Give Thanks! The Omni-Customer is Here
For many years now, the IT industry has been talking about multi-channel customer interactions with mobile, in particular, being touted as the consumers’ screen of choice. Well it seems as though the proof is in the Thanksgiving pudding. Cisco’s annual Visual Networking Index (VNI) for 2013 – 2018 predicts that over half of all IP traffic will originate with non-PC devices by 2018. Other sources are saying that this watershed occurred last weekend with the proportion of non-desktop originated traffic surpassing 50% and Walmart reporting that 70% of its bumper weekend online sales came from mobile purchasers.
Shoppers followed their friends too with social channels such as Facebook and Pinterest driving referrals resulting in average orders of well over $100 per consumer.
These data confirm what many of us already knew from empirical information and our own personal experiences: Consumers today expect to be able to use whichever channel is most convenient, often mixing channels for a single transaction. Omni-channel is here.
Of course, closing the consumer deal is just one step in a complex evaluation, buying and consumption lifecycle and the omni-channel expectation doesn’t end with the purchase. Consumers also expect to receive customer service via varied and often mixed channels; if I searched for a product or service on my tablet, I expect customer service through that channel too. But delivering fast and satisfying omni-channel customer service can be a lot harder than closing the original deal.
There is customer purchase and service history to take into account, access to billing and product information to address and there will always be customers that need help with something out of the ordinary so their context and business rules are vital for happy customers and profitable service organisations. Service providers cannot rely on a particular channel implementation with which to achieve such customer happiness. They must provide consistent and continuous service interactions across channels.
What does it take to deliver a seamless and continuous service experience that mixes asynchronous interactions like web portals and mobile apps with real-time conversations through the call center, co-browsing or live chat? At Pega we help CSPs to combine legacy BSS data with real-time context, business rules and guided interactions to deliver on brand promises. One of the key ingredients for success is dynamic case management that connects all of the people, systems and data required for end-to-end customer experiences that switch or combine channels in a single interaction.
Read about how leading customer service organisations such as American Express and United Healthcare have made dramatic improvements to their customers’ experiences and watch a live demo of how Pega mobility delivers an omni-channel customer experience.
Omni-customers are here and they expect to shop and receive service in the most convenient method for them at any particular time. Your challenge is to merge the old world with the new and then innovate for leadership to serve them.
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