Teaming customer insights with tech to drive world-class service in SA

As South Africans, many of us have received excellent service from local organisations, but many have also had experiences that have left us wanting. We all know the frustration of long waits for official documents or a lack of communication about how and when to collect them. Or feeling dissatisfied with inadequate services from the private sector, such as delivery services not offering flexible time slots, complex processes for simple banking transactions, or having to visit a physical store just to upgrade a digital device.

The company calls on private sector organisations and governmental entities not to take the beaten path of incremental change, but instead to overhaul their customer experience design.

This bold step does not require a significant investment or the very latest technology. iOCO has found that it can often be achieved with an organisation’s existing technology, and gradual changes to build out that technology ecosystem over time. The technology does not replace the human element of customer experience, but empowers employees and public servants to deliver high-quality service. Personal interactions remain an important part of delivering service and instilling trust.

Mary-Lyn Raath, Customer Value Enhancement executive of iOCO, says it’s crucial to ensure that the technology ecosystem aligns with a customer-driven approach, placing the needs and experiences of the customer at the centre of its design and implementation.

“To truly move forward,” says Raath, “organisations must ask themselves: ‘How can I elevate the experience for my customers?’”

Removing pain points

Customer experience design is about truly solving the needs of the user, who may be a client or customer, says Richard Harvey, principal consultant at iOCO’s Advisory Group.

“It revolves around identifying the customer’s pain points and addressing them,” he says. “When we develop a customer experience strategy with personalisation at its core, we refer to a concept named ‘jobs to be done’. We analyse all the ‘jobs’ involved in completing a primary task and evaluate how we can improve the overall experience. One way to achieve this is by providing the right information at the right time, so customers aren’t left searching for it while completing the task.

“The design would remove pain points, such as the customer having to recall when their licence is due to expire or when it must be renewed, waiting in long queues, or asking family or friends for the best place to go.”

What does the user want?

To build an impactful personalised experience, an organisation needs quality data that enables it to develop valuable insights into the customer. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, driven by data, empower organisations to predict customer needs and behaviour, tailor customer interactions, anticipate demands and create seamless experiences.

“To effectively personalise services, it’s essential to understand your users and what drives them — essentially, the ‘jobs they need to get done’. Customer experience design identifies what the user aims to achieve, while technology enables it,” says Harvey.

“Understanding the customer’s journey and the steps they take is key to designing the right technology ecosystem,” he says. “The real power comes from combining technology with a deep understanding of the customer to offer an exceptional, personalised customer experience.”

Where budget constraints bar organisations from using advanced technologies like AI to boost their customer service, basic technology can also be employed. “It could be as simple as a text or WhatsApp message reminding citizens of an appointment, or a link to a Google form that customers can complete ahead of time,” says Harvey. “Organisations can create much better experiences without the best technology when they really understand their users’ needs.”

New benchmarks, new expectations 

Innovative uses of technology are setting new benchmarks in customer experience. Some users with app fatigue are moving away from downloading more apps to their cellphones and instead linking micro experiences or in-app services.

“New in-app features like Google contact cards, which enable functions like reservations with a single tap, are reducing the need for stand-alone apps. This shift in user preferences and habits underlines the need to understand who your users are and what they want to achieve,” says Harvey.

The correct implementation of technology is also key. Whereas an app for citizens to report potholes may have limited success, the dashboard cameras that are proving effective in the insurance space for processing road accident claims could be used to identify locations where road maintenance is needed, automatically sending a request to the relevant government agency to conduct repair work.

Technology is often used in physical settings to enhance the customer experience. For example, when a customer visits a grocery store and swipes their rewards card, the relevant technology detects the customer’s preferences and offers discounts on those items. Another example is the QR code, which allows customers to scan a food item to view its nutritional information, calorie content and even find recipes.

In some grocery stores, technology is used to enhance the human aspect of customer service. Cashiers receive system-generated messages before assisting their next customer, reminding them to greet and interact with customers in a courteous way.

Creating seamless, impactful customer experiences

To successfully implement a new customer experience strategy, an organisation must transform its operations to align with the desired experience design. “Changing how you operate is crucial to improving customer experiences,” says Harvey.

“Organisations must combine customer-driven experience design with technology, reimagining operational models to ensure every touchpoint enhances the customer or citizen journey and creates seamless, meaningful experiences.”

Originally featured here