Sandesh Sarang brings along 19 years of rich experience in growing business fast and profitably primarily in the Telecom and Information Management services sector. His last stint was with Vi as a Regional Cluster Head for Strategic Accounts for West Region. He has led the business segments successfully encompassing global enterprise, national corporates, Government and SMB. His outstanding career spans across various Indian and Global Multinationals including BPL Mobile, Bharti Airtel Limited, Writer Corporation and Vodafone. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of business and technology helping to drive growth and creating stakeholder value. He has earned his MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies majoring in Marketing.
You are missing out on a lot if you haven’t digitized your business yet. The rapid digital transformation and change in market demand have led companies to mold their business models to adapt to the integration of advanced technologies into businesses. However, the exciting part is that technological advancements are not single-handedly driving this fundamental change. Customer demand is playing an extremely crucial role.
Over the years, with increased internet penetration and widescale adoption of smartphones, customer expectations, behavior, and buying pattern have evolved dramatically. For instance, between 2021 and 2022, the internet users in India increased by 34 million, while the country’s internet penetration rate at the beginning of the year stood at 47%. As a result of this, customers now expect products and services to be delivered immediately. A recent Google search trend revealed that customers’ expectations for 24X7 service support have increased by 500% since 2021. With the 5G services rolling out, India will have one billion smartphone users by 2026, indicating an essential push for customer-centric services.
One size DOESN’T fit all!
A quick look at big consumer brands consistently growing on the back of technology has more in common than what is visible on the surface. Their ability to pair innovation and customer-centricity has unlocked a path that directly leads to customer satisfaction, making them a credible choice. They clearly understand that one size doesn’t fit all. The digital revolution has necessitated a dramatic shift in brand focus from traditional product-centricity to customer-centricity.
As a product-centric company, the focus will be on improving the product and attaining product superiority. However, being a customer-centric company, you have to think like a customer and what they need. So far, the brands have focused on a seamless experience with their services, but what’s next? What will make the customer more interested in your business? To this, the answer is personalization. About 80% of customers prefer buying from companies that provide a customized experience.
Personalization has the potential to enhance CX if executed well. The brands here have a massive opportunity to leverage historical customer data to deliver what customers want. Technology makes it much easier to access data and use it to understand customers’ triggers. It is the only way to make personalization a reality on a large scale by formulating focused strategies. Even the customers are okay with sharing the data for more personalized experiences. Research revealed that 49% of customers are ready to share more information if they get tailor-made offers.
Even though the customer-centric approach is primarily related to elevating the CX, it also directly impacts business growth. A Deloitte and Touche research recently suggested that companies with business strategies with customers at the center point were 60% more profitable than ones without a plan focusing on customer delight. It also makes business sustainable by increasing the credibility among customers, leading to winning their loyalty towards the brand.
Emerging technologies powering the CX journey
The integration of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), etc., into marketing and business development plays an active role in transforming services and boosting business expansion. For instance, companies with AI capabilities enjoyed 3.5x more improvement in customer satisfaction rates. Similarly, other technologies like the cloud deserve the credit for profitable businesses. About 86% of companies strongly believe that cloud technology enables them to be fast, dynamic, and flexible in delivering state-of-the-art services. It is imperative for businesses to use these technologies to solve common marketing problems to help deliver a sophisticated and seamless customer journey. It will boost engagement and loyalty too.
As this multi-channel experience results in increased customer engagement, companies need to consider future technologies as well. Generation Alpha will account for 2 billion people among the global population by 2025, and that’s a huge number. It is the generation being born when augmented reality and other advanced technologies are already part of the ecosystem. Thus, the next focus for the brands is making metaverse a part of their business plans. It is a massive opportunity to cater to future customers.
Conclusion
Integrating technology into businesses has been proven beneficial for industries across the spectrum. Customer experience has become a priority and companies have to use the evolutionary combination of customer-centricity and technology to grow. As a company, you can emerge to be the next globally recognized prominent service provider across continents with the right technology and customer-centric approach.