The Commerce To Consumer Power Shift

Don’t miss the mobile moment.

That’s one piece of advice Forrester Research CEO George Colony has for CIOs as they enter what he called the third or fourth inning of the “age of the customer.” His advice reflects a common theme in the payments and commerce space as the push to understand how and why mobile devices should and could be used to create a personalized customer experience has become stronger and more important. And, while the vision for how customers should and will interact with a brand via mobile, the rubber meets the road in the offices of the CIOs and IT leaders who need to understand how technology comes together to actually support not only how that happens, but how mobile can be used to create a higher level of customer service in support of that vision.

One that starts with a basic premise: Connecting with customers is no longer a 9-5 job, it’s the 24-hours a day, 7-days-a-week type of grind that’s needed to keep up with how customers interact with brands. There’s no one opportunity to connect with consumers anymore, but there’s plenty of missed chances in an always-on world driven by mobile technologies. 

What Colony described is a trend that’s now making its way across the retail industry. Recent data from an Econsultancy survey suggests that when it comes to retail customer service, mobile is still an untapped resource. The survey revealed that more than 80 percent of retailers plan on increasing their customer service budgets in one capacity or another, whether it be in brick-and-mortar stores or on their e-commerce channels. Retailers are realizing creating customer experience is about more that just delivering technology, it’s harnessing that mobile technology that keeps consumers connected as part of an entirely new customer experience.

But there are hurdles that have slowed the process, like companies having the ability to keep up with implementing technology that impacts consumer behavior.

“Mastery of the customer experience is a challenge with many facets. Retailers are overwhelmed by the complexity of data, technology and understanding of the customer journey,” said Paige O’Neill, chief marketing officer at SDL. “Our latest research indicates that North American retailers are acutely aware of their technological shortfalls when it comes to creating a seamless, personalized customer experience across multiple channels.”

In that same survey, more than 50 percent say they have a strong understanding of the mobile user experience, but only 35 percent believe they can stand out with consumers using mobile as a mode to extend the customer experience. Still, with an increasing number of shoppers turning to mobile, retailers are recognizing the investments in technology that customers are turning toward is what is creating this “age of the customer.”

And that’s what’s changing the role of the CIOs is about, which may start by re-creating and re-evaluating technology budgets within a company.

“CIOs should very knowingly look at their companies’ portfolios and say, ‘OK, how much of my portfolio is IT,’ to run the internals of your company, ‘and how much is [business technology],’ the technology, systems and processes to win, serve and retain customers,” Colony said in an recent interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Steve Rosenbush.

“You are in the pockets of your customers all the time,” Colony said in the interview. “You are always with them; 24 hours a day you are with them. When they need you and they pull you out of their pocket and you are there for them, they will love you. If you are not there for them they will doubt you. If you are not there for them a second time, they will drop you.”

Connecting with consumers has sort of become like being their best friend, or a parent: You’ve got to be there for them to trust you.

“This is the year of the mobile moment,” Colony added. “Are you going to be there for them when they need you. When they pull you out will you be there?”

Speaking toward questions about technology challenges to any company — whether it be a retailer, restaurant or airline — Colony said it’s all about finding a technologically-savvy way to keep the customer engaged and happy when they need it most. But who started the age of the customer that’s creating this demand?

“I would say if you want to blame anybody for this you probably blame Steve Jobs,” Colony said as he held up his iPhone 6, “because he put extraordinary technology into the hands of customers.”

It’s about identifying where there are opportunities to connect with consumers, but most importantly, it’s about hitting that mobile moment, he says. Ensuring customers receive the message is a start, but knowing they enjoyed that interaction is key in securing a repeat customer. What’s unique about today’s rapid technology change, is it’s not about changing from one technology to another like it was in the past, it’s about leveraging existing technology in a way that resonates with customers. Because customers now have technology and apps at the tips of their fingertips to criticize a business on multiple platforms, keeping customers engaged and happy also impacts public image. 

“The power is shifting away from institutions [and] toward the customers,” Colony said. “And that’s really the sea change. That’s really the big deal that’s happened now. And those are the new forces bearing on the job of the CIO.”

And that’s where some gap exists today.

Looking at Forrester’s April 2014 Customer Experience Index, the data indicated that 74 percent of business leaders named improving the customer experience as a high or critical priority. But how that compares to what customers are experiencing is a little different.

The Customer Experience Index scores for 175 of the largest North American brands shows that a majority of consumers still rank their experience with companies as “good” or “OK.” The index score is measured by how customers respond to a brand based on how enjoyable, easy and effective customers’ experiences are with specific brands. Of the consumers surveyed, 42 percent fell into the “OK” rating on the index scale, while 37 percent fell into the “good” category. The “excellent” category on the Index score hit 11 percent, but the “poor” index score hit 10 percent of the consumers surveyed.

That’s where there may be gaps in how companies are delivering the mobile experience. In this technologically filled “age of the customer,” consumer demand is pushing the heads of major retail, tech and commerce companies to think of them first when they dedicate their IT budgets. And that means putting the customer first when devising strategies, Colony said.

“To an extent, it’s really about language,” he said, and noted that at staff meetings as “the word ‘customer’ is mentioned, thinking about [the] enterprise architects and [the] head of application development and whether they really have an awareness of and a view to the customer.”

As Colony discussed, customer experience in a modern world isn’t simply about putting out a product that attracts a customer to a brand, having a good e-commerce channel and mobile site/ app, or even about making the consumer like the brand. The “age of the customer,” as its been defined, is about shifting the mindset toward mobile and tapping that one resource that consumers have proven they love: their mobile phone.

After all, it’s in that pocket (or purse) or bedside table almost 24-hours a day, 7-days-a-week. Looks like every moment is a “mobile moment” for CIOs to learn from.