Marketing & lead generation

CRM and Digital Transformation: Why Adapt your Customer Relationship?

4 min read

9 out of 10 French consumers expect extended customer service hours and multiple points of contact. However, can Customer Relationship adapt to these new uses? Traditional channels are still preferred, and social networks, are struggling to establish their place. How, then, can CRM become digital? How and why you should digitize your Customer relationship? Spotlight on the digital transformation of businesses, a real modernization challenge.

On the importance of diversifying points of contact.

According to a study published by Genesys, 35% of clients use more than 4 channels to contact their customer service. So, yes, customer relationship has definitely become multi-channel. Moreover, today’s uber-connected consumers are demanding and are used to immediacy: online services, self-care portals, social Networks, click-to-call, web call back … It comes as no surprise, then, that over half of consumers expect 24/7 customer service (Disko study, Social media & brands, 2017). So digital transformation could be a genuine solution, with the automation of some tasks, for example.

However, we are faced with a paradox: the phone, which is still the most-widely used channel to contact a customer service, is also deemed as being the most satisfying, according to the study “Observatory of customer services” published by BVA. The phone channel is on a pedestal. There is still a long way to go on the road to digital customer relationship … for all sectors. Remember our studies on Customer relationship in the Insurance and mutual insurance sector or in the sector of Transport and Tourism, or our illustration on Citizen relationship management. So, make way for the digital transformation!

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CRM and digital transformation: the challenges of a digital customer relationship.

To inspire loyalty among your customers and optimize your customer relationship with them, there’s nothing better than designing a digital revolution. Admittedly, this is a new challenge However, it is also, and most importantly, a wonderful opportunity. So, how do you digitize your customer relationship? By capitalizing on the conversations between you (company/brand) and your targets. Here are the key aspects to take into account:

1. Technological issues
Digital transformation goes hand in hand with the development of technological tools. This is why improved CRM tools offer a wonderful range of opportunities. CRM software programs are increasingly synced with social media tools. To what end? To “listen” to your conversations with your customers, link them to the right contact screen and capitalize on the history of interactions. Our CRM solutions, for example, can be paired with Hootsuite.

The same applies to big data. The purpose of the ever-growing artificial intelligence is to analyze data in order to get the most out of it and generate perfectly targeted messages.

2. Conversational and community issues
The use of social networks makes it easier to listen to what consumers are saying. These spontaneous and natural conversations provide a wealth of information, and are a genuine gold mine to get to know your customers better. These conversations can also become a source of inspiration for your brand.

Take the time to listen to your consumers… and to respond to them. To illustrate this issue, here’s a sobering figure: 43% of the consumer questions to brands go unanswered (Eptica study, French brands and digital Customer Relationship). Remember, in addition, that two-thirds of purchases are influenced by emotions. The stronger the emotions, the more the experience will be rooted in the consumer’s mind (see our article Enriching customer experience). So, what are you waiting for to implement an action plan for your digital transformation.

3. Data confidentiality

Remember to protect your contacts’ personal data. French consumers are more loyal to brands which protect their personal data (Study by Accenture Strategy, The new codes of loyalty). This is a very important point for consumers. What’s more, the GDPR, aka, the General Data Protection Regulation which enters into force in May 2018, will leave you no choice! Will you be ready?.

4. Corporate culture

The quality of Customer Relationship must be strongly rooted in your corporate culture. The same applies to digital transformation. Therefore, you must combine both in order to build a Digital Customer Relationship.

Towards a 100% digital customer relationship?

According to the IDC study (in French) on the digital transformation of French companies, 68% of French companies have already started to deploy a digital transformation plan. The digitization of the Customer Relationship is one of the pillars of this transformation. However, it will certainly never be fully digital everywhere, in all companies. If not, this would beg the question: Will robots take over our jobs?

What do you think? What are the challenges ahead for your company for the digital evolution of your CRM?

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