By Justin Marcucci, Endava
Over
the past decade companies have shifted from a product-centric approach to a
customer experience-centric approach as a way of conducting business. Advances
in technology, including AI and chatbots, now provide ease to customers by
sharing customized recommendations for products and services and increasing
access to, and communications directly with, companies in more accessible ways.
This
transition revolutionized much more than business practices. It also
transformed consumer expectations. A seamless, enjoyable experience is not
appreciated by consumers anymore, it’s expected. Companies struggling to
deliver will not survive in today’s marketplace. But that’s not the only factor
companies must achieve. Companies that are thriving are also delivering a
perfect user experience. Think they
are the same thing? Think again.
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The Customer
Journey Is Unlocked Through Powerful User Experiences
For
years, players in the digital space have been inconclusive when defining the
“customer experience.” This leads to variation in meeting goals of delivery and
confusion in the marketplace. Senior business leaders are starting to take
interest in the when, how and why of customer engagement, with their owned,
earned and paid touch points. But with so many conflicting interpretations of
what customer experience truly means, how can businesses deliver a solution?
Furthermore, how do technology solutions address these evolving business
challenges?
Stepping
away from the conflicting definitions of “customer experience,”
forward-thinking companies are paying attention to the ambition and scope of
the “user experience” (UX), which considers much more than simply assisting customers
in their interactions with technology. Not only does UX analyze the customer,
but it also provides a more holistic practice of thinking how we, as humans,
live together with technology. Dated technology solutions can’t keep up with the
anticipated future demands of users. The future of this industry rests on
delivering powerful solutions that can handle much more.
The
following dimensions are critical in the UX evolution:
- Perpetual Availability: The rise of
mobile and the enormous computing power and connectivity that this unlocks
means we are constantly available and have almost any knowledge at our
fingertips. Good UX is in an always-on mode. - Processing of Non-Digital Requests: As user
interfaces continue to evolve and morph concordant with rises in computing
power, humans adapt less to technology and the reverse is true. Speech and
language processing, image recognition and biometrics are all layering to
reduce the gap between humans and their technology. - Anticipating Needs and Deciphering User Intent: There is an
evolution — and even an expectation — that machines and digital interfaces are
proactive. User intent is recognized even before the action has occurred and
the needs of the user are anticipated. Machine learning and AI underpins this
from a technology point of view, but for UX practitioners the challenge lies in
developing interaction patterns and language in this new space. - Decoupling Rich Experiences from the Physical World: The rise of AR/VR
became apparent at CES in January 2017, where both from a content and a
hardware availability point of view, AR/VR stole the show. This possibility to
create rich experiences in a virtual world or in a mixed reality opens new UX
opportunities. - Contextually Autonomous Decision-Making: Outcomes of the
above-mentioned trends could culminate into a world of invisible interactions
that surround us and make our life more productive, more inspirational and even
a bit more aspirational. The optimal user interface is one that creates no
additional friction for the user and blends seamlessly into his/her world.
As
these five elements are combined, a pattern emerges: UX is becoming simpler and
more invisible to the user, with the bulk of the effort offloaded to the
technology itself. The creation of this simpler, more human-driven experience
requires significant technical ability to build the infrastructure to support
it.
As Chief Digital
Officer, Justin Marcucci is responsible for leading Endava’s global digital business,
both from a client engagement and digital delivery capacity. The digital
philosophy he has instilled within the organization is focused on enabling
businesses to dramatically improve the experiences of their users through the
introduction of technology, while giving them the strategy, data, and insight
to evolve and succeed as the overall market landscape changes. Bringing over 18
years of practical knowledge in the digital arena, Marcucci’s past experiences
leading Product, Business Development and User Experience organizations for
both AT&T Interactive and Sony Electronics, along with his current role,
have helped strategically transform businesses across all industries,
worldwide.
