Customer Support Software Featured Articles

The shopping experience has changed. As consumers, we’re no longer simply loyal to one brand or one provider. We want the best value for the dollar and we’ll use our smartphones to get what we want. It’s a smart approach to commerce and it’s spreading into the business to business buying experience. Now, customer support software is no longer just for the business to consumer exchange.

A recent Samsung (News - Alert) Insights piece explored this trend, highlighting that business customers are just as savvy and they don’t want to wait or pay more with their existing service providers or suppliers. The digital revolution has certainly contributed to this trend and is driving companies’ strategic focus in an effort to be competitive. The business customer is moving at a different speed than before and consumerization is a must.

The challenge, however, is that not all companies are ready to embrace this change. A recent Accenture (News - Alert) report identified gaps in the customer experience strategy and execution capabilities of a number of companies. Banks are one example. The typical financial services provider is organized around products and siloed systems, yet the typical customer doesn’t pay attention to what they’re using to find the information they want – as long as they find it.

For those companies that are paying attention to the changing trends, there is great opportunity to be realized. Square and PayPal (News - Alert), for instance, understand the need for mobile integration and developed card readers merchants can plug right into their smartphones to complete transactions from anywhere. Amazon developed a button for merchant websites that allows consumers to click and pay using their Amazon login, with items shipping directly to their address. So powerful is this service that it grew 150 percent in 2015.

The reality that companies must come to accept is that while there are still dividing lines between business to business and business to consumer, new buying habits disregard the line. Consumers expect highly customized solutions and are much more likely to be self-directed. They are empowered by greater access to information. Whether or not the buyer is tech savvy can vary, putting pressure on companies to invest in customer support software, but also other solutions to support a wide range of buyer types.

The point is, buying is changing across the board. Companies that are able to embrace the change and offer better solutions will find greater success in the market. Those unable to shift toward different buying trends will find their relevance quickly goes away.