From function to friction
Businesses must embrace friction point analysis to lead the shift toward customer-first experiences.
The business landscape is shifting from function point analysis to friction point analysis, making it crucial to anticipate this trend and adapt client engagement strategies to stay ahead.
Friction points - moments where interactions falter or cause frustration, can hinder customer satisfaction, reduce conversions, and erode loyalty. Identifying and resolving these barriers is key to enhancing experiences, strengthening relationships, and driving growth.
While traditional processes (product creation, sales, service) are built around function points, applying friction point analysis to these workflows can fine-tune operations and accelerate the journey toward a customer-first approach.
Design for every persona
A one-size-fits-all process creates friction- personalization is the key to smoother journeys.
Opening a bank account is a standard process, but does every customer experience it the same way? A well-educated individual and someone with limited literacy skills face vastly different journeys - even though the steps are identical. Why? Because the system isn’t personalized, creating friction for certain personas and making the process longer and frustrating.
Now imagine if the process adapted to each persona. Efficiency would improve, and customer experience would soar.
This is where friction point analysis comes in - identifying and eliminating barriers to create smoother, more personalized interactions. It’s the next evolution in process design.
Similar analysis applies across information services, such as:
Friction hurts loyalty.
Customer friction at any stage can lead to lost sales, churn, and damaged reputation.
GenAIFriction points are barriers that customers face when interacting with a brand at any stage of the journey: awareness, consideration, purchase, or post-purchase. These obstacles can lead to frustration, abandoned purchases, and lost loyalty.
Examples by Stage:
Eliminating friction is critical to improving experience, loyalty, and growth.
Spot and solve friction fast
Understanding customer pain points is the first step to creating seamless experiences.
How to Identify Friction Points
1. Customer Feedback
2. Behavioral Analytics
3. Customer Support Data
4. Usability Testing
Here are some representative examples on how friction points are addressed in different scenarios today:
1. Simplify the journey
2. Improve navigation
3. Enhance support
4. Reduce shipping and payment barriers
5. Personalize interactions
6. Post-purchase engagement.
Tools for friction point analysis
However, industries are changing rapidly with growing consumer demand and continuous tech evolution. How can AI be leveraged to address these challenges?
Fixing friction with AI
A smart framework can detect, analyze, and resolve customer friction - before it hurts your brand.
A reference framework for friction point analysis and remediation.
Friction point analysis and remediation is applicable for any business domain and any customer. A reference framework to address this has key components that include:
Friction point analysis applies across domains and customer journeys. The framework includes:
Conclusion
In business, friction point analysis is essential for understanding where customers face obstacles that hinder their experience with the brand. Identifying and eliminating friction points enables businesses to optimize the customer journey, enhance satisfaction, improve conversion rates, and cultivate long-term loyalty. Achieving this requires vigilant monitoring of customer behavior, feedback, and performance metrics, coupled with proactive resolution of issues that cause frustration. Ultimately, reducing friction ensures seamless experiences - a critical factor for success in today’s competitive market.