Meet the changing needs and expectations of your customers
From technology compatibility to the expectation of being served 24/7*365, your customers expect more, and they expect more for less. Data analytics and customer research, personalization, multichannel presence, and intelligent outsourcing can make a world of a difference in the way you are perceived by your customers. When done well, this results in generating customer loyalty and translates to revenues. Here are four areas to focus on, during a transformation journey:
1. Leveraging technology
While technological change can seem daunting to a company, the rate of change is accelerating. Efficient use of technology can improve your cost to serve and your ability to act on your customer’s needs. The use of large-scale data to create targeted marketing campaigns, the use of automated voice services in your contact center to answer and direct customers can all enhance your capabilities, reducing your cost to serve and improving your customer experience. People expect to be known by the companies they use, and a bulk, non-specific marketing message rather than a directed and targeted marketing offer changes the way the customer views you.
2. Improve efficiency and productivity
By understanding your internal capabilities, a transformation can identify and reduce waste (be that products or time) through aspects of identifying performance metrics, process automation, benchmarking, quality control and outsourcing. You can improve your processes and make better use of resources. Having refined processes, you will free up time to focus on growth and innovation initiatives.
3. Creating a more agile organization
Agility, be that time to market, the time to answer a customer’s contact or providing internal reports and metrics, these are some of the outcomes you will see by adopting agile practices. Change is now constant, it can sometimes be a scary place for your staff to be, train them to be agile, train them to work in different ways and most of all support them in the journey. Having agility built into your organization will help. This allows for more iterative, adaptive, and customer-focused approaches to work.
4. Championing transformation
By embracing change, organizations can achieve significant benefits, on the business, employee, and customer front. Championing transformation is known to drive positive change, elevate market influence and secure professional growth.
Continuous transformation
Legacy applications often impede continuous delivery of value, but rip-and-replace efforts are costly, risky, and time-consuming. Applications and software engineering leaders should instead use continuous modernization to minimize the cost, risk and impact of legacy-application optimization.
Continuous transformation - Steps
Business benefits
- Improved efficiency & productivity : By constantly evaluating and improving your processes, you can identify and eliminate waste, streamline processes, and remove bottlenecks, leading to greater operational efficiency and reduced costs. Visualize with design elements.
- Profitability: Transformation ensures that the organization's strategies and goals remain aligned with market trends and customer needs. When you are a more efficient and productive company, improved products, services, and customer experiences can translate to increased sales and revenue growth.
- Attract & retain top talent : Employees are more likely to want to work for organizations that are constantly innovating and evolving. This can help you to attract and retain top talent.
- Customer satisfaction : When you are constantly improving your products and services, you meet the needs of your customers better. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Innovation : By constantly challenging the status quo, you will foster a culture of innovation. The evokes a change in mindset of your staff and leadership team which can subsequently motivate business innovations and collaboratively strengthen new products, services, and processes.
- Risk management & operational resilience : By constantly evaluating and adapting to change, you can better manage risks. Transformation efforts can enhance an organization's ability to withstand disruptions and maintain operations during challenging times.
- Increased shareholder value : More efficiency, more customers and, lower cost to serve all results in the ability to give back to shareholders. This can also contribute to strategic partnerships and alliances that strengthen the organizations market presence and competitiveness.
Workforce benefits
Professional growth opportunities & skill development : Transformation initiatives often require employees to acquire new skills, take on challenging projects, and expand their knowledge. Employees have the chance to develop a broader skill set, including proficiency in emerging technologies and innovative approaches, enhancing their marketability.
Job satisfaction & work-life balance : Employees are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs when they feel like they are working in a dynamic and challenging environment. When businesses are more efficient and productive, employees can have more flexibility in their work schedules. This can help to improve work-life balance. Working from home, hybrid working is more efficient in companies that have transformed their systems, processes, and capabilities to adopt a work from anywhere approach.
Sense of purpose and fulfilment : When employees feel like they are working for an organization that is making a difference, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work. Transformation fosters a culture of innovation, encouraging employees to think creatively, actively participate and contribute to the business.
Benefits for the customer
- Improved product/service quality : Transformation efforts often lead to enhanced product or service quality, resulting in better experiences for customers. This can include higher reliability, improved performance, and fewer defects.
- Enhanced customer experience : Organizations that champion transformation focus on streamlining internal processes, allowing for quicker resolution of customer issues and inquiries creating exceptional customer experiences. This can involve more user-friendly interfaces, faster response times, and personalised interactions.
- Convenience, accessibility & personalisation : Transformation often leads to improved access to products or services through digital channels, mobile apps, and self-service options, making it more convenient for customers to engage with the organization. Organizations can leverage customer data to provide personalised recommendations and offers, creating a more tailored experience and better CSAT scores.
- Transparency : Transformation champions often prioritise transparency in their communications and operations, which builds trust with customers. Customers appreciate openness about pricing, policies, and data handling.
- Cost savings : Efficiency gains from transformation initiatives may result in cost savings that can be passed on to customers through lower prices or better value.
- Availability, reliability & continual improvement : Investments in technology and infrastructure during transformation can improve the availability and reliability of products and services. Customers benefit and engage with organizations that continuously seek ways to improve their offerings and experiences.
Transformation takeaways
Continuous transformation is a strategic necessity - the workforce experiences professional growth, job satisfaction, work-life balance, and a profound sense of purpose. For customers, transformation brings superior product and service quality, exceptional experiences, convenience, accessibility, personalization, transparency, cost savings, and reliability. By championing transformation, organizations can stay ahead of the curve, lead with innovation, and secure a prosperous future.
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Mark ThomasHead of Architecture, Strategy and TransformationTorry Harris Integration Solutions |
