Keeping Up with Your Customers, Not Your Competitors.

The majority of companies we work with have set their sights on digital transformation. For them, a big part of starting that conversation and taking action is a reaction to the market and how they have seen competitors use digital to radically improve business growth and scalability.

But at Deep Blue Sky, we believe that your customers are your greatest challenge and most powerful asset when it comes to sustained and scalable growth. 

Digital innovations in business are enabling disruptive new companies like Monzo, Netflix and Slack to break into market with services that are faster, smarter and more connected than ever before. If you pair that with customers that are increasingly fluent in technology and constantly connected, you have the perfect opportunity for small teams focused on their customer to disrupt whole industries with smart technology.

If you’re not already convinced of the benefits of a customer-first approach, here are a few stats that might just change your mind…  

• According to a CEI Survey, 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. But only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations.
• Oracle’s Customer Experience Impact Report found that 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. And half of consumers give a brand just one week to respond to a question before they stop doing business with them.
• Walker reports that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator

We know that with greater access to technology comes higher customer expectations. It makes sense then, to look at how you can use that same technology to track customer activity, record feedback and develop your offering.

Building up a clear picture of customer interactions throughout the journey gives you better insight into the activities and needs at a super granular level. We find that a large wall and a lot of post-it notes tends to be the best place to start! Then you can start to note activities, customer feedback and digital tools used throughout the process. This simple visualisation will help you to see where simple changes can be made to improve the customer journey.

While the customer isn't always right, in order to drive growth and innovation in your business you need to listen to their needs and feedback. And then, now this is the important part, let them know that you’ve listened and show them what you’re doing to change things. 

Empowered customers share freely - both feedback on your product or services and news of your shared success. More referrals usually lead to more sales, and more organic sales give you more time to dedicate to building an awesome product! 

Do you have any innovative ways of keeping your customers in the loop - we'd love to know! Leave us a comment below.