Top 7 technologies to provide the best customer experience

Good customer service gives brands the opportunity to attract new customers and also to retain them and build customer loyalty. Those two business streams provide firms with a constant cashflow and helps them increase sales regularly. Improving customer experiences is one of the most effective strategies to reach sales targets and develop the brand image.

In order to provide the best experience, new technologies have been used and developed. Here are the top 7 technologies that can provide the best service:

Chatbots

This is the most common tool to improve customer experience. First, because it is really easy to implement and can be applied to a lot of platforms. This service provides instant personalized support by instant messaging, SMS, voice or website (redirect to the corresponding web page). This tool is also famous because aside from giving personalized interaction, it avoids human error during interaction and gives more time for the experts to focus on improving the product or service sold by the company.

Social Media

Social Media is now one of the common ways to get to know your customers and interact with them. Now that the customers have power regarding brand strategy (since the spread of social media, yes it’s a vicious circle), companies have to adapt. On the other side, the power of social media allows brands to know better their community to make a more personalized product or service offer. It also allows brands to get close to customers by easily interacting with them which helps them building trust and creating loyalty. Moreover, social media is a powerful and cheap marketing tool for companies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is a new service tool that has been making a lot of noise lately. AI helps brands avoid wasting time in multiple customer channels, by providing quick and efficient customer service. Moreover, AI can help customers during their shopping by offering suggestions based on previous items bought or other previous data gathered. Many forms of AI can be found in a company selling products or services. 

It can even change the way shoppers buy goods; the example of Amazon Go shows how it can change to the way people are doing their groceries. In those stores, there is no clerk, just the customer his phone and the products. The concept is simple, the customer enters the shop by scanning the app, take products and live the shop. While living in the shop, the products are automatically scanned and the amount of groceries is directly withdrawn from the customer account.

Virtual Reality (VR)

VR technology is very interesting and different from other technologies because it doesn’t focus on the process of the customer journey or buying techniques but on giving an amazing experience. VR creates a sensory customer experience that can play with four human senses: smell, sight, hearing,  but also by generating imagination to clients. By using VR, companies can give smiles and sparks in the eyes of their customers. Those customers are likely to talk about their experience with their network afterward which will result in creating business for brands.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT) is a smart device or system that collects data from the environment automatically (without human intervention) acquired with sensors, processors or more. The data obtained from the devices is sent to the cloud and analyzed by the system thanks to a program. The system can communicate with other devices like the smartphone of a user. IoT allows brands to improve customer experience with a device that provides service by itself which saves time and money for brands. 

An example of IoT is the Dan Murphy’s App: The brand uses IoT to provide an end-to-end experience to customers in Australia. Customers can order alcohol beverages from the app, then the app will automatically send a notification to the staff team inside the store you are close to (less than 400 meters), so they can prepare the order. When to client enters the store, a staff person is waiting for the client with still fresh liquors.

In a more global approach, IoT can add a lot to the customer experience by personalizing interaction between the customer and the brand. In fact, the devices can analyze how the product is used by the customer and offer additional features not used yet to improve the experience. Iot can also improve the preferred features of customers by sending new target updates, doing personalized marketing and detect needs of maintenance.

Augmented Reality (AR)

The purpose of AR is to give a vision of reality created by the use of technology through a device. This technology is shaping new ways for brands to provide innovative customer experience. 

Examples below show how much value firms can add to their service by using this technology : 

Partnership between Apple and IKEA called “IKEA Place”: Customers can use AR with their Apple products to visualize how IKEA products will look in their homes. This avoids customer being disappointed with the furniture bought, they can be sure of color matching, dimension…

(picture took from: https://www.wired.com/story/ikea-place-ar-kit-augmented-reality/)

CoverGirl: This cosmetic brand launches an app “Try on tool” that allows the customer to try makeups from anywhere with the camera using augmented reality.

This brand validated the existing demand from cosmetics clients for this type of technology with the app. CoverGirl has now opened a store in New York that provides “AR glam stations” where customers can try makeup and share results on social media platforms to improve the in-store experience. 

(picture took from: https://www.coty.com/in-the-news/press-release/covergirl-opens-times-square-flagship-store)

ASOS Catwalk: the famous online shopping website has launched an app that allows shoppers to visualize products wear by virtual models with the “Virtual Catwalk” feature, providing an immersive customer online experience. 

Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F5qBlxx4bA

Gucci with the “Try on” feature: Yes, luxury brands are also investing in Augmented Reality. “Try on” provide an overview of 19 different sneakers on clients’ feet in order to help customers in their decision process to improve the experience. Shoppers can take pictures of results and share them on social media.

(picture took from: https://venturebeat.com/2019/06/26/guccis-ios-app-lets-you-try-shoes-on-remotely-in-ar/)

Voice capabilities technologies

Voice capabilities are a growing technology in apps where customers don’t need to physically interact with devices but only need their voice. Thanks to this technology, clients can use brand apps while doing everyday tasks that require the use of hands like cooking, driving, taking a shower…

Here are some examples of customer experience improvement by voice capabilities in apps: 

  • The well-known firm Activision has partnered with Amazon to provide a personalized experience to Call of Duty game players. While playing, gamers can ask Alexa about performance stats, gameplay tips, and event get a gaming coaching for Amazon’s speaker which allows customers to get the full game experience.
  • Jonnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky collaboration with Alexa: customers can ask the history of the whisky they are drinking in real-time to get personalized testing. The customer can get knowledge about tasting tips, anecdotes or even uniques cocktail recipes.

Those examples are a quick overview of the amount of added value technology can bring to the customer’s experience. Managers need to constantly inform on technology evolution in order to stay competitive and generate income growth by increasing the quantity and loyalty of customers. Investment in Research & Development for operations and customer service is a differentiation key factor that provides short and mid-term growth in a highly competitive market like fashion, cosmetics or electronics industry. Customer service related technologies create new buying processes, allowing the brand to get closer to their customers. In the past years, the use of innovations have shown the presence of a demand for this market: customer service technology.