3 elements of a customer technology strategy

Creating a seamless customer experience is essential for businesses to remain competitive. However, many companies tend to handle martech, salestech, and support tech separately, leading to a fragmented customer experience.

An integrated customer technology strategy is the solution to this problem, aligning all these technologies to work together harmoniously.

The Customer Experience Imperative: Moving Beyond Isolated Tech Solutions

In most companies, the standard practice is to manage martech, sales, and customer support independently. This siloed approach benefits the company but not the customer.

Silos hinder good customer experiences, especially in a market where products and services are becoming increasingly similar. A flawless, integrated customer experience is now a critical factor for companies to stay relevant.

Adopting a customer-centric approach requires a shift in mindset from company-focused to customer-focused. This shift is crucial for businesses to prioritize the customer experience effectively.

Implementing an integrated customer technology strategy involves three key elements:

• One customer technology owner who aligns all customer-facing teams with IT on security, login standards, migration procedures, etc.
• A plug-and-play architecture consisting of different layers that interact with customers.
• A governance policy for software replacement, customer data, and a shared feature backlog.

Customer Technology vs. Company Technology

Before delving into the elements of a customer technology strategy, it’s essential to understand the role of customer technology within the broader company tech stack.

Company technology primarily focuses on improving internal operations and reducing costs, while customer technology aims to enhance customer interactions and experiences.

Shifting to a Focus on the Customer

Transitioning from a company-focused to a customer-focused approach is a fundamental shift that puts the customer at the center of business operations. This change impacts how technology is applied and managed, especially in the realm of customer technology.

Managing customer technology involves catering to individual customer preferences and ensuring a seamless customer experience. This requires a different governance and management approach compared to company technology.

3 Key Elements of an Integrated Customer Technology Strategy

1. One Customer Technology Owner

Having a single customer technology owner helps align various customer-facing teams and IT departments to ensure a consistent customer experience. This approach eliminates internal conflicts and streamlines customer interactions.

By converging marketing, sales, and support under one umbrella, companies can provide a cohesive and coherent message to customers, enhancing the overall customer experience.

2. Plug-and-Play Architecture

The architecture of customer technology differs from company technology, requiring a layered ecosystem that allows for flexible interactions with customers. This approach enables experimentation and adaptation to changing customer preferences.

Unlike company technology, which focuses on stability and predictability, customer technology requires a more agile and adaptable architecture to meet evolving customer needs.

3. The Governance Policy

Customer technology governance revolves around managing individual customer preferences and ensuring data privacy and security. This policy differs from company technology governance, which focuses on internal operations and employee security.

Adopting a robust governance policy for customer technology allows businesses to stay agile and responsive to customer demands, setting them apart in a competitive market.

FAQs:

1. Why is an integrated customer technology strategy essential?

An integrated customer technology strategy aligns various tech solutions to provide a seamless customer experience, enhancing competitiveness and relevance in the market.

2. How does customer technology differ from company technology?

Customer technology focuses on enhancing customer interactions and experiences, while company technology primarily improves internal operations and efficiency.

3. What role does a plug-and-play architecture play in customer technology?

A plug-and-play architecture in customer technology allows for flexibility and adaptability to changing customer preferences, enabling businesses to experiment with new customer use cases.

4. Why is a single customer technology owner crucial for businesses?

Having a single customer technology owner helps align various customer-facing teams and IT departments, ensuring a consistent and coherent customer experience across all touchpoints.

5. How does customer technology governance differ from company technology governance?

Customer technology governance focuses on managing individual customer preferences and data privacy, while company technology governance is centered around internal operations and employee security.