Every organization knows that data is the key to delivering excellent experiences to customers, and the same applies to digital customers.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has created a connection between objects and people through digital mediums, transforming household appliances into ‘smart devices’. The same underlying technology has now entered the customer and citizen engagement spaces.
Digital customers, or machine customers, are connected devices that act on behalf of consumers and organizations to provide key insights without the need for human intervention. Gartner has estimated that, conservatively, at least 15 billion connected IoT products will have the potential to behave as digital customers within the next two years.
Digital customers digital pose new challenges to delivering customer experiences, but also new opportunities for revenue generation, as they allow businesses to leverage data from a much broader range of sources than previously available.
This means that, as well as focusing on great experiences for your customers, you need to focus on their devices- or digital customers.
As digital customers become more prevalent within the contact center space, is it time for brands to look to include more comprehensive solutions that effectively harness data? While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems enable businesses to more successfully manage relationships with their customers, ever-expanding data-driven insights powered by IoT devices, and the demand for hyper-personalization, are paving the way for a new champion in customer data management: the Customer Data Platform (CDP).
Matt McKernan, SVP, Americas, at Content Guru says, “Data is the linchpin for delivering personalized, effective and proactive customer experiences. The rise of digital customers, driven by IoT, necessitates a shift towards more dynamic data management solutions. CDPs offer a comprehensive view by aggregating data across all touchpoints, enabling proactive and tailored customer interactions.
Content Guru’s commitment is to leverage these technologies to enhance both human and digital customer experiences, ensuring we stay ahead in delivering exceptional service.”
How Connected Devices Are Enabling Proactive Communications
Data is the key to creating highly personalized, convenient interactions for customers, both human and digital. While 90% of companies consider personalization to be a priority, only 15% believe they’re adequately delivering it. A 360-degree picture during customer interactions provides your employees with a full understanding of the customer, enabling them to deliver the right support. It also paves the way for proactive customer engagement and issue resolution, offering insights into common problems and trends.
For example, providers now have the ability to offer proactive and insight-led experiences, something the utilities sector is embracing. 119 million households in the US have a smart meter installed, equivalent to 72% of the total electric meter installations, allowing providers to deliver more accurate billing, both managing demand and identifying supply issues without having to inconvenience customers.
The addition of IoT connectivity also unlocks the ability to register and proactively respond to supply outages, allowing utilities providers to get on the front foot when issues occur.
Another sector using digital customer data to provide seamless experiences is healthcare. IoT technology is allowing healthcare providers to improve access to care through various ‘virtual’ experiences, including ‘hospital at home’ virtual wards.
Virtual wards allow discharged patients to be monitored at home using internet-enabled medical IoT devices. Patient data is shared with teams of clinicians, dedicated to tracking the progress of virtual patients and supporting them accordingly.
With this approach, patients can be discharged more quickly while still receiving hospital-style continuous monitoring through wearable technology. Patients receive the same high standard of care as in a physical healthcare setting, but from the comfort of their own home; all while freeing up resources within hospitals.
Transforming to a Dynamic Data Hub
To fully benefit from the data collected by both human and digital customers, the contact center needs to be transformed into a dynamic data hub that allows organizations to act on incoming information.