Shaping competitive advantage in the self-service world

Serco's Andrew MacDonald considers the new rules and tools that are adding value to the customer experience

"Using insight and foresight to add value to the customer experience will open up exciting new sales opportunities and minimise lost revenue in the world of self-service," says Serco's Service Design Director, Andrew MacDonald.

In a new White Paper published by Serco, Mr MacDonald says that old rules for up-selling and cross-selling are now history and that it has never been easier for consumers to drop out of the buying process and switch to competitors. "The trick is to protect sales throughout the customer journey and to take full advantage of new opportunities to acquire, develop and retain customers. And that means knowing who your customers really are, what they are looking for, how their behaviours are evolving and what's needed to make their purchasing experience as easy as possible."

The new White Paper - 'Making it easy for your Customers - protecting and growing sales in a multi-channel world' - emphasises how effective customer engagement and completion of transactions is dependent on a deep understanding of customer behaviour, motivations and needs. Armed with such knowledge, it says that businesses will know the factors and attributes with the potential for protecting and attracting sales.
Such insight will also highlight how and when to intervene in self-service transactions, how to give structure and purpose to a meaningful social media presence and what to use as purchase add-ons and well-timed offers to maximise service personalisation.

"Today, it's a question of how customer data is gathered, analysed and interpreted and how the results of such analysis are applied that will determine revenue success and maintain the competitive edge of any business," says Andrew MacDonald. "When it comes to self-service, for example, it's essential for a business to look at adding value to the customer journey and experience rather than cutting costs. Only then will customers feel valued and receive a service that truly fulfils their expectations."

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