Why Disconnected Systems Are Destroying Your Customer Experience
in Insights - Last updated January 10th, 2023
9 times out of 10, disconnected systems are more of a hindrance than a help. With any insight provided overshadowed by the difficulty either accessing or actioning the output.
Instead of providing insightful business intelligence, a disparate tech stack can create information silos; driving down efficiency as time is lost reconciling data and resolving inaccuracies.
“Connecting your tools and consulting with service partners who align with your goals is how you level up your customer experience.”
Hubspot
Most worrying of all, your staff aren’t the only people to suffer at the expense of disjointed infrastructure.
It’s your customers who bear the brunt of operational inadequacies. Any internal issues negatively impacting on effective operations inevitably have a dramatic effect on their experience.
Until you can rely on a single source of truth, your disconnected systems will continue to erode your hard won reputation.
The Impact Of Disconnected Systems
Disconnected systems prevent you from delivering on expectations. And companies simply cannot afford to lose out when it comes to customer experience.
Whether it be a legacy ERP, or multiple systems used for the same functionality, if your software isn’t interconnected it simply cannot provide the outputs you require.
This could mean orders not being fulfilled quickly enough. New leads going unanswered for too long. Vital process steps being missed. Or client information not being shared across teams, stores and regions.
Taking the example of customer communications alone, there are countless actors affecting individual interactions.
Yet ensuring your messaging resonates, inspires action and increases brand loyalty is of huge importance for any aspirational organisation.
“Organisations support an average of eight customer engagement channels. From traditional calls and email through to chat, social, messaging and beyond.”
Ventana Research
Imagine being on the receiving end of interactions where it is clear there has been no coordination.
How would that affect your opinion of the company?
If there is no central record, accessible by all, the risk of duplication, missed workflow stages and lost opportunities increases beyond measure.
Whilst you may be able to paper over the cracks within your operation for a short while, it won’t be long before your customers lose patience and revenue falls by the wayside.
• 5 Ways To Put Your Customer First
• How To Embed Best Practice Behaviours
• 5 Reasons Why Customer Journey Mapping Matters
Solving System Disparity For An Excellent Experience
So how to solve this technological dilemma?
Firstly, take the time to evaluate the various systems you are using.
If there is duplication, remove it. If there is a lack of integration, build it.
Streamlining is a vital first step, but the next task is perhaps most important of all; connecting all relevant data into one central hub.
Here, the skill is in linking each application to generate accessible, actionable outputs.
“A single source of truth allows a company’s data, for a particular purpose, to all be found via a single reference point”.
MULESOFT
By coordinating each input into a seamless flow, roadblocks will be removed and customer satisfaction will increase.
Why?
Your actions are now dictated by robust business intelligence and the thoughtful application of customer data. As opposed to inconsistent, ad hoc actions based off inaccurate or outdated information.
Initiating Digital Transformation
Enhancing customer experience can’t happen without investing in digital transformation.
It is technology that enables seamless interactions, powered by a mix of accessible, accurate data and automated action.
“For a company to deliver a truly great customer experience, they must ensure that they are deploying effective systems that place efficiency and access to information at the top of the list of priorities.”
Call Centre Helper
Enduring disconnected systems is like running the hundred metres with a ball and chain strapped around your ankle. You’re automatically putting yourself at a significant disadvantage.
By releasing the shackles of data discrepancies you can free up precious resources to better serve your customers.
Happier customers equal happier businesses.
Don’t let the familiar hold you back.
Updated 10/1/2023
Ready to explore how Anthill can help overhaul your disconnected systems? Schedule a demo today.
Related Articles
- January 10th, 2023