We’re drawn to the shiny new thing, the latest tech and software which promises to solve our current problems. We look to the success another brand has had in applying the innovation to their market and think ‘we just need one of those’. There’s a success bias at play here as we don’t see all those who’s tech projects failed to make a real difference. It’s not that the tech was broken, it’s the approach. In the words of Steve Jobs “You have to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology”. Too often the tech comes first, we can build it so we do, instead of the customer being at the centre of the why.

So, to start with the customer you first need a thorough understanding of who your customer really is, how they behave, and what influences their decisions. There is an increasing trend of businesses rushing to implement an advanced piece of customer engagement technology before they’re at this stage of understanding. This results in over investing in tech that may not actually be relevant to the customer or how the customer wants to engage, and ultimately one that doesn’t deliver any return.

Think about how much investment has been made to develop smartphone apps for brands that end up effectively as another website, offering no long term interaction value. A report by App Annie reveals that while most users have about 90 apps installed, only a third of them are actually used in a month, while daily use is just 9 apps. Instead of spending the budget developing apps for the their loyalty programs, we’re seeing a huge shift to leveraging the native apps which customers use daily. Brands like Oaks and Hog’s Breath have understood their customer’s need and now offer their loyalty cards as both traditional cards and digital wallet cards, at a fraction of an investment in a native app.

Rather than working out how to justify in a piece of technology to enhance your customer relationship, what needs to be considered is firstly if and what technology is the best to continue the conversation and influence the customer behaviours. Technology here needs to be approached as a support to, rather than the solution to your current customer experience. Identifying a gap in the customer’s interaction with your business is the first step. From there, if a technology-based solution is the best option, it needs to be developed with your customer’s needs as the top priority, and then applied in a way that will add value to your customer’ experience.

Customology are specialists in identifying and implementing customer-focussed solutions to businesses in a strategic and effective method. Call Customology on 07 3902 7700, or email hi@customology.com.au today for more information on how your business can enhance your customer’s experience.

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