We often claim that the world is changing at an increasing rate, especially after the internet made its mark on our way to interact and live our lives.
The rate of disruption and innovation seems to be ever-increasing in speed and size, and many companies are failing the most important transitions into the new digital marketplace: Automation and AI.
If we take a glance back in time, human interaction was needed in most cases where you wanted to obtain information, make a transaction of some kind or simply register to a service or subscription.
Fast forward to our time and the expectation to actually talk to another human is rapidly decreasing. Our minds are now wired to effectively search for information online, with the help of algorithms. These algorithms are guiding us to the answers we seek, while giving us the solutions we are looking for.
So with the realization that we are becoming more self-reliant in our problem solving, many companies are changing their business models.
When you remove the human element from menial tasks and customer relations, the expectations of your customer automatically adjusts to the level of your choice.
The digital goodwill of the public is a new concept that arose with the change in how we expect to be handled by companies. That's why digital goodwill is one of the more important currencies we have in today's market.
So what is digital goodwill?
In short, it's the experience your clients have with your business without actually talking to you.
In example: Most banks have automated most of their services to an extent where actually talking to someone from the bank is a rare occasion. This makes the availability of information and user interface some of the more important parts of the banks business. These solutions make the needs for actual customer service lesser, but proposes that you need a good setup to handle the stream of tasks that are requested by your customer.
So what happens if your business fails to handle the customer with the digital prowess its accustomed to?
While we are more adaptable to different user interfaces, our disappointment when an application fails us comes faster and impacts our decision making process in a much larger scale than before.
If you are buying something online, and the checkout system of the store gives you trouble, chances are that you will leave it without buying, rather than contacting the store. You probably would not return to that store afterwards either, making yourself a lost customer to the business in question.
Have you have built a strong digital presence with your company? Can your customers/ users easily interact with your services or buy your products? Are you accessible online and giving answers to questions inside the 4-hour timeframe?
If you can't answer yes to all of these questions, chances are that you are missing out on a lot of business.
Rolf Terje