A Blueprint for CXM
Over ten years ago, Domino’s Pizza developed their signature “pizza tracker,” which allowed customers insight into the status of their pizza deliveries. From when you first place your pizza order, to the moment the box arrives at your house, there are a half dozen status updates providing granular visibility. Given that this was before smartphones and order delivery apps were mainstream, it was way ahead of its time. Now, every such app has a similar tracking mechanism embedded into it as standard practice. They also feature communication tools that allow the customer to connect with the restaurant, in-app support, and their courier - all of which function to give the customer a great deal of control and visibility over their experience, and thus a better one overall.
At the risk of sounding redundant (we talk about digital transformation a lot on this blog), we’d be remiss if we didn’t belabor the point that so much has changed. The simplicity offered by delivery apps on the customer end is dwarfed by the complexity of making it work behind the scenes. There is a massively complex chain of vendor management systems and operations on the backend powering these experiences, and any number of things could impact a customer’s order. Is the in-store POS functioning properly? Is website and in-app ordering integrating seamlessly into order management? Are traditional phone-in orders likewise synchronized?
All of these concerns have (largely) been addressed and accounted for by delivery app companies and the POS vendors that they partner with. The question that we now ask is this: Why haven’t other industries followed suit? We can look to the complex, interwoven, integrated nature of order delivery systems as a blueprint for how CXM can be handled in any industry.
Lessons for Banking (and other industries)
It’s somewhat surprising that financial services institutions, such as banks, have found themselves behind the 8-ball in adopting technology that would simplify their service offerings. Any instance in which highly intricate products (such as mortgages), and processes (such as merchant underwriting), can only be offered and sold in an analog, byzantine way is an instance in which customer satisfaction will plummet. This was made obvious in 2020, when people were prohibited from handling business as usual in person, and securing PPP loans through local banks was in many cases a debacle.
Customers expect more visibility now, and they are getting it from fintech challengers. Future advances in technology and novel world events will only serve to heighten that demand. The time to catch up was yesterday, and the time to advance is now. Traditional organizations need to recognize that and adapt, or they risk being supplanted by those can.
