This is How Analytics Can Deliver the Experience Your Customers Demand
Many companies see customer experience (CX) as the key to competitiveness by reducing churn, attracting new customers and differentiating themselves from competitors.
Customers have become savvier about the options available to them, so it’s little surprise that enterprise mobile and wireless technology initiatives are growing in size and scope. Organizations are using mobile tech to improve customer service, offer new services and make mobile workers more productive, flexible and efficient.
That’s the way CX-driven mobile programs are supposed to work. But what really happens when these principles are put into practice?
Well, in reality many organizations are finding it tough to fulfil the promise of improved CX. In fact, 29 percent of enterprises say their customers have become dissatisfied as the direct result of mobile device failures[i]. Even worse, 61 percent of customers stopped doing business with at least one company last year because of poor customer experience[ii].
That level is higher than a decade ago, which is both surprising and troubling. A decade ago customer experience was much less of an enterprise priority, and mobile technology was far less capable or mature than it is today.
"Companies invest in CX initiatives to engage customers, strengthen relationships and ultimately grow their businesses. However, all too often their investments are simply perpetuating an endless game of catch-up, trying to satisfy a customer base that may never be fully satisfied."
Accenture Strategy report “Exceed Expectations With Extraordinary Experiences”
Experiencing mobile device failure and customer frustration does not mean enterprises are wrong to include mobile technology in their CX improvement initiatives. It means many are using the wrong tools. Last-generation mobile software and management practices are unlikely to satisfy today’s customer, who has higher expectations for service and convenience.
Mobile Makes a Difference, But Needs Help
Applications and business processes that leverage real-time mobile technology have been proven to deliver customer service benefits. For examples, look no further than other blog posts and customer profiles on this website.
It’s clear that mobile technology has helped many organizations make improvements to customer service and experience, but results are not guaranteed. Mobile technologies, devices and apps have to be carefully selected to support goals. After selection, they must be optimized to account for the differences in planning assumptions and what really happens in the field. Operating systems in use, application updates and other changes must also be considered.
Most enterprises realize the importance of project planning and the selection process. A more obvious requirement for mobile program success sometimes gets overlooked or undervalued: the mobile devices need to work. Reliably. Every time. Especially when they support customer-facing operations.
Today there is no excuse for mobile devices to be the cause of customer disappointment. Yet it happens far too often. When mobile devices fail mobile workers can’t do their jobs. Service appointments are missed. Deliveries are late. Orders can’t be placed. Customers become unhappy, then they become ex-customers.
"After having a bad customer experience, 46 percent of customers shifted a portion of their spending to another provider. And 47 percent immediately stopped doing business with that company. Accenture Strategy has valued this global switching economy at $6.6 trillion in 2017."
Accenture Strategy report “Exceed Expectations With Extraordinary Experiences”
These problems are not only predictable, they are preventable. With mobile and wireless analytics (MWA), organizations can make the leap from fixing things after they break, to preventing problems from occurring to start with. This makes frontline staff more efficient, effective and satisfied. And that ultimately leads to an improved customer experience, which drives up customer satisfaction and retention.
Mobile Management Evolves: Analytics Prevent Breakdowns and Bad Experiences
Mobile and wireless analytics (MWA) represents a new way to manage mobile environments to ensure the performance and responsiveness that today’s customers expect. MWA capabilities are a big step up from the foundation set by mobile device management (MDM) and enterprise mobility management (EMM) systems, which represent the previous generations of solutions. Only 51 percent of organizations that implemented EMM systems reported receiving significant benefits from them[iii].
Why haven’t more organizations received better results from their earlier-generation mobile management approaches? Because MDM and EMM software does not look at either the actual performance of the mobile service end-to-end, or the wider context. This leaves a substantial gap in ensuring mobile enterprise performance is optimized.
In contrast, MWA platforms collect and analyze data about the device, battery, wireless networks and applications. This immediately provides a new level of asset visibility. Over time the platform records normal behaviors, making it easier to identify exceptions and create alerts when problems arise. Issues that could be flagged up include device reboot disruptions, poor battery charging practices, degradation in wireless network coverage or batteries in need of replacement.
“Applying these new types of analytics tools will maximize the value of mobility, and optimize the user experience and spend.”
Gartner Cool Vendors in Mobile and Wireless Analytics, 2017
Collectively, mobile and wireless analytics allows the operations team to proactively and incrementally optimize the running of the mobile device estate, correcting disruptive issues as soon as they arise and preventing small issues developing into bigger operating headaches.
The results:
- Fewer device failures
- Fewer disruptions for mobile workers
- Reduction in unexpected downtime
- Reduced impact to customers from missed appointments, late deliveries and more
- Higher customer service and customer satisfaction
- Get a better idea of how your organization would benefit from mobile and wireless analytics by trying our free online ROI calculator.
Mobile and wireless analytics support many specific improvements to mobile device performance, which we describe in a white paper that details the benefits the technology can provide in full.
When applied correctly, mobile technology can be the key to improving customer experience and delivering the service expected by today’s customer. But success requires careful monitoring and optimizing of the mobile technology in use so the technology delivers on the customer’s promise.
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