Well, here we go again. We’re returning to quite a few in-person activities, but, here’s the thing. While the   activities remain familiar, as customers, we’ve changed. So, what does this mean for businesses? In my opinion, it means keeping bespoke innovations, but deepening the human experience curriculum. Mind you, the over-arching goal, should remain the same, “the relentless pursuit of customer success.” Only the strategies should change.

The duality of innovation and humanity is going to require businesses to harness as much human, technical and technological artillery as possible, to win with their customers.  Not all items in the internal business arsenal are fit for use though. Some inventory in the arsenal will need to be expanded and others, reduced.

Let me start with the people-specific reductions. We will need to reduce the emotional warfare that goes on in many businesses. For example, the back-biting, the negative labelling and the public shaming that are passed off by managers, under the guise of managerial licence. Conversely, we will need businesses to increase their fervour in the favouring of good values, employee well-being and team health. In case you’re wondering, this initial commentary is aimed at managers and executives, in whose decisions lie the fate of the businesses that they lead.

We will need businesses to increase their fervour in the favouring of good values, employee well-being and team health.

In the technical arena, we’re looking at both reductions and expansions. By now, businesses should have realized that less is more, with fewer steps in completing transactions.  Also, I can’t over-emphasize the need for “instant responsiveness” and increases in on-spot solutions.  A huge leap has to be made in endowing customer-facing agents with the authority to solve issues and respond to requests, in ways that are favourable to the customer, on-spot.  This will require investment in selecting the best “fit for frontline” employees, training them to become on-spot decision-makers and giving them the authority to act in ways that keep customers happy.

Let’s not forget the deepening and humanizing of technological investment. Whilst many businesses have on-boarded digital labour, it’s equally important to humanize the customer’s experience whilst he or she is navigating the multiverse. Strong human support across all digital channels, a robust customer relationship management system and proactive engagement, can win many friends on the customer front. An example would be a customer calling a business, after an unsuccessful attempt at an online transaction.  Data intelligence would alert the contact centre agent to the failed attempt, allowing the agent to greet the customer with a curated solution that may preserve a relationship.

A huge leap has to be made in endowing customer-facing agents with the authority to solve issues and respond to requests, in ways that are favourable to the customer, on-spot.

Does all of this sound like a lot of work? I suspect that it does. But, you know the saying, “We need to do what we have to do, in order to get what we want to get.” In this case, the prize is customer favour, repeat business and business growth. As the economy jump-starts, business leaders should be hunkering down to design strategies for ensuring that they do not lose relevance with their customers.

Losing relevance in the marketplace, with one’s target audience, to me, is one of the biggest immediate challenges facing businesses. The big tragedy however, is that a business or brand may not even realize that it’s sliding into oblivion with its customers. To the business, this slide may look deceptively, like slow sales or lack of growth and may spur a flurry of effort being put into more aggressive sales and marketing, whilst the real culprit is “creeping irrelevance.” Businesses that are focussed on tracking customer sentiment regarding products, services and overall experience, constantly, may be able to side-step this problem.

There is need however, for businesses to know where their customers are headed, to be in lock-step with future needs and to walk into the new customer universe with agendas in the following areas. Innovation, service-centric infrastructure, customer experience humanization and customer experience solution-crafting.

There is no need for businesses to fly blind as the economy reopens. There is need however, for businesses to know where their customers are headed, to be in lock-step with future needs and to walk into the new customer universe with agendas in the following areas. Innovation, service-centric infrastructure, customer experience humanization and customer experience solution-crafting. These agendas should answer four questions.

How will we remain relevant? How will we sustain the human experience in a digital world? How will we deliver intelligent customer solutions, through omni-channel responsiveness? How will we design our infrastructure for need and speed?