As people depend increasingly on e-commerce and delivery services to get the products they need and want, everyone runs the risk of having a bad customer experience (if they haven’t already). But it shouldn’t have to be that way.
Poor service at any point in the customer journey impacts a business’s current and future growth. And midsize companies are taking this threat seriously, according to an IDC Info Snapshot sponsored by SAP. While 31% are expanding customer reach through new channels, 25% cite improving the customer experience as a top priority for their digital investments.
It’s clear that midsize businesses are increasingly aware of the advantages of becoming an interconnected business. However, this blend of internal and online customer experiences – starting with a transaction online and possibly completed in a store if same-day delivery is not available – is a kind of personalization that requires much more than cloud infrastructure. Management and analytics tools are also important.
The right digital support fuels great experiences
Adoption of cloud-based platforms, collaborative business networks in conjunction with industry 4.0 enabled technologies – such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning – puts companies on a path towards connecting the customer experience. But it’s important to note that these digital tools for information, engagement, and visibility must be extended from the first point of contact to when the order is in the customer’s hands in pristine condition.
When companies replace traditional system landscapes of siloed data, applications, and supplier and vendor relationship management with technologies that encourage real-time insight, collaboration, and transparency, they can gain a winning edge that captures customer trust.
For example, supply chain planners and logistics managers have increased visibility and resiliency across all supply chain processes. Shipping managers have quality data to understand logistics providers performance and identify better and more cost-effective alternatives. Likewise, marketers and salespeople have a holistic view of buying activities from online to in-store and everywhere in between to determine how to reach existing and new customers best.
And even sharing data with critical suppliers, contract manufacturers and retailers can help ensure inventory is produced and allocated well enough to satisfy demand, as promised online and at the time of the sale in the store.
Across all these scenarios, the importance of automating tasks shouldn’t be underestimated. It helps free up time and resources so the business can redirect effort toward other critical tasks.
Take, for instance, AI-enabled documentation. The way any document – whether a PDF, handwritten note, images, or pictures – is interpreted or understood can change when people can extract structured data out of it and share it in more than 150 languages. So if someone wanted to get a head start on making informed decisions, ensuring that numbers and data are accurate, and or staying compliant, they could while meeting customers’ or, in some cases, stakeholders’ expectations.
This is where the cloud is a fantastic opportunity for midsize businesses to strengthen their end-to-end customer experience. While the latest technologies may seem cost-prohibitive or require considerable time and effort, solutions can be made available so companies can quickly try them online with their own data and see what works best. Secondly, organizations can customize, train, or adapt their data models to create the building blocks of process automation, new business models, or customer event triggers.
A brilliant chance to unknot the supply chain
As much as I wanted to blame the supply chain – or more specifically, the courier service – for the poor condition of my order, it’s really a problem that indicates a more prominent issue within the business. In my case, if the retailer considered the performance of the delivery service and the product’s fragility, it may have offered a different way for me to receive it.
That personal touch of care is the ultimate test of midsize companies’ staying power and ongoing growth. When they have the real-time visibility and insight for decisive thinking and strategic changes, businesses can navigate every supply chain delay, inventory setback, and any other disruption. Best of all, they can deliver an experience that delights customers from the first point of contact to when the order is in the customer’s hands in pristine condition.
And if you’d like to explore this topic further, watch the “Level-Up Your Customer Experience” webinar, sponsored by Intel and Google Cloud, part of our #ConnectGrowWin series.
