In San Antonio and London a few weeks ago, NICE introduced the concept of the “Experience of Things.” Not simply the connected Internet of Things, but a time in which IoT connectivity will drive perfect experiences between things and people. All of these touch points are fighting for your attention – mobile apps, wearable conveniences, online portals, real-time sensors – and as this happens, you AND your consumers will experience new things that, if handled properly, will open new opportunities.
Channel Wars
The first new experience will come in the form of what I call channel wars. All of the customer-facing initiatives you have today will attack the consumer from all vantage points. And don’t think this is just phone, email, mobile, and chat. Ben Algaze from ExtremeTech said, “Facebook continues to try to steal eyeballs and ad dollars from search. If users migrate to this new model of using Messenger to interact with businesses, it could pry users away from Google searches.”
To combat this battle for users among the different channels, we believe that you must create a strong connection to the people side of your organization – the reps in your contact centers and stores that talk directly to customers. If the people side can’t see the connected virtual side – i.e., all the data collected – you will lose visibility of the customer and will be unable to predict customer behavior. As a result, there will be a struggle between delightful virtual experiences and the high-touch personal interactions you have in your contact center and bricks-and-mortar locations.
Organizations are already starting to connect these dots today, and if you rally the troops, you’ll forge new ground in both virtual and face-to-face experiences.
Immediacy
There is no doubt that our mobile devices, and other virtual channels, can give us immediate service. But wait until the day that the Experience of Things (XoT) enables engaged employees to ‘wow’ your customers with ultra-personalized, in-the-moment offers too.
Think of retail employees equipped with customer preferences, flight attendants that know your drink order in advance, or even proactive technical support personnel that can diagnose, treat, and heal our electronics without even an alert. Immediacy comes in the form of low-touch self-service, but don’t leave your customer-facing employees in the dark; arm them with real-time guidance to turn consumers’ preconceived notions about service into pleasant disbelief.
Disruption
Virtual channels are collecting data all the time and your employees are collecting data verbally. After all data points are captured, mapped, and analyzed, it will be your responsibility to take action in both the virtual and the face-to-face. Disruption will be positive or negative depending on your speed.
If employees are equipped with the data collected in the Experience of Things, you will delight your customers and seamlessly cater to their needs more quickly and more efficiently than ever before. Upsells and cross-sells will abound and movement between all channels will be seamless and beautiful.
Delay in putting these insights to use, and customers will leave very, VERY quickly. More options in the Experience of Things means customers can point, click or touch their way into canceling their service or deleting you from view. The options for turnover in the XoT are just as fast. For example, BankMobile, a new branchless bank promising to be the Uber of banking says, “Clients can open an account in less than five minutes online.” Keeping up with the Experience of Things to prevent that kind of switch will be paramount to your success.
Each of these new experiences will shape the customer experience, and at NICE we hope to help you navigate that journey. Let’s tackle the channel wars, provide immediacy at virtual and human interaction touch points, and disrupt the market in a positive way by creating perfect experiences.