The pandemic has brought about a number of big changes, so perhaps it’s no surprise that one of these is a significant shift in consumer behaviour. As with much of the modern world, predictability (and carefully curated customer profiles) has been thrown out the window, and organisations face the constant uncertainty of new demands and expectations, which shift daily.
The movement towards online channels is one of the biggest influences on the way customers interact with brands, and McKinsey reports that digital customer interactions have been accelerated by four years in APAC.
In response, digital offerings have progressed even faster, racing ahead more than a decade. To ensure customer experience (CX) is front and centre despite all this change, businesses must look to meet customers where they are, to deliver what they need.
To gain a better understanding of what this means for organisations in Singapore, Zendesk partnered with research analyst firm Ecosystm to dive into CX challenges and initiatives for 2021. Our findings lined up perfectly with our global research about businesses’ CX investments and the message is clear: organisations investing in CX will reap business benefits, during and beyond the pandemic.
Consumer expectations are constantly shifting
In this “new normal” we keep talking about, digital strategies and data capabilities drive the customer experience. Increasingly, customers expect quick, simple and accessible support that can instantly provide the answers they need.
Whether this comes in the form of a self-help knowledge base, a reliable AI chatbot, or a quick message to a support agent, the key is being wherever your customers are, whenever they start asking a question.
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A great way to identify these platforms is to think about how to accommodate customer preferences. In APAC, customers value speed, convenience and ease of use, which has resulted in a 66 per cent increase in average weekly social commerce tickets since the beginning of the year.
To respond to digital demands, more than half of businesses (57 per cent) in Singapore are placing a stronger emphasis on digital and omnichannel experiences, with these capabilities rising as a top CX priority. Identifying and adopting these emerging trends help businesses adapt to new touchpoints and bridge and maintain customer relationships no matter what this ongoing pandemic throws at us next.
Examining the role of CX beyond COVID-19
The main thing to remember here is this: good CX doesn’t stand still. It’s constantly moving alongside its customers’ expectations, expanding offerings and growing together. What is bleeding-edge today can be mass market next year, and in between these changes, CX allows businesses to remain grounded in customer-centricity, empowering them to constantly put the customer at the heart of everything they do.
Ultimately, this drives great business outcomes, with 88 per cent of local businesses increasing CX spend expecting early recovery by mid-2021 (58 per cent), while others were unaffected (20 per cent) or have even improved their business (10 per cent) during the pandemic.
On the flip side, 88 per cent of others that stagnate and decrease CX spend are seeing much later recovery timelines. If you don’t want to be caught on the wrong side of the coin, start exploring the investments you need to create exceptional experiences today.
One business that knows this well is our customer Carousell. The e-commerce marketplace invests heavily in both internal and external knowledge bases and AI, which dramatically increases agent efficiency. When COVID-19 hit, Carousell was able to quickly develop self-service content to address their customers’ key questions and concerns.
Superior CX adds real value to your customers. Importantly, these interactions enhance customer trust and loyalty, propelling business recovery and growth out of the pandemic.
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Best practices to leverage CX for business growth
By leveraging CX, businesses can move quickly to set themselves up for fast growth in 2021. It starts with making the most of current conditions to distinguish your organisation’s superior support and services. Here are some best practices that can guide your investments and plans:
View CX agility as a key competitive advantage
Organisations with customer-centric agility work off a dynamic feedback loop, constantly listening to customers and responding by adjusting to meet their needs. As a result, they experience better outcomes, such as the continuous business improvement seen by two-thirds of Singapore organisations.
This trend is echoed across the region – our earlier research in partnership with ESG indicated that companies with the most mature CX capabilities saw were 10.8 times more likely than their less mature counterparts to have significantly grown customer spend, even during the pandemic.
Tap into tools to power your digital strategy
A successful digital strategy requires a three-pronged approach: technology, people and processes. These work together to create the best digital experiences. Training support agents is important, but businesses must pair this with the right technology investments to be able to provide personalised and optimised CX.
Close to half of Singapore businesses (46 per cent) are already prioritising staff training, but only 30 per cent focus on improving CX technologies, which may hinder them from reaching maximum CX potential.
Automation and AI to stay ahead
AI tools boost support performance by delivering personalised customer experiences. Across APAC, 43 per cent of those with the most mature CX capabilities are making use of automated methods, such as chatbots, to build and update cross-channel customer profiles.
To meet evolving customer demands, businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve must be the early adopters of these advanced solutions.
Also Read: Humanising customer experience is the best way to build loyalty in a post-COVID-19 world
Regardless of your industry, company size, or business model, your customers should always sit at the heart of what you do. Customers form the foundation of your business, and long-term relationships based on genuine value and strong loyalty will always bring benefit. So look to creating the best experiences that put your customers first – and quickly, you’ll see the outcomes.
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