With our Web 3.1 Leadership Summit we sought to cover an array of Web 3.0 issues and their impacts on us individually and as a society. Of particular interest is the use of Web 3 by businesses. This role was filled by best-selling author and entrepreneur, Peter Shankman, who was also a spark which lit the fire under Chris Heuer’s feet to produce this event. His focus on customer experience, media and digital trends for two decades and in the Web 3 space for several years has provided him key insights on how businesses should apply Web 3 to customer experience design.
Peter emphasizes the importance of freedom of choice in customer payment options especially. Customers must be able to pay with the form and method of payment they want to use. But there are still many challenges, and not just technical ones. As a New York resident, he has learned that, there are some coins he is not able to convert to cash based on current state laws. In other cases, he often has to wait up to five days to be able to access newly acquired cryptocurrencies. Far from the promise of the instant, easy, and decentralized payment infrastructure that Web 3.0 promises.
Peter pointed out that the principle reason Amazon is not going anywhere any time soon is because it is so easy to transact business with them. Buy something, realize you don’t want it, return it, get a refund. Simple. Once Web 3 becomes easier to use, it will change the game for everyone. Equally important to ease of use is transparency, being open and honest with your customers about what they can do and what they can have. If you aren’t, he says they will go somewhere else.
Your customers and clients are the ones controlling the future of your company, so if they don’t like what you are doing, they will easily go somewhere else. With more developed, easy to use Web 3 technologies, this will be even easier for them to do.
The bar for a great customer experience is currently really low. For many, if you can meet minimal expectations, that is considered a great experience. In Peter’s words, you just need “to suck slightly less than everyone else.” That shows how easily you could dominate your market simply by delivering a great customer experience.
Relevance has always been key. “Simplicity is going to be the new relevance,” said Peter. The focus needs to be on the end result desired by the customer. Your customer does not care what you have to do to get things done. What they are concerned with is that what is delivered is easy to get, transparent and not burdened by a bunch of extra fees. If you can deliver a great experience, for example, the seamless integration of all cryptocurrencies, you can really differentiate yourself today.
Watch the full 21 minute keynote from Peter Shankman below. There is a wealth of insights and actionable advice for how your business can start thinking about the sort of customer experience made possible by Web 3.0, and Web 3.1 technologies and design patterns. It’s time to start the exploration and experimentation.