It’s long been said that data is the lifeblood of modern business. But what does that mean today, especially in terms of how businesses deal with their customers?
The key to good customer service today now lies in datafication. This is defined as how different parts of everyday life generate data, and how that data is then used to generate insights, and ultimately value for business. Generally speaking, this data is generated by devices connected to the Internet of Things, such as sensors, cameras and other data input points.
This datafication gives the organisations collecting the data an unprecedented level of detail into people’s behaviour. Using the example of smart cities, this means understanding how many people use different roads and methods of transport, where and when, so that the right decisions can be made in traffic management, parking provision and the frequency of buses and trains.
The same principle applies just as well in the retail and hospitality sectors. Retailers can already collect and analyse information on the purchasing habits of their customers, but this can be taken much further. If businesses can generate data on browsing and basket history, which types of item customers focus on, or even how people move around physical stores, then they can understand the best things they can do to encourage more sales out of customers. It’s as close as a business can be to getting inside the mind of a customer and understanding their drivers and motivations.
There are three great examples of how this works in practice:
- Internet connectivity in remote areas: the public wants better and better experiences when they go on holiday, and connectivity is no exception to that. For a variety of reasons, from work to entertainment, people want to be able to stay connected whenever and wherever they are - even in places not naturally suited to it. In the Zurs ski resort in Austria, local businesses joined forces to install 45 wireless access points around the area for public use. Whereas Internet access was previously restricted to a few hotels that had their own WiFi networks, now Zurs stands out from the crowd as a resort where visitors know they can stay connected.
- Wayfinding in busy environments: in a place that’s packed with people, it can be hard for people to get from A to B - especially when so many devices in a small space can hinder signal strength. At Super Bowl 50, Levi’s Stadium deployed a super-strong WiFi network around the stadium, and combined it with a special Super Bowl app that helped people find their way to their seats, food and drink vendors, toilets and other areas within the venue. At one stage, more than 20,000 people were logged onto the WiFi network at the same time, and the app helped improve the spectator experience at one of the biggest sporting events (and one of the most expensive to attend!) in the world.
- Freeing up IT teams for innovation: when companies want to innovate and improve customer experiences, they rely on their IT teams to make it happen - but many of these teams don’t have the time because of all the day-to-day admin they have to do. Leading British restaurant and pub group Mitchells & Butlers removed this barrier by implementing a new infrastructure that maximises availability and coverage, and removes the issues of downtime across its 1700 sites that can affect customer-facing functions like booking management and payments. As a result, its in-house IT staff are now able to focus on improving customer experiences even more.
What these examples make clear is that using datafication to improve customer service doesn’t necessarily involve things that a customer would experience or even notice. Of course, things like wayfinding and WiFi connectivity provide direct benefits to customers day-to-day. But improving the underlying business operations, and helping businesses make good data-driven decisions, can be just as important to helping organisations get everything right behind the scenes, too.