With a new era of artificial intelligence (AI) dawning upon us, it’s an incredible time for customer experience, with humongous benefits to the customer and ultrafast customer service. As AI technology matures, forward-thinking enterprises are plugging in conversational AI in their strategic investment roadmaps to leverage it for their customer service function. In fact, Gartner predicts that “conversational AI-first" will supersede "cloud-first, mobile-first" as the most important, high-level imperative for the next ten years.
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/how-conversational-ai-is-driving-the-next-generation-customer-experience-powered-by-chatbots-and-assistants-3987595.html/
While gambling and games of chance are Nederlandse Loterij’s expertise, there’s one thing it doesn’t gamble with and that is providing a good customer experience. Maurice Meijers, Head of Online Design & Development at Nederlandse Loterij fills us in…
https://mopinion.com/customer-story-nederlandse-loterij-doesnt-gamble-with-customer-experience/
Cultivating a smart customer-first culture can be a challenge for business. With instant access to information, a growing array of new business models, and new emerging technologies, business leaders are under pressure to transform and meet consumers’ enhanced expectations.
From seeking to develop a deep understanding of what your customers want, to knowing exactly when they want it, help is on the way.
https://irishtechnews.ie/iot-connecting-the-dots-for-a-smarter-customer-experience/
t’s clear that customers are driving brands to transform, and many organisations are turning to technology to make necessary CX improvements. The answer to cultivating brand loyalty doesn’t lie solely in technology and, in the race to stay competitive, business leaders are losing touch with the very customers they are trying to serve.
The customer experience is at a breaking point and, in a sea of new technology, companies must find ways to maintain the human touch.
https://realbusiness.co.uk/sales-and-marketing/2018/03/22/the-breaking-point-keeping-the-human-in-customer-experience/
In recent years, inbound marketing has seen a boom in popularity. Businesses of every shape, size, and industry have started adopting the inbound methodology to attract visitors and turn contacts into clients. Unfortunately, the final step of the inbound methodology—delighting customers—has been talked about quite a bit less than other topics, such as writing a killer e-book or organic keyword rankings. But that’s all about to change.
As more and more brands turn to inbound marketing, the competition will grow only fiercer, making it even more important to focus on a positive customer experience (CX). After all, if a customer has a negative experience with your brand, what’s stopping them from turning to a competitor that can offer them the same services and content? By focusing on customer success and support, organizations will be able to increase the lifetime value of their current customers, decrease the cost of acquisition for future customers, and turn passive customers into enthusiastic promoters.
https://www.business2community.com/marketing/inbound-customer-experiences-future-marketing-02035120/
What Ian is saying is that there are different departments working on the customer's journey. From marketing, which positions the company in the marketplace, to communications, which pushes the message out further, to sales, which is the official name we've given to the process of the point where the customer buys. And then, once they are a customer, we try to get them to come back, moving them from one-time buyers to repeat buyers.
My original post was about creating a special department or team that focuses on creating loyalty from the casual or one-time buyer. I still believe that's an effort worth investing in. But, Ian's response warranted a response:
https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4087706.html/
According to PwC’s Experience is Everything: Here’s How To Get It Right survey, which explores consumer views on and expectations of customer experience (CX), the price premium for quality CX among consumers worldwide is real – and it adds up to a 16% on products and services.
Speed and efficiency (80%); knowledgeable and helpful employees (78%); and convenience (77%) universally matter most. These cornerstone CX elements are so highly valued that 52% of consumers would pay more for greater speed and efficiency; 43% would pay more for greater convenience; and 41% would pay more for knowledgeable and helpful employees.
https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2018032951495/customer-experience-matters-the-most-for-brand-loyalty.html#axzz5B9CxiQyo/
So, what can brands do to fix the customer experience and prevent customers from going to a competitor? The answer is probably much simpler than you think: Take the intimacy, connectivity and conversational experience from the in-person/offline world and inject it into the digital world.
http://www.adweek.com/digital/social-media-is-not-a-customer-experience-solution/
Many CX professionals currently assess customer experience through the lens of biased ‘service’, and are becoming “A man with a hammer”: Always adopting the “Serve Customers Better” approach to try to solve every CX problem their respective clients or companies face. The Conventional CX is just service-in-disguise. It’s merely an expanded version of ‘service’ or customer interaction management (CIM). It is not a Real CX.
http://customerthink.com/stop-practicing-the-conventional-customer-experience-management-part-4/
In the Age of the Customer, customer-obsessed businesses have a competitive advantage. As more businesses adopt a customer-centric focus and this becomes the norm, this advantage will come to an end. Companies that are unable to provide positive customer experiences will be threatened by the growing number of businesses using customer experience to drive loyalty and adoption of their products.
https://www.demandware.com/blog/retail-intelligence/understanding-really-means-customer-obsessed/