Customer Expectations for Digital

Understanding what customers expect from digital channels is key to delivering a great digital experience.

In our extensive research on the digital experience for hundreds of brands across a number of different verticals, we have found that customer expectations for digital are similar across industries. We've compiled the following list of 5 key findings that should be top of mind when developing and enhancing your digital channels.

The Big 4

Four aspects of the digital experience are the key drivers of satisfaction in every vertical:

1. Navigation: Consumers expect to find what they are looking for without a lot of effort.
2. Speed: Consumers interact with your app or website with a goal in mind, and the faster they perceive they have achieved that goal, the better. Keep in mind though that speed isn't always about page loading. For example, the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Claims Digital Experience Study results revealed that customers were three times more likely to say the claims process was slower than expected when regular updates were not provided via digital channels. Conversely, they were nearly two times more likely to say the process was quicker than expected when provided with regular status updates through insurer websites or mobile apps. 
3. Appeal: The visual appeal of an app or website signals to the consumer the brand's commitment to delivering a great experience.
4. Information/Content: Breadth and depth of information and content will influence how consumers perceive the digital experience. More informational content geared towards helping customers address their goals or pain points is always better.

Takeaway: These big 4 drivers are table stakes. Include the metrics for the big 4 in your digital dashboard to ensure that your digital team stays focused on them.

Not just easy, very easy 

How much of a difference is there between easy and very easy? Turns out consumers want very easy by a large margin. In our research, we find a materially significant drop-off in satisfaction when a digital experience is only rated as easy compared to very easy.

Takeaway: Get started by understanding what "very easy" means to your customers. From there, develop a road map for taking key features of your digital channels to very easy and align your resources and budget to get there. The increase in satisfaction with the digital experience will more than justify the investment.

A problem free experience

Consumers expect their digital experience, especially the log-in experience, to be 100% problem free. Any level of problems, no matter how small, will significantly bring down satisfaction.

Takeaway: Don't wait for customers to reach out to point out issues. Assign a task force to monitor and completely eliminate problems with the digital experience. Start with the log-in journey as the first interaction point and move forward from there.

One channel resolution 

When consumers interact with your app or website, they expect to be able to complete their transaction or get the answer they are looking for without having to change to another method of contact. Our research shows that satisfaction drops off dramatically when consumers start in the digital channel and then have to switch to a phone call to completely resolve their issue.

Takeaway: Achieving one channel resolution can be challenging. Start building your strategy to get there by studying cases where consumers are not fully empowered by the app or website to resolve their problem. Explore those cases to understand the root cause of the issue. This will help inform corrective action.

Better security

As the digital experience becomes more personalized, consumer expectations for a secure interaction with apps and websites have also risen.  We once again see the key word "very" making it's way into expectations. Todays consumers expect a very secure experience when interacting with your digital channels.

Takeaway: Much of the customer experience is based on perception, and in some cases, a mismatch may exist between consumer perception and reality when it comes to security. If your digital experience is very secure, make sure you are communicating that to consumers to help shape their perception of interacting with your channels.

Putting it all together

High-performing brands focus their digital efforts and resources on the experience their customers want. To increase satisfaction with and adoption of your digital channels, you need to do the same. Design a strategy focused on the experience your end customers want. Build your digital roadmap around their wants, needs, and expectations. Start by exploring how you're performing across the 5 findings above, identify areas that require your attention, and start creating the channels your customers will love. 

Need help evaluating your digital channels for improvement opportunities? If you're challenged with better understanding what your customers expect from your channels, contact our team today.

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