The stunning development and growth of digital technology in recent years has left few industries untouched. It has been the driving force behind the emergence of a vast array of disruptive new players and has forced existing companies to radically rethink strategies and business models. To stay relevant today no company can afford to ignore the wide-ranging implications of this Digital Revolution.
As companies adapt, one area being impacted in profound ways is that of customer experience management. Organizations are realising that they need to engage in new ways with customers whose expectations are higher than ever. At the recent UK National Outsourcing Association (NOA) Symposium in London (where Teleperformance was a sponsor) this issue was a key theme that was approached head on in the session titled “Preparing for the New Digital Era.”
One of the defining characteristics of this digital era is the way in which it is compelling organizations to build direct relationships with consumers and end users. Barriers are being broken down and companies – which up till now may have had no direct contact with their end users – are now having to engage with them personally as business models and product offerings shift to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the digital era. The education industry is an interesting example of this. Where once publishers worked through a series of middlemen such as book stores and educational institutions, they are now starting to take advantage of the boom in e-learning, mobile education and digital publishing to provide content experiences direct to their end user audience.
In the education industry, as in all industries where digital technology is being leveraged, the capacity to create compelling customer experiences will be key to developing brand loyalty. This means offering differentiated content on an array of platforms and devices, anytime, anywhere. Similarly companies need to have the capacity to engage through a range of channels – including mobile, social, tablets and chat – and be capable of responding to an “always-on”, “no-frontiers” consumer.
During the session on preparing for the digital era at the NOA Symposium in London, four key disruptive forces affecting traditional IT-focused outsourcing models were highlighted:
Social: Brands and consumers are engaging, interacting and connecting with each other. It is becoming increasingly difficult to draw a distinctive line between the world of business and the consumer reality.
Mobile: Improved infrastructure, connectivity and reach mean that consumers have the Internet at their fingertips wherever they are via the multiple devices at their disposal.
Analytics: New insights into customer sentiment and behavior are being revealed via big data analytics capabilities. These allow companies to predict behavior, customize product and service offers, and to up- and cross-sell appropriately and effectively via multiple channels.
Cloud: This is an area that is powering business growth and innovating the way people work. SaaS (software as a service) is better enabling organizations to link with their customers. More information here.
These disruptive forces are giving rise to new opportunities in customer experience management, and the pace of change is only going to increase. As an indication, according to Gartner, there will be nearly 26 billion devices wirelessly connected to the Internet of Things by 2020. The digital era is upon us and today’s consumer has much higher expectations. Are you ready to meet them?
Additional Inormation
You can also learn more about what was discussed at this year’s NOA Symposium by clicking here.
