Glimpse into the future: making a difference with online customer experience?

About four years ago, an enterprising group of young Delft guys realized that taking out a mortgage is a headache for many homebuyers. Something I can imagine as a recent move on. The matter is complex with which it is virtually impossible to do without an intermediary. And that intermediary you have to visit, costs quite a bit of money and by no means always offers the insights you want. Ikbenfrits has stepped into that gap. In a telephone intake, the process is explained and you are given the comfort that everything will be fine. You then get access to your personal portal where the process and status of your application can be tracked and all documentation is uploaded by yourself. And what I personally like best, you can sketch unlimited scenarios yourself with a glass of wine and block of cheese by playing with interest rates, maturities and type of mortgage online. Only when you are satisfied do you click on the details. Something you would feel somewhat inhibited to do with an advisor. And all that for about half the regular rates. Given the rave reviews on Google and the company's stormy growth, the approach is working.

The question is, do all service providers necessarily and especially have to be online service providers to score as well as Ikbenfrits? To answer that question, you need to understand what makes online services so good. And without being a genius, you can easily come up with a few: convenience, speed, proximity, convenient, in your own time, often cheaper. These are elements that many a CX expert will say: yes, you score with that. 'By nature,' if you can say that, that makes online services interesting to focus on. At the same time, we also know that 'experience' is the element that will score particularly well in the near future in terms of customer orientation. That often includes the human touch. That is why Ikbenfrits also offers telephone contact, why Picnic's delivery people are trained in customer contact and why Coolblue opened physical stores.

Where to go, what to do? Relevant when setting up all your channels, online/telephone/face to face is that you make sure they are aligned. The integration of the online and offline customer journey is crucial. The experience a customer has on your online portal must be aligned with the experience in the showroom. The convenience of an online inquiry must also be experienced when making a phone inquiry. Does digital service have the future? Yes, absolutely, but not as quickly as a stand-alone solution. Almost always, in line and as part of a strategy to improve the overall customer experience through multiple channels.

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