Technology and the Human Touch in CX: How to Strike the Right Balance

Creating, maintaining, and growing exceptional customer experiences is paramount for long-term organizational success. In today's world of abundant alternatives and fierce competition, customers expect experiences that are tailored and seamless as a bare minimum. As emerging technologies open the door to new automated experiences, brands must understand what customers desire from their engagement to strike the right balance between innovative technologies and “human touch" to remain truly human-centered.

Let's explore the value of understanding the customer journey and its intersection with generational and demographic nuances to find the sweet spot in this evolving landscape.

Understanding the Customer Journey and Critical Touchpoints

To determine the equilibrium between automation and a human touch, brands must first identify the critical touchpoints of the customer journey. Consider what goals customers are trying to achieve when they engage in the purchase process and when they interact with the product or service experience. How are customers most frequently engaging with the brand? Where do frustrations arise?? What are critical decision moments?

Technologies such as AI, chatbots, and automated checkout can create more efficient experiences that appeal to higher-order human values, including saving time or feeling a sense of accomplishment. On the flip side, touchpoints like customer support should have hybrid options for human contact, should it be needed or desired.

In fact, in our recent survey of over 800 U.S. consumers found that 51% of consumers prefer an efficient experience over a friendly human interaction during their purchase journey. That said, 51% of consumers also stated that the absence of human support as an option in customer service is a relationship breaker. What’s more, in the personal industry of healthcare, consumers prefer human representatives (77%) over automated support, even if it means longer wait times.

What this tells us is that customer appetite for drawing efficiencies through technology comes with an expectation that brands strike the right balance. When technology truly creates efficiencies, it works, but when it fails or lacks human touch, it becomes a deal breaker.

Cultivating a deep understanding of your customer base, their journey to purchase and their ideal usage experience is the key to successfully weave technology into an optimized CX strategy.

Recognizing Generational and Demographic Nuances

Every industry and consumer group is unique – and as such, tailoring the customer experience requires acknowledging the diverse needs of different generations and demographics. According to this same study, we could see that Gen X and Baby boomers have a much stronger preference for human interaction versus automated support – even if that means longer wait times, as compared to younger generations.

But as automated technologies become more advanced, it’s important to understand their shortcomings – especially in the areas of racial and gender bias. For example, facial recognition technology has widely been criticized for its margin of error in darker-skinned people – with up to a 34% higher rate of error for darker-skinned females as compared to lighter-skinned males on the same software. An even larger concern when it comes to facial recognition technology comes from the fact that it is disproportionally leveraged in communities of color. Because of this, we are faced with biased data feeding biased technology – leading to biased experience for consumers.

There is also growing concern around racial bias in AI with these technologies being ‘trained’ without attention to embedding racial and gender specializations. Several factors could play into this, disparity in data sampling, lack of diversity in engineering of the product, the list goes on and is only growing more complex every day.

What brands must take away is that there is always a trade-off between a new technology’s promise of efficiency and its potential impact on customer knowledge and customer experience. Understanding and addressing this to meet customers where they are will ensure the best CX journey for all. ?

The Magic of Intersecting Customer Journey and Customer Nuances

The true magic lies in a brand’s ability to know their customers well enough to intersect customer needs with the customer journey, and nuanced automation opportunities. To achieve this, brands should consider the following factors when formulating their technology innovation strategy:

• Critical touchpoints in the customer journey should be evaluated. Identify areas where technology can enhance efficiency and convenience without sacrificing the human touch. By strategically leveraging automation in processes like checkout and self-service options, brands can save customers time and effort. But keep in mind, certain touchpoints may require a hybrid approach of automation and human interaction to address complex inquiries and build trust.
• Age and confidence with technology should be considered. As our research suggests, different age groups have varying preferences and proficiencies with technology. Younger generations are often more tech-savvy, while older generations may prefer options for human interaction for a more seamless experience. Understanding these nuances allows brands to tailor their approach to meet the specific needs of different customer segments, enhancing satisfaction and fostering brand loyalty.
• Personal sensitivity should influence the technology approach. Different industries and offerings evoke varying levels of personal sensitivity. For instance, in healthcare, where the nature of interactions can be deeply personal, a greater emphasis on the human touch is necessary to instill trust and provide empathetic support. In contrast, when purchasing a sweater from Target, the transaction is less emotionally charged, making automation more suitable. By aligning the technology approach with the level of personal sensitivity, brands can ensure that their CX strategy is tailored appropriately.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion should be considered when implementing technologies. Technology has the potential to perpetuate biases and inequalities if not carefully monitored. By incorporating DEI principles, realizing limitations and biases, and backing away from technologies where necessary, brands can ensure fair and equitable interactions with customers.

The Takeaway

Striking the right balance between investing in technologies that create efficiencies and incorporating human touches along the way is crucial to the successful customer journeys. And with that, considering demographic nuances allows for the customization of experiences to meet the diverse needs of your customers. By understanding your audience and tailoring technology innovation strategies accordingly, brands can create customer experiences that are truly human-centric.