PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE: Remove Physical Friction with Digital Mobile

Article by: Asst. Prof. Suwan Juntiwasarakij, Ph.D., MEGA Tech Senior Editor

A blend of physical or human elements and digital interactions potentially results in a better customer experience. This works quite well in sectors where customer acquisition requires education, explanation, or personalization. Financial institutions, for instance often have trouble moving past servicing customer needs online to selling to consumers online and building a relationship with them. To design frictionless experience is to think about where the pain points are in current customer interfaces, and therefore the opportunities reveal themselves. For example, waiting for a response is the very friction that drives customers frustrated, according to a Customer Experience Study conducted by HotJar, a customer experience analytics consultant.

WAIT TIME IS FRICTION TIME

Voice conversation is consumers’ preference when interacting with customer service and support over products and services. Overall, nearly half of consumers are willing to wait between 1 and 3 minutes on hold for customer service, and another third are willing to wait between 3 and 5 minutes. Only slightly more than 10% are willing to wait over 5 minutes.

However, 45% of consumers globally indicated they were willing to wait between 2 and 5 minutes longer for a knowledgeable customer service/support representative. Customers spend less tolerance on delayed responses, therefore brand’s customer experience reputation and brand are at stake when customers waiting for assistance.

MOBILE IS LESS FRICTION

Mobile shopping is one of the often-cited interfaces that could leverage consumer experiences as it has gained popularity because it has removed barriers that can discourage consumer engagement. As in a physical store, customer information desks might seem like opportunities to engage with customers, but they could also slow down and frustrate customers, which discourages customer engagement.

On the contrary, mobile shopping is with no physical barriers, for customers do not have to go through difficulties in finding parking spots, waiting in long and slow checkout lanes, or even less welcoming customer service representative. In this regard, mobile helps fostering pleasant experiences, leading to satisfactory relationships between customers and brands

According Genesys, when interacting with a business for customer service and support, 78% of consumers surveyed used a mobile device, and that number jumps to 90% when working with millennials. The shift to mobile is clear. Millennials prefer smartphones for customer service and support interactions, and consumers aged 55 and over have a stronger preference for their landlines than other age groups.

The global population uses mobile devices, computers and laptops almost equally to engage with a business. It is crucial to know your customer segments and demographics.

Smartphones have become the go-to technology for online shopping, and this is the first time that mobile phones were used more than other digital devices and physical stores. As consumers become more familiar with and trusting of digital technology, they are going online for other services too.

According to PWC’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2019, more than half of the consumers, 51%, paid bills and invoices online in 2018, and the same percentage transferred money online. Cord cutting is increasingly popular with 54% of those surveyed streaming movies and TV two time a week or more. Generation Z lead this trend. More than 52% reported that they stream entertainment once a day or more frequently. Many younger consumers also go to online sources first for news and current affairs. 39% of them said that they go directly to social media for information, compared with 25% overall.

Moreover, mobile payment services are also gaining widespread acceptance, particularly in emerging regions that have leapfrogged past landline-based telephone systems and gone straight to mobile and smartphone. The number of people making mobile payments in stores is growing fastest in Vietnam, where the study showed that the percentage of consumer using such services in-store increased by 24 percentage points, 61%, in a single year. In the Middle East, the percentage grew by 20 percentage points, to 45%. On a global scale, 34% of consumers paid for purchases using mobile payment in-store, up from 24% a year earlier.

TAKE-HOME MESSAGE

Mark this line, “When consumers have the option to choose, the customer experience is what makes or breaks your business.” Customer experience and its value is by nature of the industry. Some industries, such as government agencies, seem to feel less impact of customer experience competition. Nevertheless, certain industries, such as those in services, face fierce competitive pressures. A single experience design and execution misstep could render a disastrous picture. To truly drive frictionless interactions and improve customer experience, it is mandatory to understand the needs and expectations of the customer very clearly. More importantly, firm has to acquire customer’s perspective on how they want to engage and interact with the firm.