On Technology and CX

In today's world, customers who are highly interconnected expect consistent and tailored interactions at all points of contact with a business. Fulfilling these demands is essential for achieving success, and the evolution of customer experience hinges on staying at the forefront of emerging trends.

In The Automotive Customer Journey: Rewriting the Retail Playbook , Silvia Coleman highlights that in the case of Automotive luxury brands, in addition to the existing experiential retail concepts, Web3 technology, including XR (mixed reality) and audio-spatial computing, could open a plethora of immersive experiences.

This could replace at least the initial dealership visits and conversations with immersive experiences from the comfort of the customer’s home. A specialized service would provide comparative research, pricing, cost-benefit analysis, and immersive side-by-side virtual comparison. One example is RelayCars, which offers a mobile application with AR and 3D visuals that allow users to explore thousands of cars.

Imagine a scenario where, using VR, you could test drive a vehicle with a headset and complementary haptic devices and enjoy a very realistic “touch-and-feel” experience. You could conduct the entire sales conversation in the metaverse.

Read the full "The Automotive Customer Journey: Rewriting the Retail Playbook " from Silvia Coleman .

Technology Is An Enabler, Not A Solution

Buying a gym membership does not result in weight loss and muscle gain — showing up and doing the work with the correct technique does. Brands often implement expensive tools with grand expectations, yet fail to achieve desired results for the same, simple reasons: failure to analyze the client’s and team’s real needs, not involving end-users (frontline staff and customers) in decision-making and planning, introducing new tools without warning, lack of practice or preparation, and poor management of expectations.

For new tools to work — digital or otherwise — these steps must be adhered to.

• Clearly define the challenge.
• Assemble a multidisciplinary team to account for every viewpoint.
• Identify the root-cause.
• Ideate, brainstorm, and propose solutions.
• Test the solution on a small-scale sample with people who are open to change.
• Welcome feedback and adjust if needed.
• Record and communicate short-term wins and benefits.
• Deploy new tools.
• Ensure consistent monetization and how it is helping the team.

Implementing extravagant tools without adequate preparation or analytics might result in even more catastrophic consequences. Technological aids can be invaluable to businesses and team members when enforced correctly, but failing to do so can overwhelm staff, confuse customers, provide inaccurate results, cause significant financial loss, and eventually deter customers from returning due to a disorganized experience.

Read the full "Technology Is an Enabler, Not a Solution " from Christophe Ca?s .

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