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Written by: Andrew Lisa
Once big, imposing and impersonal, technology no longer inhibits the customer experience, but improves upon it – but only when technology is used correctly. Through every stage of the buying process, technology has the ability to make the customer experience better, smoother and more efficient. Technology is the driving force from customer research all the way to the actual financial transaction.
Technology helps customers through every phase of their interaction with businesses.
Technology and the Evolution of CRM
As discussed in the article " Expert Interview with Ian Michiels on Using Technology to Understand Your Customers ," customer relationship management (CRM) has been impacted by technology in every way possible. The example of Gleanster, which researches different companies and pairs businesses with their perfect CRM, shows just how intimate the process has been made by data analysis. The firm analyzes 4,000 software providers and 10,000 companies, and publishes the results of 40-50 surveys online. The end result is technology-driven research that gives businesses a granular understanding of the evolving nature of their buyers and the always-changing dynamics of their customers.
Technology at the Point of Sale
The best technology improves the customer experience where it counts the most – when they are about to make a purchase. Card readers that attach to the 1/8" jack on a smartphone allow everyone from plumbers to food truck vendors to offer their customers a safe, secure, fast and easy way to make cash-free payments on the go. In restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, casinos and every other entity in the service industry, tablet-based POS systems can be found at the transaction stage. Not only does this streamline the process, but it enables businesses to compile important information that helps them serve their customers better in the future.
Technology and the Online Experience
Instead of picking up the phone and pressing 1 for this or 2 for that, customers now flock to social media to vent and seek problem resolution. Social media is also where savvy business owners go to put their ear to the ground and take their customers' pulse. The smartest business owners use their websites not only as their home base for product sales, but to warehouse inventories of authoritative, useful content to inform their customers and help them through the shopping process. Their landing pages flow perfectly with their targeted ads on Google and Facebook, so that there is nothing standing in the way of clicks turning into sales.
Mobile purchasing gives customers a quick, secure, cash-free buying option.
Technology is no longer the impersonal behemoth that takes the intimacy out of the buying experience. Quite the opposite, actually. When utilized correctly, technology can analyze data, provide insight into buying habits, provide the customer with tools to inform them about buying decisions and, at the end of the process, help them actually make the purchase with ease and security.