While change and evolution are part of our DNA as a species, there is no doubt that in recent years we have witnessed a rapid acceleration of the pace at which these changes are happening. Access to technology and to knowledge is spreading so rapidly that users are now more interconnected and are taking better decisions based on the available information. Therefore customers have more impact on the success of any product or company.
Furthermore, they are aware of this new equilibrium in which they play a leading role and this "consciousness" makes our public increasingly demanding and their expectations, higher:
- Attention and response times: Once the user is connected all the time (via smartphone, tablet, etc), his or her concept of ”reasonable waiting time” has changed and shortened. Users understand that companies must adapt to them and not vice versa. The customer expects extended care times to be available 24/7 and, at the same time, shorter response times consistent with the effort he is willing to make to solve queries about a product or service.
- Accuracy of the service: The customer is willing to share a lot of information with companies as long as the use of it means more customized offers and services, otherwise he will not waste his time.
- Consistency and omnichannel: If a company offers its users a wide range of contact channels, the customer will feel free to choose the one that best suits his purpose, but will hardly accept that the company does not have the ability to know about all his interactions and act accordingly, and he will wait for the same answer regardless of the access channel.
- Proactive knowledge: Customers are assuming that companies are investing in order to know their needs and preferences. Thus, they will assume that any of the suppliers will monitor what is said of their company and its services with the intention of improving and, if necessary, the company will proactively respond even when a corporate channel has not been specifically used To live up to these high expectations, companies must pay attention to consumer trends, anticipate them, and be able to adapt. Some of the trends we have been watching during 2014 and that we expect to be even stronger in 2015 are the following.
- Mobile Connectivity: Internet access through mobile devices has already exceeded access from computers. Furthermore, the use of mobile applications has increased by 74% during 2014, the "Life-style and Shopping category" being the fastest-growing one, with 174%. This means that we must focus especially on improving the experience of the mobile customer. But the impact of mobile technology goes far beyond. From the weareables, to mobile payments, the increase of installed sensors in homes and in shops, and the data analysis that they all will generate, represent a unique opportunity to deepen our knowledge of users, trends, and to get "insights" that will allow us to improve our offer by adapting it to the real demand.
- Real-time analysis: Never before have companies been able to collect so much information. However, the raw data are not enough. Correct analysis of data and the right speed in processing them are essential to better understand consumer trends and therefore being able to improve the customer experience and consequently, increase sales and gain a competitive advantage.
- Content Production and customer self-service: All this knowledge that companies have nowadays, can, and should, revert directly to a better customer service. It becomes imperative to know your customer’s needs and doubts and anticipate them, creating content that can be easily accessed by users, which will give them greater autonomy, while improving the customer experience and helping reduce the cost of calls or contacts through other channels. It would be a terrible mistake to ignore this reality in which we are moving and that directly shows us the right path. That is why Transcom is working closely with our clients to help them develop strategies and processes together that help them to get the most of the information we obtain through improving the experience we deliver in each of our services.