An early starter in the digital marketing business, Angad Singh Manchanda began his advertising stint at the age of 19 and over the decade worked with 4 agencies of distinct sizes in multiple roles until he molded his dream into reality. The ‘solutions guy’ then co-founded a network consultancy firm, Merge Infinity Global while fortifying Chimp&z Inc, a multi-dimensional digital-first advertising agency in 2013. Now ready to compete in the cutthroat international market, Angad has begun expanding Chimp&z Inc in North America. He also co-founded a production house called Griffin Pictures Worldwide, a performance marketing firm called Saber Tooth, an ROI-driven digital agency called Yellophant Digital, a complete SEO analysis tool called Search Munky, all under the same parent entity Merge Infinity Global. Equipped with 8 years of hands-on experience in the startup ecosystems with Chimp&z Inc, Angad employs his expertise to offer mentorship for the new entrants.
Shep Hyken once said, “The best advertising you can have is a loyal customer spreading the word about how incredible your business is.” Customer experience has a direct influence on customer loyalty. With the advent of new technologies and infinite choices, the game is all about providing nothing less than the best to enhance customer experience and simultaneously fostering customer loyalty. The three ‘I’s of customer experience, Ideation, Integration, and Implementation have flipped the coin by transforming how people perceive brands. In this digital era, with customer expectations increasing incessantly, providing a good experience is just not sufficient enough to sustain long-term prosperity. Individuals use the internet to seek products and services, make online transactions, and do business with e-retailers. Customers have become digital dreamers. Hence, businesses must have an eye on enhancing their digital customer experiences to level up.
Ideation
Ideation is the core of business transactions. It is a constant process of innovation that lays the groundwork for a better understanding of customer needs. With a plethora of alternatives available for customers in this digitally equipped age, companies should let the imagination of employees run riot without confining them to any constraints. Such flexibility brings out the best of ideas that open the door for customer satisfaction. If you do not entice your audience with something out of the box, guess what? You already lost them. Customer experience and willingness to engage with your brand, from beginning to end, will indicate whether or not they offer repeat business.
Bearing this in mind, one may come up with fresh ideas or create a new product/service to flourish in the digital market with an impeccable setup. Swiggy’s Instamart, which delivers goods in 15-30 minutes, is a hot example. Ideas like this help fuel the amicable charm of accelerated commerce and gradually captivate India’s entire business ecosystem.
Integration
Integration is the accumulation of ideas and efforts that goes into the execution of a plan. It can be accomplished with proper research, experience, and a problem-solving attitude of an entire team. Emphasizing the value of customer experience at all organizational levels will boost the process. Internal employee actions may not immediately contribute to improving customer experience, but a modest effort from everyone in the company may raise the bar. About external efforts, remember that customers evaluate a brand not just on how they advertise the product, but also on how they make them feel when promoting it. The trick is to retain an internal alacrity that allows you to flow with the plan and emerge victoriously.
With such a focused mindset, the integration plan will foreshadow a delightful customer experience. Following the Instamart example, in order to implement the concept of 15-30-minute delivery, the squad must have integrated the data of grocery stores and the market potential within the area of service before implementing the idea.
Implementation
Implementation is the execution of integrated ideas either using current resources or adding some to bring them to fruition. It is all about taking calculated creative risks and believing in your instincts. Things do not always go as planned, and you may occasionally miss the mark, but the key is to keep trying. The trial and failure mechanism helps in finding out what works best for your brand, allowing you to rise like a phoenix. As with implementation, it is difficult to say if anything works in digital advertising until you decide to go in and find out.
Customers appreciate the efforts of a company to go the extra mile. This distinguishes it from the competition. Coming back to our example, being mindful of the insight that people order a limited amount of products every day, Swiggy’s Instamart implemented the idea of delivering them within a stipulated time to save travel time for the users.
Ideation + Integration + Implementation = Customer Delight
Customer experience management is still a lot of art in the new age of big data and analytics. The emerging-market reality inspires businesses to raise their marketing efforts and leverage digital media to the maximum. In this age, customer experience extends to the various touchpoints they consider while interacting with a company. Their online and offline journeys should be crucial to brands. Strategies need to be devised to provide the best digital customer experience possible. By making the best use of the three ‘I’s, one may establish a tough benchmark to compete using their plans to be on the crest of a wave.