Technology Working Well

Displaying Technology looks great for your business. It shows that you are modern and up to date with the new trends, until it doesn’t work. The use of technology is normally associated to elimination of jobs for the sake of the improved quality and productivity. When there is discontinuity on the service because of the technology, that image is broken. The magic disappears. Suddenly, from being modern and state of the art, you are seen as cheap, with bad technological infrastructure, with inefficient solutions. Very frequently people will start to question everything else you do. If you can’t get the main interface with your Customers right, how can you assure quality on the products and services? How can the Customer feel assurance on financial services for example? How can they believe the goods will be delivered after their credit cards were charged? This may easily lead Customers to move away from your business. Make sure you introduce the technology that works well from the get go. Small bugs (they are called so because they truly bug you) can break the trust. You also have to remember that different Customers have different habits, so they will likely access your portal or App from different devices, like iPhones (iOS), Samsungs (android), iPads, Computers, etc, and their operation must be seamless for the Customers. The User Experience must be the same. If your App or system is not optimized for multiple devices, they will make the Customers confused and they may even not work. If your software doesn’t work or loses functionalities, then it is catastrophic.

Another very bad situation is when your system displays the message “We cannot process your request at the moment. Please try again later.” Most likely your Customer will look for another source that can solve their problem now, if they have the choice. Don’t be fooled. If the Customer doesn’t have a choice now, if the problem persists, the Customer will create an alternative and will turn their back to you.

Technology is as good as its utility and availability to the Customer. Chatbots that look fancy, but do not answer the Customers’ questions not only is worthless, but actually makes the Customers really upset, particularly if they have no choice but to talk to the “stupid” machine. Always give the Customer an alternate way to connect with your brand. If your system is not satisfactory, they can always try something else. Forcing the Customer to use one single channel is not good, but when this only channel doesn’t work well, then you are cutting your lifeline with that Customer. If you prefer that the Customer uses a certain channel, make sure it is constantly available, in all possible configurations and create incentives for the Customer to choose such channel, but do not force the Customer.