How SAP can humanise touchpoints for exceptional customer experiences

Customer expectations continue to rise and the last 18 months has shown that brands must create the best experience for customers without having an impact on trust.

Yet many brands still have some work to do, according to SAP research, which found up to a 50-point variance between what customers were expecting and what they experienced. In particular, privacy provisions need to improve to better match customer expectations and build trust through transparency around personal data.

“While it’s positive that brands have adapted quickly to the pandemic by embracing digital tools, the findings from our recent research highlight the concerns that Australians have around how brands are collecting and using their data,” says SAP global customer experience advisor, David Scribner.

Today’s consumers are digitally savvy and intentional about the information they share. As a result, they expect assurance that their data is secure. SAP always advises brands to ensure that they protect customer information and offer the ability to control how it’s used, if they are to gain the trust and the business of consumers.

“It's important that brands invest in customer data management and ensure they provide transparency for customers to make an impact on their own data,” Scribner adds.

Achieving a single customer view

SAP knows how a single view of the customer is integral to enabling brands to deliver exceptional customer experiences and at its core, it’s a relationship built around trust. This is the basis of loyalty and can only be earned if brands are transparent with their consumers.

To develop this single customer view a reality takes a mixture of three fundamental components. The first component will allow companies to identify what is the next best action, before the consumer chooses to provide first-party data.

After this relationship has started, the second part is that there's going to be an enticement to an interaction between the prospective customer and the brand, which might be an email to subscribe and stay in touch.

The third element is the ability to bring both of these elements together but in a way that is deterministic instead of probabilistic to learn rather than just try to predict the next customer action. “Now that you have both an experience that is being built and you have the identity, then start asking, don't guess what the customer may want next,” Bonilla says.

“At SAP we develop these solutions that embed these three components in a way that can be individually deployed, as well as deployed together, to optimise that customer experience,” he adds.

One of the things brands may struggle with is an uneven customer data picture. While they may already have certain elements, such as a customer identity or access management system in place, with SAP they only need to collect the preference and consent to then develop processes to understand what is the next best action for customers.

“SAP can take whatever elements a brand has and help build out those other parts so develop that single view of customer,” Bonilla says.

The recipe for humanising the brand using data

To deliver exceptional modern customer experiences, the customer must be at the centre of what a brand does. It’s providing a consistent and ‘human’ voice. “This is a critical step for organisations to manage across all platforms and cross-platforms. Providing the best service at each interaction/moment of truth,” says David Scribner.

A great experience is best delivered when the organisation has a clear understanding of each touchpoint, how it performs, how it competes and how it can get better. For brands that want to work towards narrowing the customer expectation-experience gap, there are three key components: 

• Humanise a brand’s experience at every touchpoint.
• Be open and transparent about the customer’s personal data, and let them have control of that data in an open and straightforward form.
• Have the tools and systems in place to monitor and adjust your customer experience to continue to produce better experiences. 

Looking ahead, as brands embark on digital transformation, it’s vital they don’t overlook the importance of the human element and the humanisation of the customer touchpoints. Putting the customer at the centre and making it human is the key ingredient.

 “It's important that at each touchpoint, the brand understands its impact on the customer and how that can affect the overall business and the relationship with the customer,” Scribner says.

As organisations race to deliver on one experience, they need to ensure that their multi-channel experience meets the expectations of customers in other areas such as responsiveness, managing feedback. 

“By continuing to look for innovative ways to improve experiences, it can go a long way to making it great digital experiences,” he adds.

Click here to learn how SAP can help you to deliver personalised, trusted and connected customer experiences.