Page 17 - Optus Future of Business Report 2013

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OPTuS FuTuRe OF BuSINeSS
The evolving multi-channel organisation
Building a bridge to your customers
With two decades of experience under their collective belt,
Australian consumers have warmed to online as a channel
and expect to use it in greater numbers for a broader range
of activities. However, many consumers are still unsure of
the potential value of engaging with businesses via newer
digital channels.
It is clear that digital and traditional channels will
co-exist, but organisations may need to consider how
each channel dovetails. For instance, a consumer who
applies for a mortgage through a bank’s website may also
need help with financial planning, credit cards, personal
and car loans. Consider how each channel plays into this
interaction, perhaps engaging the customer at a critical
juncture with a web chat and then later in the branch.
Customer preferences are dependent on many factors, so
organisations need a clear understanding of how customers
want to interact with them and why. If customers in your
sector want to check their account balances online as their
primary activity, is this ability prominent on your website?
Can customers lodge a complaint with you easily and
can follow that up in a timely way?
Organisations should also consider how mature channels
such as contact centres can support their digital interactions.
There will be some hand-off between the digital and
traditional channels, especially in highly commoditised,
repeatable and low-value interactions that are already
naturally gravitating online. Having these channels play
to their respective strengths in a timely way and providing
a consistent brand experience will help organisations
capitalise on this shift in customer engagement.
STEpSNeXT
Online emerging as
channel of choice for
consumers in the next
three to five years
As businesses’ multi-channel strategies
evolve and consumers begin to see
value in fulfilling their needs across
channels, it’s fair to expect that use
of all channels will grow. Our research
points to some channels growing faster
in the next three to five years, while the
roles of now dominant channels will
shift. Emerging channels have a longer
timeframe before they reach maturity
and deliver return on investment.
Looking to the future, online is
emerging as the preferred channel
for organisations and their customers.
Consumers express increased
confidence in online, which is expected
to be the dominant channel preferred
by 56% of consumers in three to five
years followed by bricks and mortar
and contact centres (53% each).
This compares to 96% of businesses
expecting to have an online presence,
followed by bricks and mortar (77%),
and contact centres (66%). Customers
value dealing with organisations
in person as well as online and
organisations expect to offer these
options in the foreseeable future.
However, consumers expressed lower
preferences for emerging digital
channels. Overall, 19% of consumers
expect to prefer mobile over this time,
compared to the 82% of organisations
expecting to use mobile to engage
customers. The consumers most
likely to gravitate towards the mobile
channel in the next three to five years
are in manufacturing and construction
(business-to-business) and education
and financial and insurance services in
the business-to-consumer sectors.
Only 8% of consumers surveyed
say they will prefer to deal with
organisations via social media in the
next three to five years, despite 86%
of businesses expecting to have a
social media presence.
Our research suggests that
organisations seeking to meet what
they think are their customers’
expectations may be at risk of
alienating them if they move too
quickly into newer digital channels
before consumers are willing to use
them to interact with businesses.
CHANNELS USED TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS
VS. CONSUMER PREFERENCES IN 3–5 YEARS
ORGANISATIONS CONSUMERS
ORGANISATIONS CONSUMERS
ORGANISATIONS CONSUMERS
ORGANISATIONS CONSUMERS
ORGANISATIONS CONSUMERS
96
ONLINE
56
SOCIAL MEDIA
86 8
MOBILE
82 19
BRICKS AND MORTAR
77 53
CONTACT CENTRE
66 53
(%)
CHANNELS ORGANISATIONS
EXPECT TO USE TO ENGAGE
CUSTOMERS IN 3–5 YEARS
CHANNELS CONSUMERS WOULD
PREFER TO USE IN 3–5 YEARS TO
INTERACT WITH ORGANISATIONS