Who doesn’t love a brand or company who knows exactly what you like and what you need, and comes up with relevant recommendations?

In an age when customers have access to vast amounts of data about a company, all their products, competitors, reviews, customer experience becomes increasingly important as a source of competitive advantage. Success rely on combining a digital-first attitude with a human touch.

For example, Amazon is famous for its personalisation and has been using product curation and recommendation algorithm for many years. It has been known to be one of the first to play heavily in this space and we can continue to learn from it, although more sophistication will be required as it moves forward.

Amazon has worked hard to understand its consumers through data and makes recommendations based on a number of factors.

Customers want to purchase from companies that understand their needs and make them feel as if they and their time are valuable. So, how can a company further humanise customer interactions to keep customers coming back over and over again?

Here are 4 steps to follow to humanise your digital experience and build customer loyalty:

1. Collect as much information as you can about your customers

The more information you have on each customer, the better you’ll be able to service that customer and provide the most relevant experience. Therefore, if your customer profiles are not as robust as they could be, start collecting data at each interaction on their online journey with your company.

This way, not only you will be able to address ad hoc situations, you can also predict customer behaviour which will help you know what to offer them and when.

2. Empower employees and listen to them

If you want customers to be happy with your business, empower your employees who have interactions with them. Your employees are the front line of your business and can help you understand customers’ needs better than any other route of gathering information.

When employees have the authority to resolve issues immediately, customers will appreciate the responsiveness and return for more positive experiences. Therefore, always listen carefully to what your employees have to say about your customers’ experience. Don’t undervalue their opinion and point of view.

3. Engage in real-time interactions

Customers expect that you can provide what they need, when they need it, any time of the day or the week; so operation with real-time information will make each interaction more authentic and relevant.

Introducing AI (artificial intelligence) in the mix will help you collect even greater knowledge on each customer at each touch point and provide an excellent customer journey. AI can help with automated responses in real time so that customers receive the support they need anytime of the day, and your business will be positively positioned for further interactions. Some example of AI are chatbots and other forms of web chats.

However, be cautious not too rely on AI too much or expect it to take the place of your other personalised interactions; AI is still on early days in having a full conversation with the customer as a human being would.

4. Delight your customers

Most companies do their best to service customers, but it’s taking the further steps toward delighting them that humanises transactions and shows them how important they are to your company.

The best way to humanise the digital experience is to proactively reach out to customers before a problem to acknowledge their value to your business.

Conclusion

Today all businesses should have a clear data strategy and their data managed effectively, and using this data to create effective personalisation strategies is a must within any digital strategy.

Keeping interactions real and authentic plays a paramount role in customer experience and should take priority in every business that wants loyalty and repeat sales.

GUEST BLOGGER AUTHOR:

CLAUDIA TINNIRELLO