Page 23 - Optus Future of Business Report 2013

22
optus Future of Business
Overcoming integration
issues key to delivering
a consistent customer
experience
While organisations look to balance
their investments between old and
new channels, consumers have high
expectations of a consistent experience
as they interact with organisations
across various channels.
Consumers are starting to expect an
integrated channel experience that
enables them to glide through different
channels, but organisations are hindered
by integration challenges. Nearly two-
thirds of consumers expect to access the
same services and features on different
channels, while 57% expect to carry out
the same transactions in any channel.
Consumers may start an activity in
one channel, but they expect to be
able to progress it through any of the
channels available.
For instance, a customer may receive
a bank statement in the post, and
expect to log on to their account from
their PC to make transactions to balance
it. Alternatively, if they get an SMS
update from a contact centre that their
utilities bill is overdue while they are
out and about, they may wish to use
the organisation’s app to pay it, or phone
the contact centre to seek clarification.
This expectation is giving rise to the
notion of the omni-channel experience,
particularly in retail, and refers to
the seamless integration of multiple
channels. In classic retail for example,
a consumer can buy online and then
pick up almost immediately in a
store of their choice. Delivering this
omni-channel experience requires
sophisticated, real-time integration
from front to back-office systems.
Providing a consistent brand experience
as customers traverse these channels is
of increasing importance to meet their
needs while driving sales and ensuring
operational efficiency.
Standing in the way of organisations
meeting this expectation are factors
ranging from legacy systems and
technologies to staff investment.
It is for these multi-dimensional reasons
that just 12% of organisations report
their channels are fully integrated and
able to deliver a consistent experience to
the customer, while 14% had no channel
integration. Retail and finance are the
most integrated with 18% citing full
channel integration.
The evolving multi-channel organisation
ELEMENTS CONSUMERS EXPECT TO BE
CONSISTENT ACROSS CHANNELS
(%)
65 64 57 51 47
I HAVE ACCESS
TO THE SAME
SERVICES AND
FEATURES
THE LEVEL
OF SERVICE
IS THE SAME
I CAN CARRY
OUT THE SAME
TRANSACTIONS
I CAN ACCESS
MY PREVIOUS
TRANSACTIONS
THROUGH ANY
METHOD
I CAN START
AN INTERACTION
USING ONE
METHOD AND
CONTINUE IT
IN ANOTHER
LEVEL OF CHANNEL INTEGRATION TO SUPPORT
CONSISTENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
(%)
CURRENT
INTEGRATION
12
71
14 3
61
35
1
3
EXPECTED INTEGRATION
IN 3–5 YEARS
FULLY
INTEGRATED PARTIALLY
INTEGRATED NOT AT ALL
INTEGRATED DON’T
KNOW
Consumers are starting to expect
an integrated channel experience
that enables them to glide through
different channels.