Predictions for customer behavior and digital cx in 2022

The gateway months to 2022 provide a good context for crystal ball-gazing from a customer engagement point of view. While there has been a pivot in people’s priorities, hence the buzz around the Great Resignation, some of the salient aspects of the pandemic period are here to stay. Below is a compendium of my predictions for customer behaviors and trends in the coming year.

What is the future of digital customer experience?

Advanced online experiences will see digital technology come into play in all business areas, resulting in several changes as to how a business operates. With the help of technology, this creates an elevated product experience for customers and employees. There are a few elements that will play a vital role in mature digital customer experiences:

• Exceptional customer service will always be embedded in providing services to the customers in the way they need and want. Here, digital channels enable companies to be there 24/7 for their customers.

• Online and offline responsivenes and synchronicity in terms of customer engagement can be evolved entirely with the help of digital transformation.

• Customer loyalty will be grow in predictability as customers naturally gain trust in the quality of digital experiences as a result of constant usage of online mediums to explore and buy products.
  
  

Here is the list of trends which can be foreseen in the coming year.

1. Real-time measurement

In this digital age, wherein the footprint is digital and the customer expectation is real-time fulfilment, the measurement yardsticks need to keep pace as well. Brands will need to move from post-experience metrics (such as questionnaires and focus group discussions) to real-time feedback via one-click feedback-sharing options at various digital touchpoints throughout the transaction lifecycle.

2. Humanize the digital

Even as we all get used to the consistency and accuracy of bots, there is a born-again focus on the human aspect of customer experience. Safe to say that when customers call firms when they are in angst, the healing touch or the tone of empathy that an employee can provide is an integral part of the solution. So, the focus will be on leveraging the best of man and machine and ensuring that bots mimic human behaviour.

3. Device-agnostic experience

The days of telling customers that the mobile screen can only offer limited options and that they need to login are over. As customers work from anywhere, with the mobile device being their alter ego, the need for a device-agnostic experience offering the full suite of options, has never been greater.

4. Simplicity

One of the most under-rated aspects of customer experience, the maze that customers have to navigate on an IVR for instance (multiple numeric codes for access through the decision tree) need to be replaced with a simple, one-touch access to various services.

5. Voice and video

As the we move into digital age, the availability of voice and video as an option on all platforms will be key to customer satisfaction.

6. Location-based intelligence and services

Keeping privacy in mind, with explicit customer consent, location-based servicing can take customer experience up several notches. For instance, we launched a bot which pops up on the customer’s screen, when they click our address on a map, asking them whether their need can be fulfilled digitally, thereby preventing the need for a physical visit.

7. Curation

As customer-facing services morph from the physical to the digital, firms can curate experiences and offer more to customers. For instance, a prospect who would have visited a sample home in person previously may now end up taking a 3-D virtual tour of a new, planned property. Firms can add to the customer’s virtual experience by throwing in additional information (for example: schools, healthcare, feedback from residents in the area).

Conclusion

We live in exciting times, because digitization has not just changed our way of working, but our very way of living as well. As these customer trends and behaviors come to the fore, companies are geared up to offer novel experiences to customers as we move into 2022. The moment we switch our focus to possibilities, an entirely new world of experiences can open up for customers and businesses alike.

Discover more from K V Dipu on customer experience here.

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