CX Uninterrupted: 6 Trends driving Customer Experience in a post-COVID World

March went by in a flash and yet it felt like the longest 31 days ever. For organizations large and small, the urgent need to reorient the workforce to a new way of working came swiftly with playbooks being written and rewritten depending on what leaders were learning from government authorities, medical professionals, and from their own employees. CX innovation is now more than merely a topic for conferences and ten-year plans, it’s a necessity for survival for people-centric organizations. And this newfound need means that many customer experience trends are very quickly developing and coming to fruition, helping to shape the future of the post-COVID world.

Those days following the lockdown proved challenging for many. We found that our customers came to us looking for information on best practices, how to engage with peers in our new Community4U as well as to get access to more training content and even Unit4’s business continuity plans. The latter was extremely important to them because they see our relationship as a partnership, one for the long term. They wanted to know how we would ensure unbridled access to vital information, maintain system uptimes and data security, and maintain connections with their day-to-day contacts.

As the world slowly reopens for business and companies begin to execute their plans for the “new normal”, some things have become very apparent to me and my team. We’d like to share them with you now in the hopes they make your transition to this wholly new way of working smoother and help you to establish what you need to focus on to make your endeavors more successful.

Self-service is the “new normal”

The digital doorway must always be open with information, updates and SME connections just a click-away.  We’re proud of our new Community4U site which offers Unit4 customers access to forums, content and news as well as the ability to submit requests. Peer-to-peer engagement has grown immensely with lively, in-depth discussions on products, integrations and even new ideas through our Ideation platform. This is helping us to tailor the products we create to better fit user demands for self-service platforms that are intuitive, flexible, and customizable.

Customers demand a steady flow of innovation from their vendors

There was a time when the vendor drove the product conversation, including priorities, timing and feature development. Customers now see this as a two-way dialog where ideas and requirements can quickly be woven into tomorrow’s roadmap. The rise of this “citizen developer” has also pushed the agenda on application extensibility. We both play an important role in evolving our roadmap while ensuring the platform allows for customers to flex the application as rapidly as their business processes require.

Upgrading to best-in-class support systems to keep pace with our customers is a must.

Over the past year, Unit4 has made significant investments in service and support platforms to drive operational efficiency and service delivery. If time is money, then the speed with which we can keep customers up-to-date and resolve issues is something every business should value highly – and we’re committed to ensuring that we do. This, coupled with ongoing training of our customer advocates, remains a top priority for us -- we understand that relationships are human, and our agents are the trusted partners in helping to keep our customers’ businesses operating uninterrupted.

Data privacy and security are a top priority

We heard from many of our customers that they were reading in the news about scams, breaches, and other “bad actor” initiated actions be it on virtual conference platforms, email or in back-office systems. The COVID-19 situation had already made leaders and their teams feel vulnerable- and in some cases exposed. Ensuring that employee, customer and partner data remained safe and secure was a question we were all too happy to answer -- it was one less thing they had to worry about.

Your employees absolutely impact Customer Experience

We’ve heard this for years and have seen the studies across many industries on this topic. Blake Morgan, CX Futurist and Author, has stated that there’s “an un-ignorable link between employee experience and customer experience”. The quality of your peoples’ experience directly impacts on their engagement and attitude when it comes to dealing with your customers. We agree with Blake and have invested in training, talent enablement tooling, and onboarding programs, as well as ensuring that we promote a strong “work/life balance” philosophy.

It’s all about the journey

Customer Experience isn’t owned by a single function. The days of silo-based success organizations are a thing of the past and may have, in fact, been part of the problem. Mapping the customer journey through all the touchpoints - awareness, purchase, adoption, and retention, to name a few - will help vendors like us to become an experience-led business. As Blake Morgan notes, “by understanding the customer journey, B2B companies can stay a step ahead of the customer to lead them on the path for a great experience and quality product or service.”

CX uninterrupted is not just a strapline, it’s a philosophy we take seriously as a company and as your partner. We, too, understand that today’s investments- from training a new employee and ensuring your data is safe to implementing platforms like Gainsight- are foundational to creating an effortless experience for you. While times may be uncertain, your partnership with Unit4 is not. We’re here 4U.

How Unit4 can help you navigate customer experience trends

We specialize in creating experiences that make people centric organizations better for everyone who has to interact with them – from the people who work with them to the people who buy from them. Our next-generation ERP, FP&A, and HCM software have been built for a better people experience, using automation, AI, and cutting-edge user experience design to take the strain off users and customers. Helping you give them the experience they need and deserve.

To learn more about what we offer and how we can help your organization transform, check out our product pages for more info.