For brands that are transforming, the context and experience of consumers must drive all functions of the business. And, loyalty is earned through the establishment of trust during a customer's journey with the brand.

Recently, I had two impactful digital moments that I thought to share.

Experience 1: Downloading Video from a Drone, Customer Service & Social Business

The first experience involved helping my teenage son figure out how to download video off of his Phantom drone. To my surprise, he actually asked for my help.

While looking at the iPad controller application, I looked over to see the owner's manual still in the plastic wrapper. In an effort not to appear upset that he hadn't read the directions, I asked, "Did you take a look at the directions?" The response I received was, "No, if we can't figure it out, I'll just use my phone to search for a video on YouTube to get the answer." And, after a few minutes struggling with the problem at hand, YouTube served its purpose and solved the problem with one search for the right result.

Insight #1: Brands get one shot at the right customer service experience before social and network resources are employed to solve the problem. The interface and experience must be easily understood, time-friendly and frictionless.

Experience 2: Determining How to Make SCORM Compliant and IP Protected Video Content

The second digital experience that surprised me this week occurred when I purchased Camtasia. I literally purchased and downloaded the software, watched an introduction video about the UI and features and started practicing recording within 5 minutes. I was able to learn how to use my computer camera, desktop capture and editing features quickly and with relative ease.

The experience was effortless until I recognized my need for SCORM compliant videos and protection of my digital assets and IP. My first instinct was to talk with a professional contact in my network to see if she had a quick answer. She immediately started researching the problem using Google. And, having had the YouTube video customer services experience with my son earlier in the week, I looked to see if Camtasia had customer service assets that addressed my problem on their site. Within five minutes of hanging up the phone with my 'call a friend' lifeline, I found two videos on Camtasia's blog that directly addressed both of my specific concerns. And, my network contact sent me the same links as well as 2 or 3 additional options for the IP needs.

It was obvious that Camtasia the brand knew me as a customer and wanted to help. For good measure, I also looked at a number of external, non-branded Q&A sites and found other customers sharing accolades about the responsiveness of the software company to the requests and needs of its customers from both a product development and customer service standpoint. This social proof spoke volumes to me and re-affirmed my perceived value of the brand with which I had just had my first interaction less than an hour before. My confidence in my purchase was validated by my network and satisfied customers, none of whom I knew personally.

Insight #2: Getting customer-obsessed is easy when you think like your customer. Brands that solve problems by answering real customer questions enable self-service and customer thanks, praise and advocacy, whether they see and hear about it or not.

Take Aways

• We are all uber empowered at little to no cost (besides time, which is the new currency of value). Brands have woken up to the reality that their customers expect information, access and personalized experiences 24/7. Customer experience has never been more important than it is today, particularly during micro-moments of consumer need. And, loyalty is earned through the establishment of trust during a customer's journey with the brand.

• Customer service is about to improve, exponentially. With the acceleration of cognitive computing, AI and data accessibility, customer service is going to radically improve, soon. Access to the right content to solve a problem and frictionless experiences to utilize the wealth of data and information is going to be at the fingertips of every consumer. When the proactive, anticipated and personalized servicing of needs become pervasive, we will all be functioning faster, better and with less angst and frustration.

• For brands that are truly transforming, the context and experience of the consumer drives all functions of the business. Digital experiences are getting easier, social proof matters and reliable access to worldwide resources has arrived.