Personalisation In Customer Experience: Transforming Businesses In The Digital Era

In the dynamic landscape of business, personalisation has emerged as not just a strategy but a necessity, reshaping customer experiences across industries. Dilpreet Singh, Head CRM Loyalty & Analytics at ITC Hotels, emphasises the inevitability of personalisation in the face of rising consumer expectations and the transformative impact of technology. "With all of automation, AI coming in, there’s a lot that is happening in terms of opening more and more doors for businesses to transform and enhance customer experience," he remarked.

Singh, delving into the roots of customer experience, notes that the concept finds its origin in the hospitality industry. The essence of making a guest feel at home away from home has been a driving force, making personalisation intrinsic to the very fabric of hospitality.

Manan Bajoria, VP-Growth Marketing at ixigo, sheds light on their approach, focusing on the initial interaction with new users. "We focus on discounts from a new user perspective, so that we reduce the friction that the user gets to try out our platforms once. What we focus more on is solving the pain points across the customer journey", remarked Bajoria.

In sectors as diverse as hospitality and travel, personalisation strategies are not solely about technological sophistication but addressing fundamental customer needs. Nishtha Arora, Digital Marketing Lead, South Asia, Corteva Agriscience, articulates the challenges faced in an agrarian context. She accentuated, "Anyone who is online, farmer or not, is my target sector. I know the pincodes, the hyper targeting, so anyone who is in that area and is online, is my target customer."

However, Arora underscores the digital divide prevalent in rural areas, where access to advanced technologies is limited. "Sadly, the downtrodden parts of the villages still don’t have 3G, 4G or 5G. Also, they prefer the feature phones over smartphones when outside at work. The smartphone is more of a shared phone by the family", she said.

This digital gap not only poses infrastructural challenges but also demands a delicate balance between user experience (UX) and customer expectations. Arora shared insights where users voiced their preference for simplified processes akin to popular digital payment platforms.

Ankit Goenka, Head of Customer Experience, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, underscores the importance of a customer-centric approach. "We do not look at technology first, we look at the use-case first. The first step is to listen to your customers, second is to analyse the feedback, make a list of what your customers are wanting, then do a GAP analysis," he said.

The integration of technology follows a comprehensive understanding of customer needs, ensuring that personalisation is not a superficial layer but embedded in the core of service. "Once you do that, you define and implement your success metrics and monitor it. The last step then is again to go back to your consumer," added Goenka.