Consumer expectations are always on the rise, as the world is rapidly changing and if you hope to add real value and solve crucial problems related to customers, then you will have to start thinking differently. It is important to always rethink products and services by taking into account the huge shifts that are taking place around the world.
What can we expect for CX Dynamics in 2022?
CX Dynamics has been a trending topic recently as good trends and predictions in the years to come, have proven to be an important metric of success. Here are the major trends and predictions that we can expect by the year 2022.
Trend #1: Digitization and Expansion of the Channel
Businesses are embracing more digital routes every single day, whenever they need to connect with customers. The digitization journey has mostly treated digital channels particularly websites, social media and other collateral. Customers have increasingly come to a business through the help of a particular digital channel.
The COVID-19 crisis has drastically changed the way the digitization of customers and supply chain interactions by accelerating the process from three to four years to the span of just a few months. Businesses need to focus their efforts on building digital-first interactions with customers which includes three core areas:
- Apps which would be available on the Google Play store or the App Store
- A smoother omnichannel experience where customers can seamlessly move across various channels, while obtaining a cohesive customer experience
- New, digital-only products
Trend #2: Greater Cognification of Products and Services
Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things are two technologies that are not going anywhere, anytime soon. It is an important part of our everyday life, which has been demonstrated by the number of everyday products as being smart.
Eventually, products and services will end up getting cognified as one. The phrase refers to the process of making things smarter with just a few tweaks, and they are being constantly applied to a vast range of different products. Everything from fridges, cars to huge industrial machines in factories are becoming smarter everyday with greater AI capabilities.
Trend #3: Micro-moments and Personalization
Customers in this day and age always want to feel a special connection between themselves and the brand they care about. People expect brands to fully understand and respond to the individual needs of the customer themselves and this does not involve the mass marketing strategies that existed in the past. Customers today also crave a much more meaningful connection with the brand, as they do not have much time and are constantly bombarded with different types of content.
There are different types of challenges and opportunities for businesses as it has become difficult to exactly pinpoint moments, when customers are looking for one particular thing. It could be something as simple as a product, information or anything of that nature. All of these interactions occur in the time-frame of less than a few seconds which may be called micro-moments.
Trend #4: Servitization and Subscription
Another important future trend is servitization and subscription that includes the driving force behind increase in cognification of different products and services. Organizations of all kinds can easily delight customers with thoughtful subscription-based services and products.
It involves moving from a traditional business model where the customer buys a product or service whenever they need it, from when they sign up to receive the product or service on a regular basis. It becomes a win-win situation for both businesses and customers in the case of auto-renewals that also helps in building deeper connections with the brands that they love the most.
Businesses generate greater predictable revenue, as it is possible to provide consistent value for the customer in the long run for the customer.
Trend #5: Eliminating the need of a middleman
The direct-to-consumer model is a fantastic model as it helps in bypassing all of the traditional intermediaries within the supply chain itself. From retailers, wholesalers, distributors and advertisers it is important to connect directly with the end customer in every situation. Brands across various industries and sectors are finding new, direct routes to customers through online channels.
Businesses also need to consider how it is possible to connect directly with the customers in new ways, through effective brainstorming. For intermediaries such as banks and retailers, there has been a significant upward trend in terms of representing a particular aspect of a significant challenge. Many traditional businesses in the past who have been powerful in the past, have been pushed out of the equation and need to also rethink their business plans accordingly.
Trend #6: Shifting from B2C to C2C model
The entire customer-to-customer (C2C) economy, which involves customers connecting with customers in terms of trading, selling, buying or just simply communicating, has been massive. Due to the rise of this strategy has caused a massive rise in terms of various platform businesses such as Etsy, Facebook business and Uber. The value in facilitating transactions and interactions has seen tremendous growth and value, especially in terms of creating a safe, easy way for customers to connect in terms of achieving greater potential growth.
If your business is not a platform business, then it is still worth paying attention to this trend, as it is possible to pivot to a platform model, by introducing a new business which is built around a value-adding platform.
Trend #7: Creating more immersive experiences
Due to various technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, brands are now able to impress customers with engaging, immersive experiences that elevates it to another level. Consumers today are increasingly prioritizing experiences over various material goods, as more than 75% of them value experiences over other things.
Brands also need to decide whether they want to stay relevant or want to take the customer journey to another level. Whether we want to do it online or offline, it is important to convert it into a thoughtful, memorable experience.
Trend #8: Consuming in a conscious manner
We have reached an overall tipping point in terms of environmental awareness, which occurs mainly due to a desire for more eco-friendly, sustainable products. As consumers become more conscious in terms of their purchases, they will definitely seek out alternatives whenever possible. Conscious consumers and consumption as a whole has never been more popular than ever before, having reached the pinnacle of becoming mainstream.
Reimagining your business with all of these various factors takes greater courage and more levels of consideration, as it will lead you to destroy your existing business model. These days besides having the courage that it takes to achieve those levels of consideration, it is more important to have greater humility to look at different industries and organizations, and figure out what they’re doing better.