COVID-19 has upended businesses around the globe, and every part of every organization is being challenged, changed, and innovated. Leaders are facing a myriad of questions and decisions in an environment that demands speed and creativity.
Included in this churn is the ongoing debate about machines and AI, and their ability to co-exist with people. In fact, one unexpected upshot in this pandemic might be a newfound harmony between technology and humanity, and a vision for the future of customer experiences.
How COVID-19 is reshaping the customer experience
In 1793, Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “Now’s the day, now’s the hour.” More than two centuries on, it captures the urgency that has defined the global response to COVID-19 – the urgency required to defeat a global pandemic.
And while speed is paramount, it must also be accompanied by a decidedly human approach.
Businesses that want to weather this who-knows-how-long storm are having to adapt.
Learning and working from home are now the norm, so companies are finding new ways to support their teams, like using agile platforms to get them laptops and other supplies, or building contact lists to disseminate information and help people stay in touch.
What we are witnessing is how businesses – by serving basic human needs – are uncovering true innovation and driving incredibly human customer experiences
Peer just below the surface and you’ll see another force at play: customers are developing a greater tolerance for inconvenience, and placing less importance on brand.
Take my own foray into online grocery shopping, for example. Finding a particular comfort in baked goods these days, I added flour to my online grocery order, selecting the brand that I’ve used for years.
However, when I pulled up to collect my purchases, and met the person who put them in my car (my hero of the day), my groceries suddenly became secondary in importance. So when I unpacked the bins at home and saw my brand of flour had been unseated by another that was in-stock, it didn’t matter; it was simply flour. I had what I needed to feed my loved ones.
Months ago, I might have felt like my experience with the retailer was less than ideal. But in the time of a pandemic, that they were able to give what I needed made for an exceptional experience.
A human connection was made, a human need was met, and most of it was made possible by technology.
As business leaders look to refine their customer experience for a post-COVID-19 world, they will do well to note the valuable lessons being taught now.
Whether you’re serving your customers essential needs, or less critical wants, you’re serving a person. Keep that as the driving force, and use your technology to deliver.
Every digital moment matters.
Are you making the most of them?
1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. Get the details HERE.
This article was excerpted from a special episode of The Kinetic Enterprise™: Built to evolve, a podcast, featuring insights from Deloitte Consulting LLP on what leaders will want to consider right now and keep in mind for the future during extraordinary times. Listen to the full episode at The Kinetic Enterprise™: Built to evolve.
