In Stu’s second interview on “Stu Taylor on Business”, Aspire’s Digital Business Expert, Finny Chellakumar discussed his views on digital customer experiences and how Aspire’s Digital Solutions can help organizations to provide superior customer experience. Here is an edited transcript of the interview. (Check ou the first part of the talk).
Stu: As we were talking last week, companies like Uber and Airbnb have digitally disrupted the market. How can companies look at digital as a way to get people’s attention?
Finny: You are right, earlier if you had to book a cab, you had to wave it down or call a cab company to pick you up. Now we can call a cab using our mobile, track the cab and also pay through payment providers. Coming to how can companies look at digital as a way to get people’s attention, I think we have come to a point where companies can no longer afford to say I will be present in only channel, or do business in just one channel and expect to cater to people only in that channel.
So, to answer your question, there are few ways companies can make sure they become digitally prominent. Firstly, they need to be available in all channels- social, mobile, kiosk and open up stores that provide great customer experience. Secondly, they need to have a social strategy. An estimated 1 billion plus people are on Facebook and another 200 – 300 Million each on twitter ad Instagram. Also, 71% of Social Media participants say they are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow online. The questions that you need to ask are:
- What is their Digital Marketing strategy?
- How are they doing Social Listening?
- How do you engage in conversation in these social platforms?
- Do you have an analytical platform to learn customer sentiments on Social platforms?
Stu: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a fascinating product, only to give up pursuing it because there is no mobile app, or the mobile app and/or mobile website is slow. Clearly, revamping user interfaces makes things easier and more aesthetically pleasing for end users. Should companies kick start their digital transformation with providing better customer experiences?
Finny: Right. So, there are two types of Channels, Analog and Digital. The Analog Channel is about how people have traditionally interacted with business, like your brick and mortar stores. It is in the physical realm. For you to be successful it is imperative to provide a great customer experience in the Analog Channel. However, I will limit my answer to the Digital Channel only. A lot of companies do start their Digitization initiatives with an aim to better Customer experiences because it does drive up business, improve customer retention and also increase customer satisfaction, thereby having a direct impact on the topline.
Stu: What is customer experience and how is digital transformation affecting companies’ relationship with their customers?
Finny: Digital Transformation has a lot to do with Customer Experience. By being available on all channels, understanding your customers well and providing context-specific information to them, you can offer phenomenal Customer Experience. As we were discussing earlier, companies like Uber and Airbnb enable their customers to seamlessly go through the whole consumer journey, which creates a huge impact on Customer Experience.
Stu: The role of customer experiences differs in every industry. Can you name a few industries that have made digital customer experiences their bread and butter? And what does Aspire Systems have in store for these industries?
Finny: Right. Some of the industries that have made remarkable improvements in Customer Experience are Retail, Hospitality and Insurance.
From Aspire’s Digital perspective, we have a Digital Discovery service and a ‘Digitization Framework’ where we can tailor-make Digital solutions for our customers. Then, we have a Customer Experience platform for Insurance industry. We also provide multichannel enablement and in-store digitization in Retail. We essentially enable Brick and Mortar retail to be on multiple channels and also elevate their in- store experience. Apart from this, we also have SaaS platform for customers considering quick migration to cloud. These are some of the services that Aspire Systems offers.
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