How Customer Experience Drives Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is forcing companies to change their business models and adapt to the new market reality.

Today, customers expect content that is relevant to what they are doing anytime, anywhere, in the format and on the device of their choice.

And to keep up with this new type of “always connected” customer, companies must embrace technology to deliver an unmatched customer experience (CX).

According to research by IDC, two-thirds of company CEOs will shift their focus from traditional offline strategies to more modern digital strategies to improve CX. Net global spending on digital transformation in 2018 was approximately $ 1 billion. This number is expected to grow to more than $ 2 billion by 2022.

In fact, 79% of companies admit that COVID-19 increased the budget for digital transformation. However, in its report on the state of digital companies, Progress revealed that 47% of companies have not yet started their digital transformation, while 59% are concerned that it is already too late for them.

What Is digital Transformation?

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a company, resulting in fundamental changes in the way it operates and the value it offers to its customers.

That is, it is about changing the way an organization interacts with its customers and how they provide them with a constant experience when and where they need it.

Companies that are digitally transforming are creating highly engaged customers with:

• Six times more likely to try a new product or service from your preferred brand.
• Four times more likely to recommend a brand to friends, family and contacts.
• Twice as likely to make a purchase with your preferred brand, even when a competitor has a better product or price.

Additionally, highly engaged customers buy 90% more often, spend 60% more per purchase, and have 3x the annual value (compared to the average customer). In this sense, an MIT study found that companies that have embraced digital transformation are 26% more profitable than their peers.

The New Digitally Conscious Customer

Digital technology has transformed consumer habits. Mobile devices, applications, machine learning and automation, among others, allows customers to get what they want almost exactly when they need it.

What’s more, these new digital technologies have caused a shift in customer expectations, resulting in a new type of modern shopper. Today’s consumers are always connected, native to the application, and aware of what they can do with technology.

How to Start with the Digital Transformation?

1) Defining the Strategy

Companies are driven every year by the evolution and advancement of technologies. A digital transformation strategy begins with 3 fundamental questions:

• Where is your company today?
• Where do you want me to be tomorrow?
• What are you going to do to get it there?

Organizations need a plan that not only describes what technologies need to be adopted, but also protection against digital disruption. That’s why understanding your systems and processes to identify opportunities is critical before harnessing the potential of digital transformation.

2) Reimagining the Customer Journey

Now that customers have control over how companies deliver experiences, it’s time to create new experiences that meet their demands. In an HBR survey, 40% of companies said that customer experience is their top priority for digital transformation.

In the same survey, 72% of users indicated they were excited about the move to digital, as new opportunities are created to improve customer relationships.

3) Creating an Agile and Flexible IT Environment

Having the right technology to drive digital strategies is essential in today’s business world. But did you know that 45% of executives believe that their companies lack all the necessary technology to carry out a digital transformation strategy?

Fortunately, organizations recognize the need to implement agile systems and 86% of companies believe that cloud technology is essential for digital transformation.

The cloud enables companies to be fast, dynamic and flexible, giving them the ability to test new profitable and low-risk projects, allowing them to use technology to meet customer demands more quickly.

By easily connecting SaaS applications such as customer databases, Big Data analytics, web and mobile applications, all touch points can be digitally recorded to create a 360-degree view of customers. By using this data, you learn how, when, and why customers do business with a company, and from it, you can deliver improved CX.

4) Personalizing the Customer Experience (CX)

Today’s shoppers want organizations to treat them as unique individuals and understand their personal preferences and purchasing history.

According to Accenture, 75% of customers admit that they are more likely to buy from a company that:

• Can recognize them by name.
• Know your purchase history.
• Recommend products based on previous purchases.

But, without CRM, without storing the history of how a company interacts with them, it is impossible to provide a unique experience.

With a CRM system, customer-related data can be analyzed and studied based on past interactions. For example, users can be well understood by evaluating general requests, product demand, and support inquiries. This data can then be used to create highly targeted messages that match individual customer preferences, resulting in a more personalized experience.

5) Offering a Seamless Multichannel Experience

Technology has enabled customers to get what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. More than half of all consumers now expect a customer service response within an hour. They also expect the same response times on weekends as on weekdays. This need for instant gratification has forced organizations to remain accessible and on demand, 24/7/365.

Now everything happens in real time, so those companies that can offer immediacy, personalization and accessibility to their customers will win in the long term.

Today’s consumers are not tied to just one channel. They browse the store, shop online, share feedback via mobile apps, and ask support teams on social media. Uniting all these interactions allows you to create a single digital profile each time a customer interacts with a company.

In conclusion, digital transformation offers organizations the opportunity to engage modern buyers and meet their expectations for a seamless customer experience, regardless of channel.