We’re all about celebrating our history and traditions this month as part of Heritage Month in South Africa, and today, I would like us to take a look back at the history of customer experience and how it is evolving.
The term customer experience (CX) has taken on a much broader meaning than it once did. Initially relegated to post-purchase engagements and viewed as a cost of doing business, CX is now regularly interpreted to encompass the entire consumer journey. It has emerged from the backrooms of customer support to the forefront.
The world of customer experience has progressed from a collection of unrelated disciplines that vary by department and company to a coordinated effort with resources and authority.
FUN FACTS:
According to Task Us (https://www.taskus.com/blog/the-evolution-of-customer-experience-digital/)
The customer experience started with the first market stalls, shops and restaurants. The original customer experience focused entirely on in-person interactions. In the 1880s, the first vending machine was introduced, according to Retail Customer Experience. With the introduction of this device, for the first time the customer interacted with a machine instead of with a human touch point.
In simple terms, we did not arrive here overnight or even in the past few decades. CX originates from sources as such as call centre technology and marketing analytics. Clearly, CX will continue to adapt, grow and change in the future. But its origins can help us understand where it is going.
The Impact of Digital on the Customer Experience
The digital influence on the customer experience substantially changed how you interact with your customers. Your web features and digital operations now coexist to deliver unique touch points along the customer journey, as well as complementing other CX channels such as the in-store experience.
The digital expansion of touch points introduces more complexity into the customer experience, but it also provides a variety of channels for you to reach your audience. Nowadays, your target market can find you through social media, your website blog, Youtube and many other digital channels.
The Omnichannel Customer Experience
Many companies are still lagging behind on creating quality digital customer experiences; indeed, Cognizant reports under 30 percent of companies feel their digital CX is truly excellent. One way to improve your digital experience is to implement an Omnichannel approach to CX.
An Omnichannel approach goes beyond simply using multiple CX channels, such as your website, an e-commerce store and a physical storefront. Instead, all channels are integrated and share relevant data. For example, if a customer shops in your store, the purchase history data is shared with your web and e-commerce experience, along with relevant loyalty card information. If the customer calls in to customer support, the support rep has the customer information, purchase history and potential reasons for calling already prepared.
The digital era completely transformed the customer experience. You have more channels to track, multiple strategies to work with and customers who jump back and forth between channels on a consistent basis. It’s more difficult to pin down all the elements of a quality CX with a digital influence, but when you get it right your customers notice.
For more information on Omnichannel options you can use for your business, you can check out xCally contact centre; an innovative option from ScopServ that allows you to engage your customers through a unique technology that is open channel, real time, powerful, effective and totally integrated with Asterisk.