Events in recent years have significantly changed consumers’ purchasing behaviour. Although companies have long sought to turn customer-centricity into a competitive advantage, the customer experience is often developed as an individual, point-based solution.
“Customers expect experiences that are tailored to their individual needs. By using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, companies can analyse huge volumes of customer data and utilise the results to offer highly personalised content, experiences and interactions, regardless of platform or place. Companies have started waking up to this, and an international study shows that 80 per cent of business leaders will be prioritising the development of customer service and the customer experience over the coming years*,” says Sami Paihonen, Senior Vice President, Digital Solutions, Digia Plc.
In autumn 2022, Digia joined forces with Avalon Oy, a company that has been focusing on customer experience development and digital marketing. This cooperation is further strengthening Digia’s pioneering role in the market as a provider of broader digital service packages based on data and analytics.
“An advanced customer experience requires a consistent and seamless customer journey across all channels – digital, physical, or a combination of both. New technologies, and the customer data they provide, allow us to combine and optimise interaction,” says Avalon’s CEO, Petri Laakso.
One example of this is combining sales data from a brick-and-mortar store with data from digital channels, such as CRM or e-commerce. This provides a real-time view of the effectiveness of any action that has been taken, and content can be optimised according to both the situation and customer needs. This increases sales efficiency and generates cost savings.
Developing a real-time intelligent customer experience requires a deep and continuously expanding understanding of your customer. Advanced data analytics, combined with machine learning and AI tools, are helping companies to understand and predict customer behaviour.
“By analysing historical data, trends and patterns, intelligent customer experience systems can predict things like customer preferences. This enables organisations to proactively respond to customer needs and optimise their marketing. A data-driven approach improves business performance and enables resources to be used more efficiently,” says Laakso.
“At best, an intelligent customer experience feels like magic – shopping is so smooth and effortless. And this is something that companies need to place an even greater focus on, if they want to remain competitive in today’s dynamic markets,” says Paihonen.
Further information:
Sami Paihonen
Senior Vice President, Digital Solutions, Digia Plc
tel. +358 (0)50 502 1111, sami.paihonen(a)digia.com
Petri Laakso
CEO, Avalon Oy
tel. +358 (0)400 863 007, pete.laakso(a)avalon.fi
*Source: Zendesk CX Trends 2023 Report (https://cxtrends.zendesk.com)