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Why IAM Is the Perfect Blend of Security and Customer Experience

Written by Abbas Khan | June 2023

Why IAM Is the Perfect Blend of Security and Customer Experience

Good customer experience is a key factor in building brand loyalty. That’s what at least 73% of people believe, as per a recent report. So, for any customer-focused business, having identity and access management (IAM) solutions is a must. IAM not only creates an ideal balance between convenience and security but also delivers great customer experience.

Since companies are increasingly expanding their customer-facing platforms, there is a need for creating quality online customer experiences.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, online business interactions have increased significantly for customers. Whether it's online media consumption (be that Netflix, YouTube), online classes, office meetings, paying bills, making telehealth appointments, or buying groceries, consumers spend a large chunk of time online. But these online journeys are often cumbersome and complex.

Although these complex online journeys are important in terms of data privacy and security, companies must also put some thought into designing these customer journeys in a way that they are also engaging for the users.

This where IAM can help. IAM forms a perfect blend of security, customer experience, and analytics.

This article talks about why IAM is important for customer experience.

IAM keeps customer experience at the top

It is imperative for companies to make the digital experience pleasant or else they risk losing out on customers.

Thanks to user demands, IAM is evolving from a compliance-based program into an effective business-enabling program. It helps deliver customers a seamless experience while interacting with a digital platform. IAM can help give the customers easy login and offer them services based on the understanding of their specific needs.

IAM helps put consumer experience on top. It allows customers to log in via their social network credentials, thus offering them a hassle-free digital experience. An easier digital experience including easy log-in, fast authentication, and seamless web and mobile interactivity are some of the features that customers expect. IAM helps provide the same.

IAM offers a seamless omnichannel and multichannel experience

Customers these days access services using multiple devices. They also look for biometric authentication or password-less login. That is why organizations need to focus on reducing friction in the login process. The easier it is to access any service, the more convenient it will be to retain customers.

Using customer-centric IAM, companies can ensure that the user experience is optimized to support all channels and is consistent across all of them. An omnichannel single sign-on (SSO) across all digital properties can reduce friction for the customers and provide a single source of authoritative first-party information. By just logging in once, users can automatically be logged into multiple websites or applications. This can significantly improve customer experience.

Some examples of integrated customer experience are -

  • A user placing an order on a website can automatically receive relevant order-related alerts on his/her phone.
  • A customer in a retail store can take a picture of a product in an app to pull up relevant information on the website.
  • Using SSO, users can unlock multiple applications without having to log in again.

IAM reduces the risk of cyberattacks

For good customer experience, it is equally important to safeguard customer data. IAM can help reduce the risk of cyberattacks. It can help combat fraud and prevent accounts from being taken over. Using methods like multifactor authentication and identity-proofing, IAM can create a secure journey cycle for the customers.

Depending on the desired customer experience, companies can decide to focus on specific sources of risk. Moreover, focusing on customer feedback can help companies alleviate customer pain points. For example, to reduce the complexity, customers can be given the freedom to choose their preferred multifactor method from a list of options.

A customer-sensitive and risk-based approach can help build a user journey that is not only secure but also offers good customer experience.

IAM provides a single customer view

Businesses have a lot of data on their customers which they have collected over the years. But in most cases, this data is difficult to use since it is spread across various repositories. This is where IAM shines.

IAM can provide data on customers' identities and behaviors. This enables the creation of a detailed profile on each individual customer.

Having a single customer view with customer identity details, purchase histories, and buying trends can help organizations improve sales forecasting, personalized marketing, and new product development.

IAM addresses data privacy and regulatory compliance concerns

For any IAM solution, data privacy is an essential part. It offers customers control over where and how their data is shared.

A good IAM solution allows customers to give their consent for data sharing. It also offers preference management that allows customers to decide how you collect and utilize their personal data. It can also help organizations be compliant with local data privacy laws.

Conclusion

IAM has become an important part of excellent customer service. It helps reduce the risks of security breaches without compromising the customer experience. It reduces the friction associated with customer interaction which benefits customers and organizations alike.

But implementing IAM can be a little tricky. However, with the help of Abacus, the process becomes a lot simpler. At Abacus, we are fully aware of the fact that customer experience is as important as data security. If you'd like to learn how Abacus can help you in implementing IAM solutions, the get in touch with us.

 

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