We are closing into a full month of movement limitations across the whole of Europe and the US. After gathering data and formulating statistics it's now possible to draw some basic conclusions on the trends that are spreading throughout the enterprises.
Past weeks were as challenging as they were insightful. We, along with many renowned analytic organizations have noticed that despite the devastation that the pandemic wrecks throughout the services, HORECA and retail industries - some businesses are not only resilient, but they also notice increased productivity and growth.
When we take obvious - like the medical diagnostics companies, healthcare services providers - out of the equation, leaving the companies that do business in "standard" industries, it turns out they've adapted quite impressively.
Automation of processes.
Having already covered the remote-work tools and possibilities offered by the pre-packaged products, as well as dedicated solutions that can be made for every enterprise, let's see how automation of processes is spreading across the companies.
According to research made by Salesforce - one of the leading providers of out-of-the-box CRM solutions, close to 80% customers value the service quality as high as the product quality itself.
So, while covering for the later seems simple during the pandemic, it's easy to forget about the first one. Services are as important to the vast majority of your customers as what you offer them - meaning HOW became on the same level as WHAT. Having that in mind - it's extremely important to invest in customer service solutions, especially during turbulent times. Customers need a flawless flow of the service, independently from the method they choose to use when making a deal.
Digital Experience Platforms
Enter The DXP. It's a category of software that is yet to gain its place in the spotlight, but it's already obvious that the DXPs might become the next Big Thing in the digital era.
Users started noticing that often the CMS platforms present limitations when there is a need to create a unified and in-depth customer experience, especially when it has to merge multiple communication methods. Digital Experience Platforms aim to get CMS functionalities a step further. Since the customer has to have a consistent experience throughout the entirety of the relationship, even long after the sale has closed, it's no longer possible to just click the deal as "Done" in your sales system, pass it to the customer relations department and forget about it.
Deloitte in its multiple reports has noticed the huge disproportion of the quality of service provided by the pre-sales, sales and post-sales steps with companies that they analyzed.
So what exactly can a DXP do for your customer?
Build Relationship
In opposition to CRM, a DXP aims to build the relationship in which closing a deal is not the primary focus. It treats the customer more like a sheep that has lost its herd - providing guidance and support even if the customer does not provide financial benefits in the short-term.
Provide Integrations
With the multitude of tools used daily by both the enterprises and customers, DXPs aim to hack into those tools by providing extensive integrations. Thanks to this fact both parties can engage each-other WITHIN their own, existing workflows, without the need to learn how the opposite does daily stuff.
Give Omnichannel Experience
With the ability to provide meaningful and precise content on any device that comes to mind, a DXP creates a close-to-reality illusion, that the enterprise the customer is looking for, is always there for him.
Multiplying Touchpoints
CMS gives you a checklist and leaves your salesperson alone to orchestrate the means of delivery. DXP approaches the issue differently - it lets the sales departments create a unified experience without regard to the platform that it will be used on, and adapts it dynamically to the one that you select further on, even if its a one that you have not considered as valuable in the beginning.
How DXPs are breaking the B2C/B2B model.
So we are all used to the holy division of sales and marketing - "Are we selling to End Customer, or a Bussiness Customer?" The answer to this question usually directs all further efforts of the enterprise, to gain customers and generate revenue.
But guess what? According to research made by Salesforce there is a new, emerging concept.
It's called "B2Me" - More than 80% of the business buyers and decision-makers - WANT the same experience when they buy for their business as if they're buying for themselves as a person. Since the majority of the B2B customers in the end value, the fact that they're treated as human beings, not the numbers - creating a unified experience seems to be the holy grail of the current sales approach. Providing personalized content that DXPs can provide with ease, will be the distinction between the companies that grow in the days of worldwide turmoil, and the ones that stagnate at best.
Privacy Issues
However for the Personalized Content to be a "carrot" for the opposite party, it has to fulfill one major requirement - privacy.
Again - the great majority of consumers (more than 82% according to Gartner) will share relevant information about themselves in exchange for one of the following
- consistent connection between their digital and in-person buying experience
- more consultative help from salespeople
- proactive customer service
Besides, more than 90% of the same respondees, will value control over what exact personal information is shared to further trust a company.
Hence the transparency and real value for the customer are crucial to create an excellent Digital Experience for the customer. Having that in mind, we agree that creating a balance between personalization and privacy will be the way to go in what we call a Fourth Industrial Revolution.
