A total view of the customer is not enough

Having a 360-degree view of the customer has long been the ambition of customer centric organizations. Being able to identify an individual and offer them a consistently high level of service, informed by knowledge of their past behaviors, buying patterns and preferences, across a variety of channels and locations. But a traditional and static 360° is no longer enough to meet customer expectations and at the same time excel in operational efficiency. Companies need real-time customer profiles to fuel their omnichannel strategy.

Businesses are overwhelmed by multiple channels, and the data they are constantly producing. The focus is shifting to predicting what the customer wants, sometimes before they even know it themselves.

To do that requires harmonizing your experience strategy, technology, data and governance , to move away from the overlap that running dozens of digital and physical channels is creating. It needs to be joined up, certainly, but each with its own function: how does a contact center connect to customer relationship management, how do you integrate data from multiple sources, or share information across functions such as sales, marketing and customer service? How do you do all this within the limitations of privacy regulation?

Digital and Human-powered experience

Great customer experience rests on a vast number of technologies being integrated and finetuned to deliver exceptional outcomes. From personalized interactions to fast resolution, predictive engagement to informed, optimized decision-making, customer experience today is built on technology.

Companies are getting smarter about how they use data to build a picture of the customer and act accordingly. However, whether artificial intelligence-powered chatbots, self-service checkouts or customer-telephony integration, businesses must be careful not to completely remove the human element. Employees are still needed to handle complex issues and resolve escalations; where AI and automation help is in answering transactional questions quickly.

Behind the scenes, technology can triage queries, serve up relevant customer data to inform agents prior to interactions, and analyze sentiment to provide guidance on handling strategies.

Are you extracting value from your data?

Succeeding in customer experience today requires technology, but it is technology powered by data. Artificial intelligence and automation can revolutionize the delivery of great experiences to both customers and employees, but without data the tools cannot function. Big data and data analytics are critical, but having access to data is not a problem for most businesses; what can be is being able to find the right data and use it in real-time.

Quality, accuracy, relevance and timeliness are all challenges that many organizations struggle with in their data, meaning that good governance is vital. So is being able to stitch together that intelligence to drive programs which complete the customer picture. The question for many is how do they industrialize this at scale?

How are you creating exceptional employee experiences?

The customer experience is not isolated – it directly ties to the employee experience. The evidence is clear: engaged employees deliver a better customer experience.

But employees are under pressure like never before. Customer interactions are becoming more complex, increasingly likely to be related to disputes and escalations than general service queries. At the same time, decentralized workforces can leave agents physically isolated from colleagues. While remote working can lead to productivity gains, it can also usher in burnout and morale issues.

To support employees, businesses need to empower their workforces to make decisions as they see fit. Digital workplace solutions can help employees work where they need to, with the tools that best suit their role. To help diffuse and resolve situations, AI and data analytics can give them information to not only understand the customer, but also identify the faster way to a quick resolution, while hyper automation can reduce the need for manual tasks and increasing productivity. Empowerment also improves engagement and retention.