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Digital technology is becoming an integral part of today’s business environment at a staggering pace. Among other things, this means that companies that don’t keep up will be confined to the bottom tier or, in the worst-case scenario, expose customers to major risks.
In a setting where the customer success journey is the main asset to compete for, living up to the expectations of your audience should be considered the guiding principle of digital transformation.
The Customer is Key
Focusing your business strategy on customers is certainly not a new idea. There is no shortage of companies whose rise to prominence can be traced to a customer-centric approach, with names like Amazon, Zappos, and Apple coming to mind.
However, in the digital age, the importance of customer success has reached unprecedented levels. While it is tempting to dismiss this notion as a hyped-up buzzword, there are actually good reasons to take it seriously.
The Rules Are Changing
The first factor is a game-changing shift in the supply-demand dynamics. It has been going on for a while now, with its roots reaching as far back as the industrial revolution and similar milestones in economic growth.
Other possible culprits are:
- Improved means of production
- Development of global transportation systems
- Gradual switch to renewable energy sources
- Refinement of operations planning and sales
- Rise of digital assets that essentially have an infinite supply
This last bit is what interests us the most. Digital goods and services, which occupy an increasingly large portion of the economy, do not fit into the classical supply-demand model.
Simply put, once something can be multiplied to produce an infinite number of copies, the deficit is not a concern anymore. In such an environment, customers become the main asset that drives the industry.
Interestingly, this outcome of digital transformation was actually viewedas one of the major digital transformation risks due to the proliferation of unlicensed copying.
However, as the accessibility and convenience of digital services improved, infinite supply became less of a concern and more of an advantage.
Customer Experience Isn’t Optional
The second is the fact that digital transformation is a cornucopia of tools and solutions for improving customer experience. Some of these, like gathering feedback, are tried and true marketing methods brought to the next level by the capabilities of technology.
Others are completely new domains that harness the power of computing, with things like neural networks and AI coming to mind.
Here’s a brief rundown:
- Improved Communication: With web connectivity leaving the realm of luxury to become a part of essential needs, hearing the voice of your customers is easier than ever. From identifying weaknesses in your service to showing care and empathy, customer feedback is the most valuable source of information for improving your business. After all, delivering value to your customers is the ultimate goal of any enterprise.
- Personalized Experience: Let’s face it: unification is only an acceptable way to achieve consistency of quality early in the game. So make no mistake – your customers will expect a personalized message, and failing to deliver will be a major hit to customer experience. Digital transformation offers a plethora of simple and efficient ways to live up to those expectations, from userbase segmentation to user profile customization to AI-driven marketing decisions.
- Engagement and Interaction: If you could describe everything related to customer loyalty in one word, that word will probably be “engagement.” The emergence of the social media space backed by analytics has created an unprecedented opportunity to build a digital presence and strengthen the connection with the customer base at little to no expense.
With so many ways to enhance user experience available for everyone, there is really no way to opt out.
A service that does not offer a tailored approach or skips on social media presence will appear irresponsible, and rightfully so.
By the same token, those who focus on shiny frontend instead of taking a more holistic approach end up with a semblance of customer experience that works for nobody.
Knowing Your Risks
To be fair, digital technology is not a magical solution. While it brings to the table a lot of advantages, it poses an equal amount of risks.
What’s more, while some of the digital transformation risks, such as resource allocation, are familiar problems with known solutions, others are unique threats that require unique approaches (think data privacy and cybercrime).
Luckily, the growing understanding and awareness give birth to new dimensions of risk mitigation services, such as digital transformation consulting.
Digital risk roadmaps and frameworks are becoming an essential part of long-term business planning, with top digital transformation consulting firms offering comprehensive solutions that meet a broad range of objectives.
Simply put, digital risk management is critical to customer success journey and, by extension, should be at the forefront of digital transformation.
Wrapping Up
The adoption of digital technology has reached a level where it cannot be left to chance. While its potential value for customer experience has grown enormously, so did the risks it poses to businesses.
In a contemporary business environment, where customer success has become the main resource to compete for, recognizing digital transformation risks is a requirement for those who intend to reap its benefits.
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