E-Commerce and online communication has been a reality for a few decades now. Electronic conversation. In 2020, 84% of people in the UK own a smartphone. Even though people over 65-years old have been slower to catch on, as they are adjusting to using the internet to take care of more of their personal business, the numbers are growing. As COVID has forced all people to work harder and become more experienced and skilled in conducting business via the internet, the standards bar is set high. This means companies have to step up so the demands of the public are met. Below you will find some of the ways big data can and has enhanced the customer experience.
● Stop annoying computer issues
We have high-speed internet in our homes, offices, and on our phones. Every big-name company is running 5G and working feverishly to install it in every area of service. Some of us do not even remember dial-up connections. We have grown to expect immediate online and instant gratification. Today’s customer has zero-tolerance for slow, dragging, websites, and software glitches. These things are frustrating. The fact is, there are too many places to go, to put up with anything that is frustrating. Google has found that 53% of mobile website visitors will leave if a webpage doesn’t load fast enough. On average they expect it to load within 3 seconds.
Photo credit: mentatdgt
● Prioritize the customer
We all know you are paying for your software to collect and store data on the customers who visit your site, From the customer who was browsing to the customer who placed the order, you collected everything. You use that information to create a target audience and to ensure that your product line appeals to the right groups. Demographic collection is nothing new, but in the field of technology, it is so easy that one just expects to get it. Herein lies the danger. Just because you have discovered (easily) that people over 65-years old buy your product, it does not mean that you can assume you are doing a senior citizen a favor by having one available for them to buy. If it is difficult, they will look elsewhere.
Consumers understand that you are capturing their information. They have been exposed to enough information via media on cyber hacking to understand that they must be careful who they trust with their personal information. So, if they trust your site with their information, they expect something in return. At the very least they expect to be treated like a valued customer. If your customer service agent. has to leave them on hold to find out who they are and how long they have been a customer, or if they speak to them as if they do not have a brain, you will lose them. Electronic customer service is no excuse for poor service.
No matter what type of business you run, consumers want you to take notice of what they buy, shipping details, and problems that have been addressed.
● Surpassing Expectations
Current events have virtually changed the way people do business.
- Customer Service Agents
Like it or not, your CSR is part of your brand. The person on the other end of the phone or chat box represents you and your company. If the CSR is rude, lazy, or disinterested, it tells the customer that you are not interested in them or their problems. This is a very fast way to lose a customer.
- Prompt answers to questions
We are a generation that sends texts, notes, and emails. Customers demand a fast and quality reply to our inquiries. If the website reads that someone will get back to you within 48-hours, we expect someone to get back with us in the time provided. If the 48-hour window is closing and there is not an answer, they expect an email advising that the problem is being worked on and it will take additional hours to respond. Even a “We don’t have the answer” is better than no answer.
- Entertainment Specific
Because the entertainment industries operate by different laws, they have different issues. We have chosen casinos as they are the most utilized industry in the remote field presently. Casinos cannot function with the pandemic restrictions. This means people who choose casino games as their choice of entertainment will turn to online casinos. Technology is in place to keep up with the fast-paced games, races, and slots.
Lottoland is an offshore casino company based in Gibraltar. One of its main areas of business is offering online bets on the results of more than 30 lottery draws. In 2018 Lottoland was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest online gambling payout. A lucky winner won the EuroJackpot top prize of €90 million.
Lottoland makes it easy to bet on the results of lotteries like the Irish Lotto from the UK from the comfort of home.
Photo credit: cottonbro
● Respect customers privacy
There are times that big business forgets that the numbers they are dealing with represent people. A company hires good people to design software to gather data and turn it into demographics that helps them create a target audience. They then hire top of the line marketing people to create advertising that will appeal to that group and hopefully sell them their products or services. They harvest this information and return to it as needed. Sometimes they share it with their sister companies. In the right circumstance, it becomes a saleable commodity. They seem to forget that every time the phone rings, the computer pulls up an ad, and something arrives in the email due to their efforts a person is affected. The numbers you are crunching, squeezing, and trying so hard to grow are based on someone’s life. Respectful marketing will serve you well. But be mindful of abusing the system you are creating. A customer with a poor opinion of your company has a long memory.
As we adjust to remote living and living one day at a time, we all learn to take everything with a grain of salt. We try not to look too far ahead. We are all depending on big data to keep our world turning. But, we still have trust issues. By the time the pandemic has finished with us, we may see the common man becoming a lot more trusting of our electronic friends. Only time will tell.
