The Mesh of Human Behavior and Technology: CX Expert Saroni Kundu on Building Customer-Centric Businesses
No matter the industry, customer experience (CX) is key to building trust and loyalty. If you’re not delighting your customers with seamless web experiences or digital onboarding, you risk losing those users to the competition. At Shufti, we couldn’t agree more. But CX isn’t exactly easy to measure — so how do you build and prove its value?
In the first episode of the Beyond Borders podcast, Shufti’s Vice President of Product Marketing Becky Park sat down with seasoned CX professional and entrepreneur Saroni Kundu. Read on as we dive into her insights on what CX is (and isn’t), as well as how to build and demonstrate its value to both the business and the customers who use it.
The Mesh of Human Behavior with the Interaction of Technology
Every touchpoint of the customer journey is an opportunity to make an impression. When it comes to building a customer experience, there are a few components to understand:
- First, the User Interface (UI) forms the visual foundation, or what the user actually sees.
- The User Experience (UX) focuses on usability, or as Kundu explained, “It’s not about looking pretty, but about how quickly users can complete tasks.”
- Finally, Customer Experience (CX) represents the “bigger circle around UX” that encompasses the entire user journey across all touchpoints and interactions.
Kundu’s own professional journey followed a similar pattern. She began her career in software engineering as a programmer before later transitioning into project management and software delivery management.
When a mentor introduced her to the world of UX, it changed everything.
“I loved the mesh of human behavior with the interaction of technology…I am very much a people person, and because I am in technology, it just made sense,” said Kundu.
When Kundu later moved on to another company, she had the opportunity to do not just UX strategy work, but look at the end-to-end customer journey as a holistic experience.
“I love being part of a solution for companies who are customer centric,” she said.
A Strategic Approach to Customer Experience
Every company wants to deliver exceptional customer experience — but how do you actually do that?
1. Start with a Clear Vision
When starting a program, begin by asking “What does success look like?” From there you can define what tools, processes, and resources the team will need to achieve its goals.
2. Do the Research
Comprehensive market and customer research can offer critical insights into your current CX state. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses, you can answer questions like, “Why do customers abandon applications here?” or “Why do they stop the process there?”
3. Cross-Functional Collaboration is Key
Kundu emphasizes the importance of working closely with marketing and product teams, who often have valuable customer insights to share. Embracing a servant leadership mindset and respecting the work that has already taken place between these teams is critical to ensure that everyone feels heard.
4. Lead with the Data
Armed with these data points (rather than just anecdotal evidence), you can clearly articulate the CX issues alongside potential solutions.
By directly connecting these solutions to strategic business objectives, you can demonstrate the measurable value of the work — from increasing conversions to reducing application dropoff.
Bridging Human Behavior and Technology: The Strategic Value of CX
In the end, CX must be embraced as a company-wide cultural goal, requiring collaboration across departments, data-driven decision making, and alignment with business objectives.
Whether you’re evaluating an identity verification solution like Shufti to streamline onboarding or optimizing your entire digital experience, success depends on creating frictionless interactions at every customer touchpoint.
By measuring impact through meaningful metrics, CX professionals can demonstrate value to stakeholders while delighting customers with experiences that build trust, loyalty, and drive business growth.
