Revolutionizing Customer Connections: Digital Strategies with Elisabeth Zornes

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This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How does digital transformation impact customer expectations and experiences? 
2. What are the challenges and opportunities in personalizing the customer experience in a B2B environment? 
3. How does the concept of digital-first change the way businesses engage and provide value to their customers? 
4. What role does AI play in enhancing the customer experience and driving growth for businesses? 
5. How can companies leverage technology and AI to provide customers with personalized insights and experiences that drive long-term loyalty?

Top Takeaways

• The customer experience is evolving rapidly across different industries. Customers today are more informed, empowered, and sophisticated. This has raised the bar for businesses to rethink and rebuild their customer experiences to align with the changing expectations. 

• When you build and enhance digital experiences together with your customers, you create something very special. You go from interacting in transactions to building a digital relationship. Companies must design intuitive and personalized digital experiences that align with customers’ preferences and behaviors. 

• Even in the B2B world, we need to be focused on customers as if they’re consumers because that’s what they’re basing their stories and expectations on. Customers compare you to the best experiences they’ve had across all industries, regardless of the type of business are industry they are in. 

• Personalization is powerful in building a great customer experience because when customers engage with brands who know them, what they are likely to do, how they want to engage, and what they need, that signals that the company is where they can continue to get value. That reliability creates trust.  (This was confusing. I think adding the “them” helps. Agree?) 

• Partnering with your customers is personalizing the relationship to the point where you understand so much of what your customers want and need that you can make the suggestions that will enhance their experiences, improve their businesses, and choose you over the competitors. 

• The integration of AI in customer service should not be viewed as a replacement for human interaction but as a means to enhance and support human ingenuity.  

• The future of customer service lies in transforming the entire organization’s mindset. It is about instilling a culture where every employee understands their role in delivering an exceptional customer experience—raising service levels and delivering value across the board. 

• Plus, Shep and Elisabeth discuss more ways to leverage AI in customer service and experience. Tune in! 

Quotes:

“There is a significant shift in terms of who our customers are. They are much more sophisticated, informed, and empowered. They are expecting a seamless experience from start to finish.”  

“In the B2B world, our customers expect the same seamless engagement they experience in the B2C world. Not only do they want to have that seamless and personalized experience, but they want to be amazed at every step of the journey.” 

“Our customers are no longer just consumers of an experience. They have long turned into the protagonist, inviting us to write about their hero’s journey with them. We co-create the experiences together with our customers.” 

“With the technology we have available now, we can create insights for our customers that will amaze them. Creating amazing experiences is about using AI and digital technology to help customers with what they need now and might not even know they will need in the future.” 

“AI doesn’t replace humans. It augments human ingenuity and helps our customers focus on their most strategic, creative, and impactful work. “

About:

Elisabeth Zornes is the Chief Customer Officer of Autodesk. She oversees Consulting, Customer Success, Partner Success, Product Support, and Renewals to help businesses drive innovation for their customers. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.