In today’s ever-active digital world, we are always connected. Access to a smartphone, tablet or computer, meaning business, and the customer service that comes with it, is just a few taps away.

Online, many of our needs are met instantly, shaping what consumers now expect from businesses: fast, personalized and accessible service.

Traditional customer service and old technology don’t offer the flexibility, convenience, and agility to serve today’s consumers. So, instead, businesses are turning to new technologies and looking to digital transformation to improve their customer experience (CX) and compete in the modern market.

With digital transformation being the key to staying relevant, 65 percent of businesses are already implementing change in 2020. However, the plan has become even more pressing after the pandemic hit.

The impact of the pandemic on digital transformation

Unable to go to the store during the pandemic, more customers online to shop. According to Forrester, 40 percent of US adults are increasing their online shopping, and 42 percent don’t plan to return to stores any time soon.

With face-to-face options limited, companies had to adapt quickly to providing online customer service and digitizing their CX. In fact, this shift happened so fast, some companies were forced to accelerate their plans by as much as 6 years.

The pandemic underscores the urgent need for digital transformation. And companies know this all too well — more than 50 percent of businesses are turning their focus to digital technology.

However, to understand how digital transformation relates to the customer experience, let’s start from the beginning.

What is digital transformation?

Digital transformation uses technology and digital innovation to revolutionize your business operations.

It’s not just about launching new tools and technologies. It’s about a digital strategy centered around optimizing your customer journey, delivering what customers want, understanding their point of difficulty, and fundamentally changing the way your business operates to deliver more value to customers.

The digital transformation begins and ends with CX.

Impact of digital transformation on customer experience

Today’s customers are looking for a new level of customer service. They want an ongoing relationship, not a series of isolated transactions. And it’s not just customers who benefit from it. So is business. According to Motista, customers with an emotional connection to a brand have 3x more lifetime value with the company and are 30 percent more likely to recommend them to others.

As technology brings new capabilities, customer expectations increase along with it. Businesses need to provide more, better, and faster services than ever before.

Instant service

With 24/7 online access, customers expect constant availability and timely response from businesses. According to a Hubspot study, 90 percent of customers rated immediate responses to support questions as important or very important.

Seamless omnichannel experience

Customers prefer online services wherever they are, with 69 percent wanting businesses to digitize their offerings.

A customers use more digital channels to contact businesses, each point of contact must be seamless and consistent. Each interaction provides an important context for future communication and relationship building. Without it, you run the risk of upsetting your customers — 70 percent of customers think businesses should coordinate internally so they don’t have to repeat customer support.

Personalized customer experience

Personalized experiences throughout the customer journey increase customer satisfaction and are key to trust and loyalty — 82 percent of customers feel more positive about a brand after engaging with personalized content, for example. And the reverse is also true, with 71 percent of consumers feeling dissatisfied after an impersonal shopping experience.

Technology and digital transformation are critical in equipping businesses to provide the thoughtful personalization, constant online availability and rapid response at scale required to succeed in the modern world.

4 ways to improve CX with technology

Gartner predicts new technologies will handle 70 percent of customer interactions by 2022, thanks to more meaningful and personalized customer experiences made possible through digital innovation.

As customer service has improved through the use of technology, the numbers have started to reflect this. For example, according to McKinsey, digital transformation at CX brings a 20-30 percent increase in customer satisfaction and a 20-50 percent increase in profits.

Here are some important ways you can use this technology to improve your CX.

1.) Automation with chatbots and conversational AI

Using chatbots and conversational AI, you can provide instant and consistent 24/7 customer service and faster problem solving. Chatbots handle routine tasks, respond to FAQs, provide information, and offer personalized recommendations. This frees up live chat agents for more complex issues.

Chatbots are becoming more common, and customers are also getting used to using them. In fact, 40 percent of consumers don’t bother whether they talk to chatbots or humans as long as they get what they need.

2.) Apply live chat

Like chatbots, live chat offers instant customer service. The main difference is, customers can talk to a real human — your customer support agent.

Live chat is growing in popularity with 41 percent of customers expecting to see it on the website. It’s also a favorite form of digital communication, with 42 percent of customers preferring live chat because they don’t have to wait long.

To improve the service even further, live chat is also integrated with other channels to create a more comprehensive customer history record.

3.) Set up browsing together

Co-browsing helps support representatives resolve issues faster by bypassing potential miscommunication and bridging physical gaps with remote communication technology. With co browsing, your support representative can safely interact with customer screens to guide them, or even physically complete tasks for them.

91 percent of customers find cobrowsing helpful, so it’s a great tool to improve your support service and enhance the customer experience.

4.) Take advantage of analytical tools

Technology provides access to richer data and more powerful analytics. Every interaction you have with a customer gives you a clearer picture of their needs and points of difficulty — important insights to improve the customer experience. And for better service, as many as 87 percent of US customers are willing to trade some of their information and privacy.

As the volume of available data continues to increase, the ability to manage everything from one centralized space is more important than ever. The unified agent view can help store customer information, such as purchase and support history, to help with future interactions and drive customized content.

With a variety of technologies to choose from to create a better customer experience, you can determine the best way to approach digital transformation for your business.

How to start digital transformation

Since all your internal operations impact CX, digital transformation is an inside job.

• Start with your customers. Review your customer journey touchpoints to understand how you can use technology to meet customer needs effectively. Define your goals and strategy. Use CX upgrades as the basis for your goals and strategies.
• Get everyone on board. The main cause of digital transformation failure is employee resistance. According to Gartner, when everyone understands goals and works collaboratively, businesses grow twice as fast with digital transformation. Cultivate an agile culture. To keep up with digital innovation, businesses must move fast, take risks, and learn from their mistakes.
• Invest in IT. Companies should invest in flexible and scalable IT solutions, such as cloud technologies. In 2021, global spending on digital transformation through IT, including cloud technology, is projected to increase by 6.2 percent.
• Determine the measure of success. Align your goals and measures of success. Move beyond transaction data and internal KPIs to include customer analytics.

Technology to enhance, not replace, the human experience

Understanding customer needs and finding gaps or improvements in your customer journey is at the core of successful digital transformation implementation. By focusing on accessible, fast and personalized CX, your business can thrive with increased satisfaction, trust and loyalty.

Digital transformation cannot replace a meaningful relationship between your business and your customers. However, it can help you strengthen these connections and create a better customer experience.