Mind the Gap: building equitable digital experiences for Citizens and Customers
There's (still) a significant gap between citizen versus customer experiences – but maybe there doesn't need to be.
In the age of digital innovation, Personalisation has become a ubiquitous concept, transforming various aspects of our lives. From online shopping recommendations to tailored news feeds, where personalised experiences have become the norm. Yet, Personalisation is not limited to the private sector. Governments worldwide are recognising the potential of Personalisation to improve the delivery of public services and foster more robust citizen engagement. In this post, we will explore how Personalisation can enhance government services for citizens, leading to more effective and efficient public administration.
Why is there such a difference in the quality of the digital experience out there?
It may seem strange to think about – but it seems to me like there's a vast digital divide, especially when there are so many tools and proven techniques.
As an experience designer, specialising in Sitecore, I naturally lean into the platform I know – and I see this level of fidelity/granularity of Personalisation can be achieved through Sitecore. But there are many other tools, tech and platforms that the Government can use to get there.
How do we accelerate the delivery of personalised services while addressing concerns raised? What are the current misperceptions we hear?
1. It's not needed
Citizens expect Personalisation to be seamlessly integrated into their online experience, as the influence of consumer-driven interactions shapes expectations. The reality is personalised experiences are essential for delivering a high-quality digital experience (DX).
2. This is only for the private sector
While private enterprise has pioneered many of these concepts and technologies, it has also demonstrated the potential and reduced risks associated with similar initiatives. Private enterprise has led the way for Government to follow and capitalise on the opportunities presented. By drawing inspiration from the lessons learned in the private sector, the Government can embark on similar initiatives with greater confidence, driving innovation and progress.
Personalisation has the potential to enhance service delivery and serve a broader range of users - improving accessibility flexibility, including those in rural or remote locations, individuals with a disability, or another native language. Many of these scenarios can be enhanced by serving segmented content to meet the user where they are to improve user satisfaction.
3. Too costly, too complex
Many organisations have seen significant 'cost to serve' reductions by moving to digital channels, enabling self-serve features or transacting online. Additionally, setting up Personalisation has never been easier, thanks to the growing availability of tools that will allow detailed insights and analytics. These tools are crucial in informing and enhancing an organisation's digital capabilities and maturity uplift.
4. Privacy and security concerns
Public perceptions about their data vary depending on the individual; for this reason, we should give people the choice to opt-in for personalised, data-driven services. A Deloitte Access Economics report on improved services – found reliability and data security are the third most identified benefits of public cloud.
Well, where should Government start?
These are three simple steps to get going…
1. Uncover the digital experiences users want with Customer Experience Management (CXM) and Customer Data Platform (CDP)
Customer Experience Management (CXM) is a holistic approach to understanding and improving customers' overall experience with your organisation. It involves analysing customer interactions across various touchpoints, like your website, mobile app, social media, and even customer support, to gain insights into their preferences, needs, and behaviours. By understanding these interactions, you can optimise digital experiences and tailor your communication strategies to deliver personalised content that is more relevant to each person.
CXM encompasses both marketing strategies and technology solutions. It involves developing a deep understanding of customer journeys and tactics to engage digital audiences at every touchpoint. This may include optimising the website design, enhancing the user experience by personalising content, and ensuring seamless interactions across channels.
A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a software platform that collects, unifies, and analyses customer data from various sources to gain a comprehensive overview. It enables organisations to aggregate data from multiple touchpoints, such as website visits, social media interactions, email responses, and transaction history, into a centralised database.
Once the data is collated and unified, a CDP enables analysis and segmentation of their user base to identify high-value customers or specific target segments. Organisations can create targeted and personalised marketing strategies by understanding these behaviours and preferences.
CDPs also facilitate activating this data, allowing organisations to deliver relevant messages, offers, and content to customers at the right time through various channels.
CXM and CDP help you understand customer interactions, provide personalised experiences, and optimise their marketing and communication efforts based on data-driven insights.
Draw out the customer insights by developing hypotheses; you can test…
2. Start small and scale
Even simple Personalisation such as 'localisation' can provide significant digital uplift and the tactics to move away from a flat, one-size-fits-all experience into a segmented, deeply personalised one. A few that I'd consider might be:
Recognising where a user is coming from 'remember my previous interactions'
Geolocation – to provide specific, relevant, localised content
Provide relevant profiled content based on the topics relevant to the visitor
3. Then, look to scale by experimenting and testing to see what's actually working in real-time.
Developing 1:1 Personalisation in Citizen Experiences is one of the primary potential advantages of using platforms such as Sitecore in government services. It can provide the ability to deliver customised user experiences with significant 'quality of visit' uplift opportunities. By collecting and analysing interaction data, governments can gain valuable insights into preferences, needs, and behaviours. This information can then be used to tailor services and information to meet the specific requirements of citizens, thereby enhancing their overall experience.
Personalisation can potentially transform government services by placing citizens at the centre of service delivery. Through customised user experiences, joined-up services, targeted communication, and data-driven decision-making, governments can create a citizen-centric ecosystem that improves the overall quality of public services.
While implementing Personalisation and multi-channel engagement throughout government digital services may be ambitious and require significant mindset changes to adopt new policies and ways of working – Personalisation is no longer a 'nice to have'; I believe it's a must-have – the only question is how to accelerate the transformation before the gap grows too wide.