4 Customer Experience Trends That Malaysian Businesses MUST Know About for 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic escalated back in 2020, no one — well, almost no one — would’ve predicted that we’d still be battling the pandemic in 2022. And yet, here we are, and even as we learn to live with the pandemic, the world has arguably changed forever (hence the term, the new normal). 

So, what does this paradigm shift entail? Well, we’ve talked about the way the workplace has changed in great detail, while the return to the physical office places a degree of accountability on employees to adhere to SOPs and guidelines — but businesses looking to succeed in 2022 (and beyond) are required to undergo a digital transformation. 

Key to this is the concept of digital resilience. And a big part of that involves the rethinking of all crucial pillars of your business, including the Customer Experience. With that in mind, here are 4 critical customer experience trends that Malaysian businesses must know about in 2022. 

1. Gratification needs to be Instant in 2022

Among the many, many benefits of digitalisation is the near instantaneous nature of all aspects of the business — and this is reflected in the customers’ demands. Thanks to the acceleration in the digital shift in recent times, businesses need to take demand for instant gratification into account if they’re to craft a successful, effective customer experience.

This desire for instant gratification can be fulfilled in a variety of ways — keep that in mind. Sometimes, it can be a logistical issue, with this grocery startup even promising 15-minute delivery times, or real estate sites leveraging off artificial intelligence to offer near instant listings. Or, take baby steps by ensuring that your customer success team responds to queries as quickly as possible — a chatbot to field initial enquiries might help with this. 

After all, this report claims that 80 percent of customers expect responses to their messages to businesses over social media within 24 hours. 

2. The need for modularisation 

When designing the customer experience in 2022, it’ll also be important to implement the concept of modularisation — where your products and services are no longer offered in a single, inflexible entity. Instead, your offerings should be tailored to the wants and needs of your customer base, with modularisation offering a high degree of flexibility and personalisation, while still maintaining the potential for scale. 

Essentially, modularisation involves the division of your business offering into modules. These can be interchangeable, allowing for customisable configurations for customers. You’ll reap the rewards of standardisation, along with the benefits of personalisation for customers. 

3. Cybersecurity will overtake physical security… almost

Physical security will obviously still be an important factor to consider, but this will arguably be surpassed by cybersecurity. With the ongoing shift from traditional, physical work models to remote work models, we’re still seeing many companies choosing to implement a hybrid work model — one that incorporates team a/b setups and a combination of work-from-home and work-from-office arrangements. 

This has also seen the digitalisation of many business processes, including those that directly affect the customer experience. For example, e-commerce is expected to take up nearly 25 percent of retail sales in the next three years, offering security for sensitive information and customer data — including payment information such as credit cards — will be make-or-break factors in today’s digital world for 2022. 

Invest in the right systems, the right people, and treat your customers' data with absolute care and due diligence. With altHR, you’ll be able to depend on a team that ensures the best security practices are in place, along with the security of a platform that is utilised by over 1,500 employees in Digi. 

4. The growth of subscription-based services

As the shopping experience moves to the digital sphere, there has also been a shift in focus from the product — while still critical, obviously — to the service provided. Brands are now expected to offer after-sales services beyond simply warranty and repair, including community building, educational events, and even curating experiences for customers.

A good example of this would be the on-demand digital content industry, where you might not be paying a lot upfront for access to thousands of exclusive titles — such as Netflix, or Disney+. However, to fully take advantage of their ongoing expansion of content and exclusives, you’ll need to pay for a monthly/yearly subscription, while more premium packages with higher quality resolutions and other add-ons are available. 

When it comes to business products, think of altHR — Digi’s HR super app. Once you’ve signed up, it isn’t an open-shut case of signing up for a product, using it, and only making contact when/if you run into any trouble. Instead, you have direct access to a top-notch Customer Success team, the altHR Academy, our Knowledge Base, and of course, the altHR Resource centre — home to the end-to-end of HR guides for businesses in Malaysia.