In today's language, the word "mediocrity" has taken on a strongly negative connotation. However, in its origins in Greek thought, the idea of "mediocritas" was an attribute of beauty, determined by symmetry, proportion, and harmony. Hence the binomial "aurea mediocritas" or "golden mean," as an attempt to reach a middle ground between two extremes that were considered vices. Both Horace, for his literary works, and Aristotle, for his philosophical writings, are credited with the expression "virtue lies in the middle ground."
So, despite the perversions of today's language, "mediocrity" as it was understood in ancient times is the most important lesson that companies should learn today when it comes to the customer experience provided by digital interactions with customers. It will not be the first or last time that we discuss the close relationship between Customer Experience and Digital Transformation, a process that we must understand as "cultural change" and not as the indiscriminate mass adoption of technological innovation.
This is what we can conclude if we look at three recent studies on this digital relationship between customers and companies, which also address the three usual phases of this relationship: on the one hand, the ability to respond to customer demands; on the other, the availability of elements to generate a good experience; and on the other, the promotional momentum of companies using the most mainstream tools at their disposal. In all three cases, a little "mediocrity" is needed. That is, moderation, a middle ground, a virtuous balance.
The first study is by Eptica Digital Trust and looks at how companies use social media to respond to customer queries. In an age where we're all used to terms like chat, email, private message, and social CRM, it's surprising that almost half (41%) of companies are judged to be failing in their responses. However, this figure varies greatly depending on the contact channels chosen by customers, which demonstrates the need for "digital transformation" (cultural change), which is more lacking than one might initially think.
Thus, more "traditional" channels of contact, such as web queries, are successfully responded to in 83% of cases, but the figure is reversed (38%) if we stick to queries sent in the form of tweets. For the social network par excellence, Facebook, there is a 50% tie in the use of private messages, while less than 7 out of 10 (68%) email messages can be considered successful. And beware, because this score is decreasing year after year, despite still accounting for more than 25% of the usual customer inquiry channels.
Is this data relevant or irrelevant? If the impact on turnover were minimal or non-existent, there is no doubt that these would be matters of little importance. But it seems that we are at the other extreme: according to the same study, almost 9 out of 10 consumers (89%) say they will stop buying, or reduce their spending, on brands they do not trust because of their customer experience. Between almost everyone's feverish desire to be on social media "at any cost" and the scores they receive for their customer service on this channel, there is enough room to find a virtuous middle ground.
Fashion (accounting for 60 percent of all inquiries) and food and drink (59 percent) were the main sectors surveyed, but four out of 10 routine inquiries remained unanswered.
If we turn to the main conclusions of the Adobe Experience Index Report, we find very accurate data on customer experience, largely in relation to website usability. Based on surveys of more than 3,000 consumers across Europe, the technology firm reveals the relatively high numbers of consumers who are inclined to abandon their online shopping cart if their experience is negative: 4 out of 10 in Germany (41%) and the United Kingdom (43%), and half of the total (50%) in France. In fact, in France and the United Kingdom, one in three consumers firmly states that they would never buy from a company again after a bad experience.
An experience in which, in addition to direct economic damage, there is also reputational damage, since more than a third of those surveyed (36%) say they tell friends and family about bad experiences in their purchasing processes. Does this have to do with expectations? It is possible, given that more than two-thirds (68%) expect to have personalized experiences, ranging from augmented reality museums to loyalty programs through trial products or voice command assistance services. Once again, between the overpopulation of corporate websites and the high demand from users who visit them, it seems that there is an opportunity for a virtuous middle ground.
Finally, we come to the most obvious example of the necessary balance between two extremes: the use of email as a marketing tool. Those who see this discipline as a panacea for everything are as mistaken as those who abandon all hope of making a favorable impact on customers. According to a study of 1,000 buyers conducted by marketing technology company BounceX, customers do want email communications, but they also demand that they be relevant and timely.
Thus, almost two-fifths (37%) of respondents say they would be more likely to make a purchase if they received a personalized notification about a product they have already seen online. Not only that, but more than a quarter (28 percent) find advertising and/or promotional overlays useful on one condition: that they are personal and improve their user experience. This opens up some very interesting perspectives in the eternal debate about the use of personal data, privacy, and ad hoc regulations. Customers are clear: yes, but not at any price.
These figures are relevant insofar as it is estimated that 269 billion (269 followed by nine zeros) emails are received worldwide every day, a figure that is expected to rise to 320 billion in 2021. In other words: almost 10 trillion (one followed by thirteen zeros) every month; more than 100 trillion (one followed by fourteen zeros) every year.
And they are particularly relevant because, at the same time, 7 out of 10 consumers feel they receive too many marketing emails from brands, and a third (34%) regret giving their email address to a brand. In fact, more than half (57%) of shoppers say that receiving too many marketing messages would make them unsubscribe from a database. Even more interesting (business, business, business) is that one-third (32%) would be more likely to make a purchase if they weren't "bombarded" with marketing messages. Once again, between one extreme and the other, there are more than enough options to be successful.
So, as contradictory as it may seem, in Customer Experience combined with Digital Transformation, the best recipe for escaping "mediocrity" is to opt for "mediocritas": beauty, harmony, balance, the golden mean.
Photo byRazvan ChisuonUnsplash
