How ISVs Can Retain Customers Through Effortless Experiences
Everyone wants payments to be simpler. Consumers who make them. Merchants that accept and manage them. And integrated software vendors (ISVs) that offer them through their platforms.
But the “rules” for enabling simple payments are changing. ISVs will need to know how shifting trends in customer experience (CX) will influence their ability to retain customers.
In a recent webinar, a panel of CSG experts dissected five major shifts in CX that ISVs can capitalize on to deliver better customer journeys for merchants and end customers alike. “The State of the Customer Experience: How ISVs Can Create Effortless Experiences” was moderated by Liz Bauer, EVP and chief experience officer at CSG, and she was joined by these panelists:
Mark Smith, SVP of customer experience, CSG
Sukanya Madhavan, VP of product management and engineering, CSG Forte
Jeannette Mbungo, VP of Payments Operations, CSG Forte
Watch the full discussion here, or read on for a sneak peek.
EFFORTLESS IS THE NEW UNFORGETTABLE
The panelists discussed the concept of making customer experiences “forgettable”—which, to many organizations, sounds counterintuitive. Conventional wisdom was that organizations should aim for digital experiences that wow their audience, but that’s not what customers are necessarily asking for—certainly not customers who are just trying to make payments.
“The world we live in today, people like efficiency, and ease and speed,” Mark said. “ They get to do the thing they were trying to do, and they almost don't notice it. That's the best kind of experience. That's what customers love, and this search [by organizations] to try and overreach and deliver something incredibly special, that's not where the money is in this market today.”
This means ISVs need to focus on providing frictionless and intuitive payment journeys that meet the customers' needs and preferences. Whether it's online, in store, contactless or omnichannel, the payment experience should be effortless and forgettable.
For the payments industry, Jeanette pointed to the importance of the onboarding experience—“the first meaningful interaction you have with the customer”—as a high-priority touchpoint. This means creating a smooth application process where customers can easily provide all the data that’s required of them. It should also be easy for ISVs to monitor and manage, with webhooks to get status updates on customers’ applications as they progress.
“ ,” Jeanette said.