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A recent study by McKinsey showed that 9 out of 10 businesses are planning to change their business model in 2023, with 64% believing they need new digital capabilities to remain economically viable. 

It's clear that digital transformation is revolutionizing every industry, with the rise of emerging technologies creating new opportunities for innovation and improved customer experience (CX). To fully embrace the latest advances in tech-enabled CX, leading organizations are developing strategies that span tools, processes, and human factors. Before we discuss digital transformation, it's important to also understand the digital customer journey.

Digital Customer Journey

A digital customer journey refers to the collection of technology-enabled interactions a user has with a company. It spans every touchpoint including the website, email and chat, mobile apps, social media, and self-serve. Customers rely on these contact channels to answer questions, resolve issues, and make payments. Providing an exceptional digital customer experience (CX) at each touchpoint is more important than ever. Consumers, especially newer generations, can be unforgiving when experiences don’t go well and often are quick to move to a competitor. 

A positive digital journey typically starts with a well-designed website or app that’s easy to navigate and enables the user to answer their question unassisted. Customers often want to find the information they need quickly and easily, and the website or app should be optimized for different devices, such as smartphones and tablets. 

Customers also want personalized communication and services. Treating each user as an individual is a proven strategy that's often enabled by smart technologies. Communications can include informational email, customized recommendations, and responsive support across channels so customers never need to repeat themselves.  

Another important aspect of the digital journey is security and privacy. Customers need to be confident their personal and financial information is safe when they use a company's platforms. Security and privacy measures, such as encryption and two-factor authentication, are more important than ever. 

4 Digital Transformation Strategies

A key ingredient in delivering successful tech-enabled CX is by applying digital transformation strategies. Below we detail four critical innovations driving 2023 initiatives:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the use of algorithms and machine learning to create intelligent systems that automate tasks like natural language processing, advanced decision making, and dynamic pattern recognition. Companies use AI to automate repetitive tasks, personalize customer experiences, optimize supply chain management, and make data-driven decisions among other things.
   
   
2. Generative AI: AI tools already power the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and big data. Generative AI uses machine learning technology to analyze existing data, then creates new content in a similar style to the original. It goes beyond simply predicting an output of information or classifying what already exists by actually creating new data. These solutions are tuned to write, communicate, and solve problems like a human would. The case for AI in customer experience (CX) is profound. Currently, about 2% of customer interactions use conversational AI, a number predicted to grow 5X in the next 4 years. This increase will primarily come from simulated voicebots and text-based chatbots.
   
   
3. Metaverse: It’s expected that 30% of organizations will have products and services ready for the metaverse by 2026. The metaverse is a collective platform where physical and virtual worlds are linked to create new user experiences accessible via virtual reality devices. Enabling the metaverse requires some combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), known as extended reality (XR). With XR innovations, brands are beginning to create more engaging, interactive experiences for users, altering the way businesses market themselves. It will reshape the way consumers interact with brands at every point along the customer journey, as well as fundamental enterprise operations.
   
   
4. Human Intervention: There’s little question that AI-driven tools can quickly and accurately answer simple questions. However, humans don’t always ask simple questions. Even the newest software may run into unforeseen limitations that require a higher form of cognition. In these instances, a skilled and trained support agent is the right form of intervention. In essence, humans are capable of resolving more complex queries that aren’t pre-scripted or already anticipated. Plus, agents are able to create a human bond with customers that lessens the stress of having an issue in the first place - a form of empathy that can’t be replicated by software.  

In Conclusion

Once the basics of your digital transformation strategy are in place, McKinsey cautions to not forget about the rest. “Sustainability, resilience, cybersecurity, and risk management are often afterthoughts in the process… But these elements need to be included at the beginning to build a lasting digital solution.”

Digital transformation is at the forefront of strategic initiatives for most successful global brands. By embracing the latest technologies and developing comprehensive strategies across people, process, and tools, companies of all sizes can embrace innovations that improve the customer journey.

Contact us to learn more about IntouchCX's digital transformation solutions.