Why customer experience tech requires human flair

If you haven’t digitised any part of your business, you make up a (very) small portion of the business population – because we now live in a world where screens are the norm and human connection, bizarrely, is the exception.

But before you download the entire internet, don’t skip the critical steps when it comes to defining customer-first digital transformation.

One step forward, two steps back

There’s no point in rushing onto the digitisation train when your customers and employees are still buying tickets. In other words, don’t leave the most important contributors behind because it’ll damage the customer experience (CX) rather than improve it. If anything, your employees should be the first aboard because they understand consumer needs and pet peeves better than anyone.

“Digitisation is for the company, not the customer”

Wrong. Everything you do, whether internally or externally, is for the customer. The customer is the reason your company exists in the first place, and without humanisation, you may as well go back to spreadsheets and cheques.

Digitisation is about simplifying CX. This means designing it from the customer’s perspective while leveraging what your employees know about customer interests, concerns, pain points, needs, and abilities.

From newspaper to new-paper

Let’s be honest, we use newspapers for many things, and reading isn’t the highest on the list anymore. However, although newspaper revenue has dropped by 70% in the last 15 years, the New York Times has 3 million online subscribers and earns $500 million in digital revenue (Voxco).

Having said that, the New York Times never would’ve survived if it hadn’t included CX in its digital transformation journey…The NYT knows its customers’ interests and how to present the good stuff.

A staggering 91% of digital customers would rather purchase from brands that provide personalised recommendations and offers, ultimately increasing revenue by 20 to 50%.

Simply put, neglecting CX and humanisation in your digital transformation journey can turn your business into the neglected one.

Where are the humans at?

On the one hand, you don’t want to waste time, money, and resources going digital if it means losing customers. On the other hand, you can’t stalk your customers and study their family histories.

To find balance, you must identify and ignite a customer’s experience, judgements, and reactions throughout the digital journey. Make it the entire process CX- and CX design-centred and guide your customers through the platform so they don’t have to figure it out themselves (only to uninstall it).

Being human among bots

Go on data dates with customers

Use a customer-first approach to place yourself in their shoes and prioritise their needs and expectations. Then, use the research to transform customer data into CX information and insights.

Leave no soldier behind

From the customer service crew to the back-end developers, bring the whole cavalry to strategise and understand customers on a deeper level. Remember, departments may differ, but the overall mission remains the same.

Understand the norm

Large customer databases are more difficult to analyse, but they reveal commonalities and differentiators you wouldn’t otherwise notice. Study the data and explore market trends, lifestyle changes, popular innovations, digital channels, website designs, and user-friendly navigation.

Don’t use digitisation to avoid humanisation

While we’ve shifted from the Yellow Pages to Google, we aren’t (entirely) bionic yet. If anything, digitisation has increased the need for a human touch.

Let someone else figure it out

You get people like us who enjoy going down CX rabbitholes. We’re happy to take over if the groundwork isn’t for you. A quick call is all it takes…

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