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How Technology Offers Customer Value

Currently, top companies offering the best customer value dominate that space purely due to their innovative use of technology. Customer value can be described as ‘benefits’ offered to customers.

Everyone knows that the more benefits a company offers, the better!

So, let’s analyze how technology has been fueling the customer value, including the customer support, sector lately:

Exciting Shopping Experiences

There was a time when the thrill of shopping at a mall could not be matched by any online shopping experience. Today, the story has changed! Virtual previews, AR backed product trials, expansive product choice and irresistible discounts and extra convenience have transformed the online shopping completely.

Due to the surge of e-commerce, online marketplaces are able to offer products at much cheaper costs, suggest others and complete fulfillment with ease.

The convenience mentioned above spans across products and services and is an important contribution to the overall consumer experience. Customers can purchase virtually any product, from almost any corner of the world, without leaving their living room sofa. Now, that’s valuable.

Deeper Connections With Consumers

Consumer data is also being used to tailor offerings to suit individual preferences whether it be product categories, payment options, delivery modes or timely notifications. They utilize real time dashboards and consumer reports to continually improve customer value and experiences. This concept is known as dynamic personalization and is possible only due to technology.

Getting closer to the consumer may benefit companies and brands but automation tools help to give customers more information and customer support teams, the right data to help the buyers. The online platform holds a plethora of touch points which consumers can access to enquire and investigate prior to purchase. Technology can therefore be said to be assisting customers make better purchase decisions and customer support agents to facilitate these.

Personal communication via push notifications, real-time messaging, email or re-targeting ads are developing all the time and contributing towards deeper connections between brands and buyers.

Advanced Customer Support Systems

Though consumer relations and customer support are somewhat related, they do differ. Consumer relations can be initiated long before a buyer makes a purchase and extend till even after the purchase is made.

Customer support is that phase just before a customer makes a purchase, the actual purchase and post delivery. It is an advanced version of After Sales Support as we know it, with a little before sales, especially in relation to chat support before a customer buys a product or service.

Today, customer support has evolved to such an extent that consumers are able to communicate with the brand across multiple platforms. This is possible via omni-channel customer support systems that are cloud-enabled. These systems are the latest in customer support technology and can be accessed from virtually anywhere. They combine AI and Human capabilities via audio, video, chat, email, social media and ticketing support, all through one unified channel. They make the customer experience much smoother and fulfilling.

Hence, these are just some of the ways in which companies can offer better customer value using the latest AI, VR, Data and Analytics, IoT and Omnichannel Platforms.