Five priorities for a digital-forward business

The processes and systems that underpin the workings of global commerce are currently undergoing a period of significant change, the scale of which has arguably not been seen since the widespread adoption of the internet over twenty years ago.

With unprecedented innovation in areas such as identity verification, data security and payments, digital transformation is the single most significant factor currently shaping the evolution of businesses in virtually every industry.

These technologies are shaking up customer expectations in relation to the products and services they use, and businesses must fully embrace the digital revolution in order to retain an edge in this highly competitive environment.

At ZealiD we assist customers of all shapes and sizes to become more digital. But what does this actually entail? Here’s our quick-start guide on what to prioritise when laying the foundations for a digital future.

1. Frictionless registration

In the digital world, ease of registration is critical to securing new customers. In some industries, digital managers are still striving to achieve “one click,” prioritising frictionless registration above all else. But at ZealiD we believe the whole product experience should be frictionless for the customer - not just the first registration step.

The user’s relationship with a product is ultimately defined by much more than just the sign-up process. Lowering the barrier to entry alone is not necessarily the best strategy for customer retention. Focusing all efforts on improving initial conversion rates will be detrimental if the customer subsequently experiences friction later in the process.

At ZealiD we believe that best-in-class registration is only the first piece of the digital puzzle. Businesses must continue to deliver the frictionless experience throughout the product lifecycle.

In some industries, providing the customer with terms and conditions and asking them to click “approve” is enough. But there is a growing need amongst more sophisticated services and products (in sectors such as finance, healthcare and insurance) to produce a digital contract and a signature that withstands the scrutiny of a regulator, consumer protection body and court of law.

At ZealiD we see e-signing and authorisation as an integral part of a digital service. And over a service’s lifecycle, the business will inevitably need to ask the customer to agree to updated terms and conditions, new contracts and authorisation, so its e-signing functionality must be robust and efficient.

In the new digital age, service providers must equip themselves with the technology necessary for the customer to provide a clear, non-reputable and legally compliant electronic signature. At ZealiD, we believe this is best achieved using FaceID.

3. Authentication with FaceID

Surprisingly, many services still use rudimentary login credentials such as an email address and password. With Chrome and other advanced browsers, credential management is built-in and is therefore far less of a burden on the user than it used to be.

Nevertheless, switching between devices, updating passwords and being the subject of hacking and phishing contributes to an adverse user experience. And where services contain sensitive data, or are subject to requirements from PSD2 and other regulation, single factor authentication is no longer permitted.

At ZealiD we believe sign-in across all devices should be supported with a smartphone FaceID (or TouchID) authentication process. This puts the user’s smartphone at the centre of the process and completely removes the need for passwords.

4. Customer care empowerment

Empowering your customer care team starts with successful and secure identification of the account or service holder. Where more and more sensitive personal data is available - and online services in sectors such as finance, healthcare and insurance contain controls and features that put data, funds and assets at risk - users need secure ways of interacting with offline phone support.

Workarounds such as asking a consumer for answers to personal questions is of course an option. But does it provide a satisfactory service?

At ZealiD we believe in delivering a seamless transition from online authorisation to offline, using the same mechanisms that were set up during the registration process.

5. Fluid consent

Digital services need to function in broader interconnected ecosystems. All online ecosystems are powered by APIs. Allowing the user to connect to other services and sources of data will improve retention rates and loyalty to your service. This requires active consent and participation from the user over and over again.

Making the leap to integrating APIs for importing and exporting data requires the FaceID-powered experiences mentioned in sections two and three above. Sharing data should always be subject to authorisation, but this can be achieved securely and efficiently with FaceID.

The potential of digital technologies is vast and can improve the efficiency, transparency, speed and security of a huge range of processes. The current pace of technological change is breathtaking, and customer expectations continue to grow in relation to the experience they expect when deploying a new service or product.

At ZealiD we help all types of businesses across different industries to both meet and exceed these expectations while taking a long-term, forward-thinking view on digitalisation.