The digital transformation in retail has fundamentally changed the way the entire industry operates. From supply chain management to predictive analytics, it has increased speed and efficiency across all areas of the retail business. In today’s hyper-competitive environment, agility is critical to attracting and keeping customers. Shoppers know they have choices and retailers who aim to keep their business from walking out the door need to put customers at the centre.

It’s fair to say the manufacturing industry is on the fast track to digital transformation. The pandemic exposed the fragility of our global supply chains, resulting in empty shelves and overstocked warehouses. Meanwhile, as the pandemic subsides, inflation is driving up the cost of goods and logistics, putting the squeeze on companies still recovering from the past few years. So it’s no surprise that manufacturers are looking for ways to cut costs whilst still maintaining quality.

Welcome to the first in a series of ten blog posts, drawing insights from the Vivantio eBook, The Complete Guide to Customer Service Transformation. We kick off the series discussing the evolution of B2B service trends, a shift that has significantly altered the conventional business landscape. In an era of digital dominance, labelling a business as a “service business” is becoming an obsolete distinction.

In today's turbulent economy, businesses across the nation are grappling with challenges such as reduced staff, hiring freezes, and budget cuts. In fact, 91% of CEO’s firmly believe we are on an imminent path towards a long lasting recession. Compounding these hurdles is the fact that providing excellent customer support is facing its own set of challenges.

Article originally published in the Altfi report, jointly sponsored by Zendesk. The landscape of customer service has never looked more different, shaped by shifting consumer behaviour and expectations that have rapidly changed over the past two years, driven in turn by the shocks and aftershocks of the pandemic, economic uncertainties, and ever evolving technology trends. Consumers’ voices are growing louder, and bolder, and what customers want is clear: immersive customer experiences.

Take a moment and think about your latest purchasing experiences. Can you recall buying a product impulsively because of excitement? Or can you remember leaving a store because of a bad experience? What was the main driver of your decisions? Harvard Business Study shows that ninety-five per cent of purchase decisions are emotional. The traditional Customer Experience (CX) metrics like NPS, CSAT, and CES only measure loyalty, service quality, and functionality.

Editor’s Note: The Top Customer Centricity Examples article was originally written on July 19th, 2022 and was most recently updated for relevance and clarity on November 22nd, 2023.

We’re excited to introduce our upcoming blog series: “Navigating the Path to Customer Service Excellence,” which is a review of the Vivantio eBook The Complete Guide to Customer Service Transformation. Over the next five weeks, we’ll be diving into a pivotal component of B2B success—putting customers at the very core of your business operations.

The modern customer wants self-service. That’s why, over the past few years, we’ve seen companies build out robust Knowledge Bases (or Help Centers) on Zendesk and other leading customer experience platforms. Zendesk Knowledge Base solutions are team publishing libraries covering recurring topics and questions on products and services. Another way that companies provide self-serve support options is by launching customer service chatbots.

Customer experience is now shaping the way companies across the world do business. We’ve seen companies thrive based on their ability to listen to their customers’ needs and keep up with the latest trends. The latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) provide a bounty of opportunities and possibilities for businesses to rise to the challenge, and deliver seamless, personalised, and immersive experiences for their consumers.