Industry experts name the top technology trends that are impacting the customer landscape.

1. Top tech trends
that are impacting
the customer landscape
7 Anticipated Customer Experience Trends for 2015

2. New Year, New Trends
The New Year is rapidly approaching, which means that companies have another shot at breaking away from competitors to attract more loyal customers. Rather than competing solely on price or features, business leaders are realizing that they can gain an advantage by providing a high-quality customer experience and dedicating a larger percentage of their marketing budgets to the customer experience.
As companies analyze their priorities for 2015 and beyond, here are seven trends that industry experts and analysts say are driving the customer experience.
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3. 1. The Online Experience Hits Stores
Customers have long expected retailers to provide seamless experiences between their online and offline stores, and retailers are moving closer to meeting those expectations. Because customers want to shop and pay for their goods with as little friction as possible, companies are feeling the pressure to streamline their data across different point of sale systems.
Some retailers have experimented with tablets mounted on walls, some with smartphone apps that provide videos and photos of outfits, and some with product descriptions and customer reviews. Retailers are also paying more attention to the different contexts in which consumers use a smartphone versus a tablet.
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4. 2. Consumer Data Protection Gets Priority
As news about stolen credit card information, email addresses, phone numbers, and other data breaches pile up, data protection has become crucial. Even when a data breach hasn't occurred, customers and government regulators are becoming more critical of the ways companies collect, use, and protect consumer data. Companies are under more pressure than ever to examine their approaches to user data, say analysts.
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5. 3. Co-browsing Ramps Up
Customer service agents and salespeople are increasingly interacting with customers by looking at the same screen on a website, whether it's on a desktop, PC, or a smartphone and "co- browsing" the content. Service agents can see the user's screen on their computers and take over the screen to guide users through any given issue. While helping a customer, companies can also use this opportunity to show customers complementary products or provide additional tips.
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6. 4. It’s About Location, Location, Location
Delivering the right message to the right person at the right time continues to be a marketer's ultimate goal, and vendors are rolling out solutions to make that possible in real time.
iBeacon—Apple's positioning system which uses a Bluetooth signal to allow nearby mobile devices to track its position within a few feet—is gaining traction as a way to provide more detailed messages to consumers. Marketers can use iBeacon data to send customized emails to customers based on recent visits to points of interest like retail stores and sports stadiums. Even though barriers such as hardware costs and user requirements to download iBeacon- enabled apps can prevent using iBeacons, many retailers see a lot of potential in the technology.
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7. 5. The Internet of Things Will Grow
As more advanced sensors, networks, and analytics are developed, connected products will provide more optimal user experiences, according to Forrester Research, which predicts that by 2020, firms will be able to connect nearly all products and machines. Connectivity will enable competitive differentiation and will transform business models based on service, not just product. Within a few years, firms will have a range of settled tech and standards to choose from for adding connectivity to products, fixtures, and machinery ranging from the home to remote work sites.
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8. 6. Personalization and Context Integrate
Delivering emails and ads that are customized based on the websites consumers have visited, the social networks they use, or the loyalty programs they belong to is quickly becoming the norm in marketing. Some enterprises are enabling marketers to deliver targeted ads to Facebook users by matching their customer data with Facebook's Custom Audiences data. Facebook also has partnerships with firms to let brands match data collected through shopper loyalty programs to Facebook profiles.
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9. 7. Voice of the Customer Delves Deeper
Marketers can look to customer feedback and sentiment for guidance when customizing their messages. How customers feel about a brand or company has a larger impact on customer loyalty than a product or service's effectiveness or ease of use, according to Forrester Research.
To measure customer sentiment, companies often turn to voice of the customer (VoC) solutions, which are designed to capture customer thoughts and preferences and provide underlying insights. And while surveys will continue to be a core component of these solutions, companies are looking at other ways to gather insights about how their customers guide business decisions using predictive analytics and sentiment analysis.
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