Digital 2.0: Shaping business success in new normal; why compassion is more important now

Nitin Singhal

Digital, over the past few years has firmly established itself as one of the most important factors driving innovation and consequent business success for enterprises. With the advent of the ‘Experience Era’, the medium has evolved to become even more critical for enterprises to understand their customers and forge meaningful relationships for the long term. As the world adapts to a new normal, the rules for business success have changed and are ever more reliant on harnessing the power of digital to create new values and experiences in times of disruption.

The pandemic has been a watershed moment for the digital transformation of businesses and only ones that adapt and adhere to the new customers, evolved expectations, communicate their messages with empathy, have a much higher chance of succeeding. Here’s how:

Understanding and catering to the new customer

As social distancing norms and worldwide lockdowns came into effect, the customer’s physical touchpoints with any business reduced drastically. Digital engagement, in such a situation, has become a necessity for customers, even for ones who have traditionally been resistant to the medium. For instance, across the APAC region, more than half (58%) of the consumers reported an increase in their online shopping activity. Moving forward, it will be critical for businesses to invest in accessible digital experiences that not only appeal to their existing customer base but also to the new digital consumer.

A few businesses have already started leveraging digital to deliver experiences valued by the consumer of today. For example, HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurance companies have adopted more application-based digital solutions and AI/ML technologies to drive contactless sales, initiated the use of chatbots to automate customer engagement and deployed effective digital solutions to streamline remote working during COVID-19.

Compassion, the key to foster long-term relationships

Customer Experience mechanisms, now, more than ever need to have a holistic view of individual customers along their unique journeys. As the world battles uncertainty, how a business meets a customer’s pronounced needs for concern and care becomes critical in determining long-term loyalty. The post-pandemic customer expects a business to empower them with the wherewithal to navigate the unique challenges that they face today. The way organizations develop their digital engagement strategies to address this requirement with a focus on data-driven, insightful solutions backed by a compassionate experience will have a lasting impression on their relationship with the customers.

Customer Experience Management in the new world order

The traditional crisis-response playbook is now passé. As businesses try to understand the “bigger picture” and create action plans, the focus of new age business leaders is shifting from reacting to the situation at hand and towards crafting unique, ingenious frameworks which stand to underscore customer success moving forward. Businesses today need to respond to the consumers by expanding their circle of influence from delivering delightful, personal and relevant interactions in real-time to supporting critical needs in an increasingly digital world.

For instance, IndiGo, one of India’s leading airlines have focused on implementing their CX strategy while being both pragmatic and empathetic in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. In order to make their digital experience journey for the customer more holistic in current times with a focus on customer safety, the airline has facilitated government-imposed mandatory health declarations for travellers with the Aarogya Setu app, and minimised physical contact with contactless travel initiatives throughout all stages of the customer journey with digital powering this contactless push.

Investing in a friction-free, touchless future

The pandemic marks a historic shift in the way the global economy operates. The pace of technology-driven and digitally-enabled change is now, faster than ever challenging organizations to transform their capabilities to target and fulfil evolving customer needs. As no-touch self-service models become a norm, ensuring a frictionless digital experience is now essential for business survival and customer retention.

Nitin Singhal is India Head of Digital Experience Business, Adobe. All the companies mentioned in the article use solutions and services provided by Adobe. Views expressed are the author’s personal.