CONFERENCE REPORT
CUSTOMERS THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW
Steven van Belleghem, expert in customer focus in a digital world, speaks at the Global DIY Summit about the opportunities in advanced technology in the DIY industry.
T
he developing world of technology has altered the retail market in a big way, with the latest news being M&S opting
for an AI operating system in its call centre. As today’s customers are already well integrated into the convenience-led lifestyle of smart technology, Steven van Belleghem gives insight into how to develop and make this a lucrative move in your business. “Customer experience
is in
phase three of digital. I think we all experienced it when it started with digital first, and then moved onto mobile. It really kicked off about 11 years ago; we came into the world of social and mobile and customer behaviour changed rapidly,” he says. “It’s really cool to see how society has adapted to this new reality. Now we’re moving into this new phase of digital and in my opinion what 2007 was for mobile
10 DIY WEEK 24 AUGUST 2018
is 2017 for artificial
intelligence
and automation. And, let’s be honest, this is very intangible, this is very new, this is very exciting and very scary at the same time. So, my summary of the state of the world right now is where we are in between fear and excitement.” Mr Belleghem thinks there is scope for people to get wrapped up in technology development, and become too lost in that element rather than focusing on the primary target; the customer.
“If you look at the industry that we are in, in retail in general, we can see how companies are changing from mobile first to AI first,” he says.
“And my fear is we are going to get over-excited about technology. I think, at the end of the day, the goal is to create relevance for customers and I think you will all agree with me that we can think of companies that still need to grow in the field of customer experience.
“How is it possible we have Elon Musk on this planet, and he is launching this huge rockets to eventually go to Mars, and we saw that at the beginning of this year; and the most beautiful scene was, not the launching, it was the two rockets that simultaneously landed back on the planet. We can do this as humans, but making a toaster that doesn’t burn toast, that seems to be incredibly hard,” Mr Belleghem laughs.
Raising the bar “The trouble is that certain things are possible
to do in terms of
technology but, if it has zero value for the customer, it is not going to work. And, in my opinion, if you look at the challenges that your industry is facing in digital, you do not have to be naive; for businesses life will become more complex. “If you look at retail in the old world, you were taught to excel in one thing and just be average in the
others and then you can win: if you are the best in service you’re going to win, or if you’re the cheapest one you’re going to win, or if you have the best store experience you’re going to win. I think every single one of them feel that this is not working anymore because that bar of customer expectation has gone up, so if you want to win with your stores and with your offering this is how you need to do it. And, this explains why it’s harder, because you need more resources to reach up to that customer expectation. “You start to feel that the USP of the old companies, the unique selling proposition, that is completely gone, and the reason why that has gone is completely down to the Amazons and the
Booking.coms of this world. These guys are good on price, their service is above average, location becomes irrelevant and their offering is endless. They killed the USP and we have to learn to live with that,” he states.
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