How to Meet Customer Expectations From Modern On-demand Platforms
Be it getting a ride whenever you want or ordering your favorite pizza from the comfort of your couch, on-demand platforms have made our lives quite convenient. A recent Burson-Marsteller’s survey about on-demand economy found that 86.5 Million Americans (42% of adult population) have used an on-demand service already. Added to this, the Harvard Business Review declared that the wide array of OnDemand apps and platforms have been adding 22.4 million users every year.
But, What’s an On-demand Platform?
Before 1997, there was a specific way in which we experienced entertainment. We would turn on the television at a specific time of the day on a specific channel to watch a specific show that was being aired. If we missed that show there were no replays. You couldn’t even record the show to watch it later. But Netflix changed all of that. You can now watch any show, at any time, from anywhere, and on any device. Your favorite show is available on (your) demand.
In definition, on-demand platforms are services or products that are delivered to you when and where you want them. These platforms have truly changed how the modern-day consumer avails services or buy products. Lyft, Zomato, and Deliveroo are just a few of the numerous on-demand platforms which have been taking on the conventional businesses and even enterprises with a feisty storm in recent times.
Part of the reason these ‘we deliver within an hour’ startups and platforms have been gaining traction is simply that, ‘millennials are busy’. They can’t just afford to lose time shopping for groceries and go out for food every now and then. Hell, they don’t get out of their offices to even get lunch.
With innovations and exciting developments in all areas of technology, customers expect on-demand platforms to adapt and improve their services in amazing, sometimes unrealistic ways. In fact, 3 of 4 people say that customer experience is a competitive differentiator. But, here comes the rub! With every great experience customers experience on one platform, they raise their expectations for all other platforms, irrespective of the industry.
Businesses that don’t invest in evolving along with customer expectations and demands, risk becoming obsolete or even die. The good thing is, there are a lot of ways in which businesses can transform customer experiences into a positive one and keep up with the demands of the customers.
Convenience is the Driving Force
When it comes to on-demand services, impatience is a virtue. Customers want their needs met and jobs are done without any hassle and that’s what on-demand platforms aim to solve. In fact, convenience is the one of the main reason why on-demand apps became successful in the first place. According to research from Statista, 72% of consumers are willing to pay for convenient services.
For example, One Medical is a technology-enabled primary care provider that allows you to make appointments round the clock. There is also ‘Treat me now’ option where you don’t need an appointment for common ailments. It has a welcoming office and a friendly staff answer all your insurance questions without you having to get on a phone call. It has a reputation for ensuring that the appointments start on time or sooner but never later.
Key Takeaway — If One Medical can get it right, you can too. It put convenience at the heart of the business model. Convenience can mean different things for different services. In the case of healthcare, One Medical looked at the common pain points of visiting a doctor starting from making appointments, waiting for the physician, to figuring out insurance policies. And then, it simply plucked them all out.
Efficient Services at Lightning Speed
Agreed, convenience is the most important part of the puzzle. But what good is a food delivery app if it saves you a trip to the restaurant, but takes over an hour to get you your food? Speed in conjunction with convenience is addictive, and on-demand platform users are hooked. They want their multi-cuisine food to reach them within 30 minutes or they’ll rain down holy hell upon the innocent driver.
It’s not easy to be on time, every time. There are going to be delays and goof-ups every now and then. To make sure that the customers aren’t disappointed in your service in such circumstances, you need to keep them informed.
For example, Uber shows you the location of the driver in real time, when you book a cab service. Not only this, the actual expected arrival at the pick-up point and drop-off point are shown to the users. This gives a certain level of assurance to the customers.
Instant Communication is crucial
Customers these days expect support to resolve their queries within minutes. There is no place for long wait-times or rude support staff anymore. So, hear the voices of consumers, and respond quickly. For instance, on-demand platforms can take inspiration from Epic Games, who may not be an on-demand platform themselves, but are the first to respond to customer tweets and requests, even when their flagship product, Fortnite, is free to play.
This helps a lot in creating a good brand identity as the happy customer is likely to spread the word around.
In an ideal On-Demand startup, the customer can really be won over if the response time is lesser than 5 minutes in cases like food delivery and taxi services, and not more than 10-15 minutes in case of startups that deliver groceries or other less volatile services.
A number of software and tools can be used by companies to enable real-time and seamless chats and calls with the customers. Google Firebase can be used to implement chats in the on-demand android mobile applications even if you do not happen to have a dedicated team since it doesn’t require you to write even a single line of code.
Being Available 24X7
You’re supposed to be there when you’re supposed to be there for your customers to solve their grievances. Make sure no complaint or inquiry is ever left unattended for too long.
Another thing that the average on-demand consumer expects is round the clock services, which is not exactly a cakewalk to implement in many parts of the world. Part of the reason as to why 24X7 services are needed is because of the very simple reason because the customers of today are not really having the good-ol’ schedule where they don’t need food at 2 AM, or a cab just before sunrise. It can also serve as an excellent business opportunity since you could acquire a decent customer base that is active at night. Also, there’s no doubt that they’ll ask for your services in daylight. Right?
One thing that food delivery apps like UberEats have gotten right is their late night delivery facilities. As unusual or rare it may seem, there are a lot of people who get hunger pangs in the middle of the night and want to get home delivery. Food delivery apps, due to being available all the time, pull in more customers.
Quality Matters. Always
Perhaps the most obvious but important thing to mention on this list is quality of service. It goes without saying that when users book accommodations using Airbnb, they do so because they know the quality will be top notch. This is because there are dedicated teams to take care of various elements which govern quality assurance. This includes expectation management, service recovery, amenity management, and a variety of other factors. Maybe that’s the reason why Airbnb managed to garner 300+ Million guest check-ins in the last 10 years, which implies how big a player they’ve become in the hospitality management industry.
As obvious as it may sound, many companies sometimes ignore the quality aspect of their services, especially when they make it in the big leagues. This is one thing that drives customers away from them. In the long run, the companies can avoid this by ensuring that each and every customer review is being received, analyzed and then responded to with full perfection. Not only this, making regular amends in the services, and how they’re delivered will also go a long way in being hailed as top quality service/product.
Seamless Customer Experience by Integrating Multiple-Services
It seems like the wants of consumers have no end! That may sound over-the-top, but it is true. These days, consumers demand frictionless and seamless services for everything they want, all in one go.
They wouldn’t prefer to open a different app for transportation booking, another for hotel bookings, and three more for checking out the popular restaurants in their travel vacation area. Companies like Uber have already started partnering up with hotel chains, in order to ensure streamlined taxi and hotel bookings for customers, all in one place.
Another sector where this could be useful is the e-commerce platforms. Amazon in alliance with delivery services like UPS can ensure that Christmas packages are never delivered late, and the customer gets what he/she pays for.
Wrapping it Up!
With every great experience, customers have with a platform, they raise their expectations (read as demand) from all platforms, irrespective of the industry. Be it doorstep pick up, late night food deliveries, or one-day shipping, these rising expectation makes it almost impossible for businesses to deliver on customer expectations. But there is no two way to it.
On-demand platforms are driven to fulfil what customers want. To do that, you need to constantly keep reinventing the wheel. (This is definitely good news for customers.)
These were some important points about what the customers expect from an On-Demand platform. Maybe the blog doesn’t cover a few things that customers want on these platforms? Feel free to comment down or hit me up so we can discuss and then add it here.
