Digital devices have enabled consumers to do more on-the-go. And as communications and utility providers continue to transform their technology and offerings to accommodate this fast-paced, high-interaction reality, consumers expect more from each touchpoint. Consumers are driving the move to connected digital experiences that allow them to call the shots. Low friction, digital experiences mean consumers are more likely to complete transactions online for new service, service upgrades and related products.

The Cost of Friction—$1.6 Trillion in Lost Revenue

For many consumers, digital experiences require too much work. In fact, 87% think companies should make their experience more consistent across channels.[i] Consumers that encounter digital friction almost immediately search elsewhere for a more intuitive and enhanced experience—likely on a competitor’s site. In the past year, 52% of consumers switched providers because of poor service.[ii] All that switching and abandonment costs an estimated $1.6 trillion worth of lost revenue annually[iii]. And, worse, businesses lose the opportunity to gain priceless consumer interaction insights for future transactions.

Digital Strategy—Opportunity for Those Who Move Fast To Stay Ahead

Businesses are strategically focused on revolutionizing digital consumer experiences, all while reducing the risk of fraud across all channels. The truth is, a positive digital experience can be as great a competitive advantage as the marketing lever price.[iv] Leading providers seek innovative solutions and technology to transform consumer experiences and draw more value out of every interaction. There may be tremendous opportunity for businesses wanting to drive increased revenue and a better mobile experience; however, many businesses struggle with developing the right solution. It is important to recognize and address the unique consumer challenges and needs across each channel. As you work to deliver better consumer experiences, consider the following areas of focus:

Base Experience on a Need: Turn your business inside out. Focus on solving a specific consumer need.

Create Experiences with A Focus on Real People: Understand the profiles of consumers who will be your biggest digital users. Develop a detailed user persona and refer to the persona characteristics to help you identify potential digital experience gaps.

Define Omni Channel Experiences: Work to deliver a consistent experience across all channels – from the call center to the interactive voice response (IVR) and to online and mobile.

Leverage Technology: Use technology and unique data partnerships to simplify the experience.

Be Flexible: Deliver an experience that is right for the consumers in your market.

Frictionless Experience – Journey Begins with the Consumer A positive digital customer experience starts with the consumer’s identity – the unique representation of a subject in a digital interaction. At a time when consumers rely heavily on their digital devices for just about everything, many still have frustrations with online transaction experiences. Challenges facing consumers include:

• Mobile “friction” during the transaction process when completing required form-fields or lengthy applications and registrations caused by:
  • Slow and tedious, manual data entry on small device screens
  • Length of personal information required, sometimes requiring users to enter multiple screens of data
  • Verification of identity
  • Errors caused by manual entry or missed information

All of this leads to incomplete online service applications and cart abandonment, which in turn leads to lost customers and lost opportunities to upsell and gather valuable data for communications and utility providers.

Help transform your digital strategy to deliver a differentiated, frictionless consumer experience that can help prevent fraud, streamline identity verification, decrease losses and drive growth and profitability.

Leveraging unique tools and APIs from Equifax – such as auto-fill with authenticated consumer information from InstaTouch® -- dramatically reduce a consumer’s need to fill out online forms. Authenticated consumer information gives businesses the deep insights they need to help enhance the consumer experience, streamline acquisition workflows and optimize supplemental offers. These same tools and insights can also be applied to call center negotiation systems to reduce handle time when setting up accounts.  

 

[i] 1http://d16cvnquvjw7pr.cloudfront.net/resources/whitepapers/Omnichannel-Customer-Service-Gap.pdf, 2013 [ii] https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-digital-disconnect-customer-engagement, 2016 [iii] https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-digital-disconnect-customer-engagement, 2016 [iv]  https://stellaservice.com/is-customer-experience-more-important-to-shoppers-than-price/, 2014