Tech Trends – Immersive Customer Experiences

Continuing our tour of the ‘next big things’ in tech-based innovation – we turn our attention to the ways that technology can enhance, augment and redefine your customer service.

Technology is altering customer expectations. Satisfaction with flat, impersonal, unreactive service is a thing of the past, and it’s been going that way for quite a while. Even before Covid-19, customers were showing their desire for something different. PWC’s 2017/18 Report on Customer Experience highlights the twin demand for efficient technology, working in tandem with authentic, human interaction. According to the report, 73% of global consumers surveyed report that customer experience is a significant factor in their choice of brand. 

Now, in a post-pandemic world in which digital technology has become ever-more central to our lives, the business potential of immersive customer experience is growing at pace. Zendesk’s Customer Experience Report 2023 offers some striking statistics. 61% of consumers surveyed said they are excited about the potential for more personalised and seamless service. A huge 73% stated they would switch to a competitor after disappointing experiences.

There is potential, therefore, to win big in the arena of immersive customer experience. As we head further into this pivotal year, here are a few things to consider.

Efficiency is top dog

Multiple surveys rank efficiency and convenience as the most important single factor in a great customer experience. This doesn’t necessarily mean a ‘fast-as-you-can’ approach; rather, it’s about the seamlessness of your service. 

For example, chatbots are an effective tool for reliable information that can outpace human responsiveness … when questions are simple. They can be made available 24/7 and AI technology is now sophisticated enough to make straightforward interactions largely indistinguishable from contact with a human agent. However, it’s crucial that customers have a route to a human operative if their queries become too complex or niche. 

One of the core principles of immersive customer experience is continuous, conversational service. If a customer speaks to a chatbot or a human, they should be able to expect that any follow-up communication can pick-up right where they left off. This means integrating your comms and your CRM systems effectively, so that all data is available for fluid service across multiple contacts. 

Personal touches

All of the data gathered to create smooth communications can also be put to use in presenting your customers with a personalised experience. There is practically nothing as effective in driving sales or differentiating your brand.

Traditionally, personalisation focuses on targeted offers. Now it can encompass the whole customer experience, with multiple touchpoints to drive home a sense of bespoke attention. Not only can you present customers with goods or services that are algorithmically suited to them, but you can also communicate in uniquely relevant ways. A personalised sign-in message is a great start to any customer experience and content adjusted for geolocation suggests a genuine understanding of the customer’s personal reality. Even pop-ups, the bane of online retail, can be put to good use when adequately tailored – they can be transformed from irritants to personal messages with substance. 

It is worth mapping out the entirety of your customers’ experience and personalising as much as you can.

Don’t overlook fun

Technology provides ample opportunity to shake up boring interactions. Imagine the customer is buying a new piece of furniture or clothing – rather than a flat image on a website, leading retailers now offer the chance to inspect in detail; to expand, focus in, alter details and change colours

Augmented reality (AR) can elevate this kind of immersion to the next level. Using their phone or an AR headset, it is possible to give the customer the chance to see a product in a digitally-rendered space, or even their own home. The principle applies to multiple industries and the benefits to sales is obvious, but there is also great value in the reputation as a brand that has built fun and innovation into its customer experience. 

As digital technology, artificial intelligence and augmented reality advances, the possibilities for forming better bonds with customers will become central to growth. It is worth thinking now about how you can build a customer experience to fit the future.