If you’re a contact centre operator, service agent or customer support team member – and provided you haven’t been living in a cave for the past thirty years – you’re already familiar with the highest telecommunications truth of them all: Customer. Experience. Matters.
(And, even if you have been cave-dwelling, there’s a good chance you suspect it.)
In the digital age of today, where time is money and consumers expect omnichannel quality double-time, engineering a top-notch customer experience (CX) strategy is a make-or-break issue.
A smooth and seamless CX fosters satisfaction, loyalty and repeat business; a CX that staggers frustratingly all over the customer journey map has exactly the opposite effect.
These days, the majority of the customer experience occurs in the digital realm; in fact, it’s possible to facilitate a long and varied consumer relationship without any physical interaction (in a brick-and-mortar store, say, or with sales reps) ever taking place at all.
And with this ever-more-expansive digital advancement comes a huge opportunity for contact centre operators, who have new and exciting ways to delight users in the charity, retail, public and construction sectors – but that comes with a catch.
The pressure is on to get it right; in every channel, all of the time. To do so, you’ll need to equip your contact centre operations with future-proof, streamlining and efficient communications software such as our VCC – it’s an essential tool.
Today, we’ll be exploring the digital customer experience (DCX) in a little more detail, focusing on ways to improve customer interactions that occur in a technological medium and answering the question: why is digital customer experience important?
What Exactly is a Digital Customer Experience Strategy?
An efficient digital customer experience is something of a buy-in for today’s digitally commercial landscape. Don’t have one? Can’t play the game.
DCX refers to the culmination of all the digital touchpoints and interactions that a customer has with your brand. The way your customers perceive your brand after their interactions with your contact centre, website, or mobile app, defines your DCX.
Consider these examples of digital customer interactions and touchpoints:
- The accessibility and usability of your virtual interactions
- The speed and intuitiveness of your mobile and web applications
- The efficiency of your email and text message communication
- The responsiveness and helpfulness of your social media interactions
- The opportunities for customers to give feedback and share opinions
All of the above (and more) would contribute to your overall digital customer experience.
Be warned, it’s something of a ‘one bad apple in the barrel’ situation. If just one piece of the jigsaw isn’t right, the end result fails to satisfy – so it’s important to optimise all your digital touchpoints, not just cherry-pick your personal favourites.
More Importantly… Why Does It Matter?
In the hyper-fast-paced, always-connected digital age, delivering a seamless and delightful omnichannel digital customer experience is key to building customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, driving business growth.
“71% of consumers want a consistent experience across all channels. However, just less than a third (29%) actually receive that.”
Customer Experience Magazine (CXM)
Your digital customer experience is, in today’s commercial environment, absolutely a competitive difference-maker. Get it right, and it’ll be the spinach to your Popeye; get it wrong, and it’s more like the Kryptonite to your Superman.
Where Did It All Begin?
The evolution of DCX can be traced back to the first days of eCommerce, and the increasing reliance on technology for customer service in the early part of the 21st century.
Fast forward to today, with the rise of cloud contact centres and customer experience management software, companies have the tools to gather and analyse customer feedback in real-time. This allows them to continuously improve the digital customer journey and provide a personalised experience for their customers.
You might say that DCX is the differentiating factor of today’s digital age.
It offers companies the chance to craft a seamless and memorable experience, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business growth.
Analysing the Impact of DCX on Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty
Consumers expect instant, high-quality service across multiple channels, meaning digital customer experience has become an unignorable element of CRM.
A strong DCX strategy bolsters customer retention, satisfaction and loyalty, leading to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
According to the Hubspot State of Customer Service report, customers who have a positive experience with a company are nearly three times more likely to recommend it to others (Hubspot).
Furthermore, a study by Qualtrics found that over 65% of customers feel the experience of a website or app would be at least “a very important factor” in their willingness to advocate for a brand (Qualtrics).
Digital touchpoints, such as websites, social media, and interactions facilitated by cloud contact centres, have become standard stages of the typical customer journey. Virtually-encoded interactions form the majority of a customer’s experience with a brand; this renders it crucial for contact centre operators to optimise digital touchpoints in order to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Effective DCX is paramount in today’s fast-paced digital age, where customer expectations are high and there are numerous options to choose from.
How to Prioritise Your DCX For Success
For future-proof organisations, the importance of a great digital customer experience cannot be overstated.
A positive DCX leads to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat buyers, and stands as a core driver of ongoing business growth. Contact centre operators and customer service teams looking to prioritise the digital customer experience – and get it right – should consider the following steps:
1. Personalise, Personalise, Personalise
Wherever possible, aim to give your users and customers a unique experience. Personalisation is the key to creating a memorable and positive consumer journey. This can be achieved through targeted messaging, personalised content, and individualised suggestions based on customer data.
2. Gather Feedback & Use It to Improve
Incorporating customer feedback into the digital customer experience can help companies identify what is working well, and the areas that need improvement. This information can then be used to make changes to enhance the customer experience and increase satisfaction.
3. Go Omnichannel
An omnichannel strategy allows customers to interact with a company through multiple touchpoints, such as websites, social media, and virtual contact centres. This helps create a seamless experience for customers and makes it easier for them to get the information, support and service they need.
4. Invest in CRM Software
Customer relationship management software helps companies monitor and manage customer interactions and feedback, as well as measure the effectiveness of their various DCX strategies. Our VCC comes with inbuilt data analytics and advanced reporting capabilities, so you’ll never need to make another blind decision.
5. Train Your Agents
The digitalisation of customer experience doesn’t mean eliminating the human touch from your support and service systems. More often than not, technology allows your agents to do what they do, more productively and efficiently – as long as they know how to use it. It’s important to invest in training and support to help teams effectively manage customer interactions and resolve any issues that may arise.
Top of Their Game: Companies Leveraging Exceptional DCX Strategies
It’s little wonder, then, that companies are recognising the importance of digital customer experience and are leveraging it to enhance customer satisfaction and drive business growth. Here are a few examples of businesses from across industries that have successfully deployed digital customer experience to wild success:
- Amazon: Amazon is probably the heavyweight champion of the CX world. Its seamless and convenient digital customer experiences allow customers to interact with the company through multiple channels, including voice and chat. The company also uses personalisation and machine learning algorithms to recommend products and services that are most relevant to each customer’s needs and preferences.
- British Heart Foundation: BHF is one of the many companies to have implemented our VCC and see an immediate uptick in performance, and dramatic improvements in DCX. After realising the benefits of intelligent call routing and IVR, we worked to centralise the entire telephony system and automate many routine enquiries: as a result, customers are able to self-service as and when necessary, and clients are never left holding the line. Read the customer story now.
- Hubspot: As a leading provider of inbound marketing and sales software, Hubspot operates a smooth support system designed to provide a positive and efficient customer experience. The company uses an omnichannel approach to allow customers to interact with them through multiple touchpoints, including phone, chat, and email. Hubspot also gathers customer feedback to continuously improve its digital customer experience.
- Airbnb: Airbnb fairly exploded as a trend and as a company, turning itself into arguably the pre-eminent travel-aspiration and lifestyle brand. A large part of that success is owed to the quality of its customer experience, which (like Amazon) is supported exclusively by digital channels – when was the last time you walked into an Airbnb store?
- Dropbox: As a leading provider of cloud storage services, Dropbox’s digital customer experience management and services are designed to provide customers with quick and efficient support. It uses an omnichannel approach to allow customers to interact with them through multiple digital touchpoints, and also invests in training for customer service teams to ensure they are equipped to handle any issues that may arise.
Our Virtual Contact Centre & the Keys to Success
It’s always been a fact that an enjoyable, engaging customer experience puts businesses at a competitive advantage. When customers feel valued and like a brand gets them, the relationship transcends one of a simple exchange of funds for products or services.
A connection is formed between company and customer, creating positive sentiment and familiarity – but the payoff isn’t just qualitative. That enriched buyer/seller relationship is the cornerstone of ongoing business, and the secret ingredient that turns one-time shoppers into lifelong brand loyalists.
In this day and age, when so much of our life is digitised – think about the way we shop and consume, discover content, learn, engage with a community – it makes sense that the lion’s share of the customer experience is also digitised.
This is the crux of the matter. In order to succeed as a business, you need to provide a high-quality customer experience.
And, to provide a high-quality customer experience, you need to facilitate efficient, meaningful and rewarding interactions in digital spaces.
While this is something all businesses must strive for, it’s only possible with future-proof and efficient communications technology. Without it, you’ll be aiming for the next generation of CX with yesteryear systems; it’d be like trying to reach the moon with a single-prop monoplane.
Our VCC (Virtual Contact Centre) is built to power efficiency and drive new levels of customer loyalty, retention and satisfaction in digital channels. With sector-specialist support and intelligent data reporting to unlock constant improvement, it represents a sustainable and impactful tech implementation.
Harness the power of our streamlining software and equip your organisation for the future of customer experiences. Book a free demo now to find out how the VCC could transform the way your customers think of you.