It seems that everyone is focused on customer experience these days, and for good reason. Price alone is no longer enough to engage customers, there must be a positive, memorable customer journey to keep consumers coming back for more. Brands like TGI Fridays are focusing on the customer experience by implementing technology to create a fluid omnichannel experience.
Shef Mityas, TGI Fridays’ chief experience officer, is all about the customer journey. From a mobile app order to a table at one of Fridays’ 900 locations, Mityas is determined to make the experience a positive one driven by technology and connection.
“For us it’s about connecting the dots, marketing, technology, digital, operations — the functional silos of a B-to-C organization. The thing is, customers don’t think like that so why are we, as an organization, thinking that way?” said Mityas. “In leading the customer experience, you need to look at the journey, and as an organization you must be aligned with the customer’s journey, whether that’s an hour sitting at the bar or enjoying Jack Daniels ribs at a table or at home.”
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Customer Experience Equals Value
Retailers can no longer rely on price to be their differentiator. Instead, the customer experience is now what brings brands value. A recent report from Econsultancy and Sitecore, Reinventing Commerce: How Retailers, CPGs and Manufacturers Can Compete with Content and Experience, explores the importance of a memorable customer experience to consumers.
“In a world where products are becoming increasingly commoditized, how can you differentiate your organization from the competition? The answer: provide a superior digital experience for your customers to build lifelong relationships,” stated Wanda Cadigan, Vice President, Commerce Sales at Sitecore.
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New technologies that offers customer engagement, smoother sales processes, and automates processes are being implemented by retailers to create a better customer experience. Artificial intelligence, for instance, is being used to run chatbots that are driving customer service, and in turn, sales. These sales are set to reach $112 billion by 2023.
For retailers to be successful with technology implementation, they must first determine how the customer wants to be approached, what tactics they engage with, and where to find their potential sales. Only then will the technology serve its purpose.
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