More and more, customers prefer to conduct business via digital channels. However, when it comes to their interactions with government organizations, customer satisfaction with digital channels is at its lowest point in eight years. While much of the private sector has figured out ways to overcome common pain points such as redundant login prompts or disjointed portal navigation, digital experience (DX) in the public sector still faces challenges.
Customers aren’t the only population concerned about DX. In fact, 78 percent of government officials indicated that digital capabilities allow their employees to work better with their customers, yet 73 percent believe that their organization’s capabilities are behind that of the private sector. With customers’ appetites for digital channels on the rise and expectations for digital security continuing to grow, implementing digital transformations where identity (ID) and DX work together to create a seamless customer experience can drive value for both public sector organizations and their customers.
Customers are already familiar with experiences that incorporate ID and DX solutions. They expect a high level of security for both their identity and data, personalized content, and the ability to complete end-to-end transactions with ease. Many popular websites couple ID and DX to create a unified digital experience that allows customers to access a secured personal account, view content customized to their preferences and previous browsing history, and complete transactions with saved and secure billing addresses and payment information. All within a single online portal. This seamless experience would not be possible without the security provided by ID products and the modern user interface that DX products offer.
A key difference between public and private sector sites is that customers visit government digital portals when they “have to” or when they “need something”—not to window shop. Delivering value to customers means securing their sensitive data while getting them in and out as quickly and easily as possible, and allowing them to complete all required steps online at one time. After all, many have experienced the frustration that goes along with thinking you can finish your registration or payment online and finding out at the end that you must physically sign and mail a piece of paper or print a form to submit along with a physical check.
The Ohio Digital Experience (ODX) pairs ID and DX products—powered by IBM’s leading engagement and security tools—to deliver the type of experience customers expect from government. For example, using ODX allowed the state to bring more secure access to a portal that centralizes and streamlines the workforce’s access to content hosted by multiple agencies. ODX’s ID products supported improvements to the portal’s single sign-on (SSO) capability, creating a single workforce identity through a one-time set-up process. ODX’s DX products were used to design and support the user interface for the identity solution, meaning customers were guided along the process with visual cues in a modern look and feel consistent with the authenticated portal design, making the experience more seamless. ODX’s ID and DX products were also combined to improve the portal’s self-service password reset capability, allowing customers to verify their identity via mobile, email, or security question options and get back into the system more quickly. This effort resulted in a 75 percent reduction in help desk calls to request manual password resets—a huge win!
When considering customer expectations for digital, ID or DX capabilities alone do not accomplish the goal of achieving a secure, seamless customer experience. But by using both secure identity components and user-friendly digital platforms in tandem, both public and private sector organizations can reach true digital transformation.
The Ohio Digital Experience
Understanding ID and DX
Digital identity (ID) solutions strengthen the security and privacy of customer information and data by implementing the appropriate level of identity assurance through self-service channels—no more calling a help desk and waiting on hold to reset your password.
Digital experience (DX) solutions fuel digital transformation by helping organizations create and easily maintain modern, responsive and ADA-compliant websites and portals.
When used in tandem, ID and DX solutions can provide the seamless experience customers have come to expect.
To learn more about ODX, visit odx.ohio.gov. Read more about the importance of bringing marketing and IT together here. And feel free to reach out to one of these fine folks with your questions: Kevin Heckel, Paul do Forno, John McEwan, Keith Cherry.
Paul do Forno is managing director with Deloitte Digital in the Advertising, Marketing, and Commerce practice. He helps companies transform via digital platforms. Follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Kevin Heckel is managing director with Deloitte’s Risk and Financial Advisory practice, specializing in application security and business process controls. Follow him on LinkedIn.