[Viewpoint] Redesign Customer Experience in the Post-COVID Era

Professor Yonggu Seo, Sookmyung Women's University Graduate School of Business
Why Customer Experience Innovation Is Essential in an Uncertain Era
From Brand Philosophy to Digital Transformation:
How Companies Can Provide Comfort and Happiness

The world remains unsettled even in the endemic era (periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases) due to COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the inflation crisis. After the past two years of unpredictable changes, it is time for innovation. It is necessary to respond to change through customer experience innovation that soothes anxiety and enhances happiness.

First, the brand experience must be reconsidered. A brand is an intangible asset that exists in the minds and hearts of customers and stakeholders, though it is invisible. It must be reborn as a new brand that significantly reflects eco-friendliness and fairness with a dramatically strengthened ethical awareness compared to before. For example, Unilever, a global top-tier eco-friendly company, has a mission to "make the planet a sustainable place to live." Such a noble brand goal can strongly motivate not only external customers but also internal members to engage deeply in their work. Merck, the world’s longest-standing German company with a 350-year history, also has a mission to "save customers and improve their lives." Similar to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, companies and individuals who create socially beneficial value need a strong corporate mission to make the world better. As the economy becomes difficult and environmental crises caused by climate change grow, customers will seek comfort and hope in the philosophy and services of sustainable brands.

Second, offline customer experience must be redesigned. Currently, South Korea’s consumer market is divided into two large consumer markets: the established consumer groups of Baby Boomers and Generation X, and the new consumer group called the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). The established generation suffers from future anxieties such as longevity risk relative to their assets and income and feels fatigue from the rapid pace of societal change. The MZ generation is the premium Korean group with the highest academic and career credentials in Korean history. They place high value on "eco-friendliness" and "fairness." However, despite their high expectations, they suffer from existential anxiety as they feel unrecognized in a low-growth, aging economy. Our response must first acknowledge that all shopping is now possible via mobile and provide happiness and comfort offline. Spaces and face-to-face services that satisfy healing and nostalgia emotions are needed.

Third, digital customer experience must be created. Over the past several years, almost all companies have faced the inevitable task of digital transformation. Nike, which holds many cool slogans such as "just do it" and "the consumer decides," refused to trade with Amazon and succeeded in pioneering its own mall (D2C) channel. Based on data tracking and analyzing traces left by customers through various digital media, it activates app memberships to convert consumers into fans. Disney in the U.S. created the MagicBand service, drastically reducing wait times and implementing all digital customer experiences in a one-stop manner, including accommodation and payment tracking devices, creating truly magical experiences that achieved more groundbreaking results than before COVID-19. Ultimately, to sustain growth in the post-COVID world, companies and individuals alike need to review and newly redesign these three customer experiences. They must review and revise all existing service experiences with the goal of providing utopian consumption experiences to their consumers and society.