The Key to Successful CX? One-to-One Engagement

Boosting one-to-one customer engagement is now essential more than ever, especially as brands navigate a pandemic-affected, digital-focused era of remote work, virtual schooling, and social distancing. However, many company leaders concede they overestimated their digital readiness for such a complex effort at this critical time—and still have a lot of work to do when it comes to providing the best-in-class customer experience (CX) that today’s buyers expect, especially during a crisis.

For example, in a recent study, over half of the surveyed leaders (54 percent) admitted they should have done more to help their customers during the current crisis, while over one-third (37 percent) communicated at least one message to customers that was badly received and damaged their brand reputation. In fact, 36 percent said they lost customers during the pandemic due to communication failures.

Furthermore, organizations know that they have a limited window of time to get up to speed and meet today’s customer engagement needs. According to the Pega 2020 Global Customer Experience Study, 58 percent of organizations surveyed believe their CX approach will be outdated in just two years, even while 92 percent say customer-centricity is a top priority.

The question is, how can companies get where they need to be in terms of customer engagement excellence? What will allow them to compete in an increasingly competitive landscape, where picky customers can quickly transfer loyalties with a mere click if they feel they had a poor experience? How can organizations make sure they provide the personal, consistent, and relevant interactions across all channels that shoppers want from their favorite brands?

Traditional, One-Size-Fits-All Campaigns Don’t Apply

The answer to all of the above is not the traditional one-size-fits-all campaigns based on broad segments marketers may be accustomed to managing. These days, those sales-focused options do not connect with customers who want to feel cared for and understood on an emotional level. In a digital and social media-steeped universe, shoppers are the ones in the driver’s seat. And they don’t want to settle for a brand that is simply focused on selling their wares and unconcerned with their pain points.

Instead, to provide one-to-one engagement that focuses squarely on CX rather than just making a sale, marketers and service teams need the following:

• The latest in AI-driven capabilities. AI can now transform personalized customer engagements across the entire customer journey to evaluate the context of each customer interaction in real-time. This capability enables companies to provide the most relevant offers and next best actions to take. AI can help companies learn from historical data about how a customer has behaved in the past so the customer feels “known” and valued.
• A single, centralized data authority. With a single point of focus in a centralized interface where all customer data details reside, marketers don’t need to worry whether everything is in sync across channels. No matter what device customers choose to engage with, every option is evaluated to provide a personalized interaction that resonates, engages and fosters brand loyalty.
• Sales automation. Today, selling is all about anticipating customer needs more quickly and accurately than ever, whether online, in the store, or in the field. With end-to-end automation, sales teams can keep relationships running smoothly and act on the best moments of opportunity.
• Co-browse capabilities. Companies can take customer service to the next level with co-browser capabilities, which allow tech service teams to help customers without needing to screen share. It means service agents can be more productive and effective, while customers feel satisfied with the experience.

The Future of One-to-One Customer Engagement: Digital Transformation

There is no doubt that digital transformation is at the heart of solving one-to-one customer engagement challenges. One of the biggest roadblocks companies face today is retaining loyal customers in an era of fierce competition. If one company does not respond to their customer’s needs, it’s easy for even the most loyal shopper to go to the competition.

The good news is, the current crisis has highlighted the importance of customer engagement. For instance, over two-thirds (69 percent) of Pega research respondents said the challenges of the pandemic taught them to be more empathetic with customers. In addition, 61 percent feel they learned more about their customers during the crisis than they did the previous two years combined.

With the right transformative solutions, organizations can meet and surpass their one-to-one customer engagement goals across the entire path-to-purchase—and be prepared for any CX challenge that comes their way in the future.

Poonam Thompson is senior manager, Digital Customer Experience practice, at Capgemini. Thompson is a leader with more than 14 years of experience delivering client engagements using iBPM Pega. She is extremely passionate about thought leadership, and based upon her experience and expertise, she thrives to provide the best guidance and solutions to her customers to make their transformational journey a success. Her expertise lies in understanding the business challenges that clients are facing and providing the optimal solutions that meet their strategic objectives along with providing business process improvement.