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What’s the key to establishing brand loyalty and thus laying the foundation for your company’s success? One big factor is an excellent customer experience (CX). With people spending more and more time on the Internet – whether it’s for shopping, banking or even official government business – digital security also plays a major role in the success of “customer experience 4.0”. After all, customers will only come back if they feel that their sensitive data is properly protected from unauthorised access during online transactions. At the same time, they have high expectations in terms of usability: the login must be secure but not awkward or lengthy. That’s why modern customer identity and access management that focuses on these needs helps to optimise the user experience by providing added security and convenience.
First of all, here are a few figures that illustrate why it is enormously important for online service providers to offer their customers an optimal customer experience. According to a PwC study, 73 per cent of respondents say that the customer experience plays an important role in their purchasing decisions. In addition, a third of all participants say that just one bad experience would stop them from buying from a favourite brand again. However, if companies manage to offer their customers a satisfying customer experience, it strengthens brand loyalty. And not only that – 63 per cent of those surveyed in the PwC study also stated that they would share more information with a company if this were the case. This, in turn, gives e-commerce merchants, online banks, and insurers an excellent reason to tailor their offerings even more closely to customer preferences and thus further improve the customer experience 4.0.
CIAM for a better CX
Customer identity and access management (CIAM) makes it easier for companies to manage user data, such as login information or authorisations to access collected data. To this end, all data and information about and relating to a user are stored as a digital identity. This makes it possible to create individual user or customer profiles. When customers’ personal interests are stored in these profiles, they can be presented with tailored offers – a major bonus in terms of customer experience. The most modern CIAM systems also offer additional features that enhance the CX further still. These include single sign-on, passwordless authentication and various self-service options.
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Single sign-on (SSO)
Single sign-On, also known as social login, allows customers to log in using an existing social media account. Then, the authentication of their identity is accomplished with the already verified sign-on information in the social media account.
The key benefit of a single sign-on in terms of CX is that customers no longer have the hassle of having to set up a new online account. -
Passwordless authentication
Relying solely on passwords for authentication has a potential risk for customers and companies that should never be underestimated. Long, complicated passwords are hard to remember, so many people prefer to use either short passwords or one single complex password for several accounts. However, this increases the risk of a successful cyberattack. Passwordless authentication puts an end to this risk. With this method, users authenticate themselves with biometric identity features such as facial recognition or fingerprint scans, which is no problem at all with modern devices.
The key benefit of CX is that biometric identity features are virtually forgery-proof, which is a huge boon in terms of security. And there is no need to remember complicated passwords, making login a snap.
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Self-service
A CIAM system allows users to access their data themselves and decide what information a provider can store and access. They can also take advantage of various self-service functions to change their address, subscribe or unsubscribe to newsletters or configure their data protection settings.
The key benefit of CX is that customers no longer have to wait for a response from support; instead, they can design their own experience with the provider.
Secure authentication via CIAM for many industries
A modern CIAM system naturally also fulfils the users’ expectations in terms of data protection across all interaction channels while complying with all legal requirements and regulations, for example, when it comes to solutions for the financial sector. That way, it plays an important role in ensuring the perfect user experience on every end device. In addition, state-of-the-art CIAM solutions that rely on passwordless authentication are so versatile and easy to integrate into existing IT infrastructures that they can be used in e-commerce, e-banking, online insurers and even by public authorities, public administrations and healthcare providers. In many industries, they ensure that passwords are no longer a risk factor and that logging in is a secure yet convenient process for customers – thus delivering an optimal customer experience 4.0.
