Customer Experience

Change can be fun – or it can be fraught

40 years later, words from the cockpit of Apollo 13 still echo, “Houston we have a problem!”

Today customer habits are changing – be that through technology adoption or a desire to self serve – much more rapidly than many organisation’s existing capacity to adapt, yet there is little evidence that organisations are effectively applying new strategies, customer understanding or thinking patterns to these new challenges.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of major market shifts, driven by the global digital grid and accelerating customer choice we continue to use old ‘solution’ models to address the new ‘challenges’ that are confronting our businesses and service lines. Would we expect NASA to utilise the same approach in resolving a modern day technical glitch as they did in the 1970 crisis? No, in fact it's clear NASA do more to mitigate potential challenges than many businesses.

Despite the ability by many businesses to rationally see the need to change – the ruts of past success often dictate future pathways. And because businesses were once able to accurately forecast customer demand they continue to be seduced by old forecasting models, old technologies and outdated research approaches. This, despite the overwhelming evidence of the increased complexity of choice – in not just products and brands – but channels and interface. So what do we do? We need to ‘live’ the customer journey.

People expect more from products and services and are becoming accustomed to an increasingly personalised and intimate experience, yet how many programmes are you aware of in businesses like yours that are embracing a systemic service experience approach? Let me ask that question in another way, “Why are people choosing to buy iPhones versus much less expensive Nokias... they both get a dial tone and internet? Why are people flying Air New Zealand versus Jet Star… they both get you to the same destination?

Cost efficiency is created at great cost, and customer satisfaction and sustainable market position are never guaranteed, but living and adapting through the journey of service experience is something to be invested in as it will build trust, confidence, intimacy and most of all the insights to adapt.

Business leaders are preoccupied with the siloed intricacies of their social media community, location based cloud services and mobility services, but when we think about these services holistically we get a sense of convergence and the possibility of deep customer engagement at the interface. Based on experience and foresight I would say, 'Your ability to adapt and evolve at the interface will have a direct correlation with your ability to maintain a competitive edge.'

Change must be seen as an opportunity or else your organisation will be truly rooted… to the past!