I recently attended the Gartner Symposium IT Expo 2015 in Cape Town and enjoyed absorbing all the latest IT and market trends and exploring the increasing blurring of the physical and digital worlds in customer relations.
Gartner’s latest findings in the market indicate strongly that practicality, ease of use and usefulness trump bells and whistles when it comes to technology for customers. We have returned to the KISS principle (Keep It Simple). Customers don’t want complexity for the sake of it or because it’s the latest thing.
They want simple, user friendly technology that intuitively delivers strong business value, flexibility, innovation and performance. If it doesn’t add value, “get rid of it”, seems to be the prevailing opinion.
Of course it is the seamless absorption of the latest technology in the user’s personal experience that encourages this groundswell towards adoption in the business context.
In this regard another arrow in the quiver of customer service is the use of smart machines and automation to alert customers seamlessly and ahead of time but without pestering them unnecessarily. Predictive analytics, machine learning and automation are coming together to provide customers with a relevant experience within the context of what they require.
In the process client service relations are being revolutionized across the board as the personal and the digital spaces increasingly intersect. According to industry analyst at the event, Jim Davies, “From an application on a device to a customer experience in context, what is key now is innovating by identifying transient business moments to discover customer engagement opportunities.”
I for one am delighted by this because at SYSPRO we have always embraced intuitive technology, with our company ethos being all about simplifying our customer’s lives. It defines us and shapes our behavior. The Gartner Symposium this year has reminded us of how important it is to continue creating a simple and relevant user experience, both for our customers, and their customers in turn.
