast-forward a few years, and there’s little doubt the bar will be set even higher and new priorities will have emerged. However, those enterprises that understand and follow these rules of engagement will be well-placed to ensure their businesses to stay relevant and competitive,” he concludes.
To download a copy of Freshworks’ report on ‘The new rules of customer engagement’, click here.
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