2015 Speaker eBooks

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE LEADERS 2015

We asked some of our speakers ahead of the 2015 summit the following questions:

Question 1: How are you currently using Customer Journey Mapping to interact with your customers?
Question 2: How do you approach Omni-channel in your organization?
Question 3: How do you go about adopting a mobile first strategy?
Question 4: How do you choose which digital channels to invest in?

Here are the answers from:

Question 1:

How are you currently using Customer Journey Mapping to interact with your customers?

I’m a really big fan of something I call the Future State Architecture Map (TM pending). It is a tool that I started using back in 2005/2006 to define what the future should look like. I build it by working with customers and listening to not only their requests and requirements, but for their unstated needs. The things that they don’t know that they need in order to make them more loyal to your company. That roadmap is something I’ve used in many companies since, and it becomes the backbone of a company’s business strategy. Once I have that future roadmap, then I work on individual journey maps for the spots where I know we need to focus.

Question 2:

How do you approach Omni-channel in your organization?

Omni-channel is a fascinating issue for many companies. So many of the firms that I work with have multiple leaders over multiple channels and then overlaid with multiple leaders of different P&Ls, products, whatever! It just becomes noise. I always recommend bringing all the channels under one leader, and if you can’t do that, at least bring the accountability for what message is the priority under one leader. Once you control the message, you can start to create the consistency that consumers crave.

Question 3:

How do you go about adopting a mobile first strategy?

I was recently at a firm where we needed to do a complete overhaul of our digital properties. It was a no brainer for us to build on a mobile enabled platform. What I’ve found interesting as I work across industries is that not everyone does everything on their mobile. So many people do their “home-work” from their laptops in the office, or over Saturday morning coffee at their old desktop! It is amazing when you actually take the time to not only see, but to watch how your customers interface with your company. The key is not to build mobile at the expense of the other channels.

Question 4:

How do you choose which digital channels to invest in?

There is so much talk of “meeting people where they are” these days. I feel like that statement is a bit early 00s. I think that the reality is that we now live in a world where consumers expect to be able to move seamlessly across any and all channels. I’m finding that so many companies are putting so much investment into mobile that they are letting their contact centers slip, or their websites if they are all focused on apps. I think the key is that you have to be balanced. You can’t swing the pendulum so far over to one channel that you lose the others.

Download the eBook and read more answers from:

INSIGHTS FROM DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE LEADERS 2014

We asked some of our speakers ahead of the 2014 summit the following questions:

Question 1: How are you using digital channels to aid your customer experience?
Question 2: How do you align your digital strategies to balance business goals with customer needs?
Question 3: How do you use digital to drive customer retention and conversions?

Question 1:

How can companies use digital channels to aid their customer experience?

Answers by Aimee Lucas:

It’s about incorporating digital channels within the overall customer experience. Beyond in-person and web interactions, consumers with smart phones and tablets have more apps and more sensors that enable them to do more things wherever they go. In response to this, companies will increasingly fuse digital elements into their product offerings and service experiences. Digital-infused experiences also require the company to redesign marketing, sales, service, and support processes to integrate mobile and web with other in-person and remote channels.

Here are some things companies can keep in mind:

• Assume increasing adoption. Whatever comfort level around web and mobile interactions customers (and employees) have today, it will increase in the future as digital experience alternatives become more prevalent in everyone’s lives.
• Continue to focus on usability. Digital experiences won’t deliver benefits of engagement and loyalty if customers cannot be successful. People have more options, more distractions, and less patience. Every organization needs to relentlessly focus on making their products, services, and processes easier for customers to use.
• Connect online with offline. Not everything can or should be done online, so companies need to design experiences that tie together online and offline activities. Temkin Group research shows that consumers prefer to interact with an actual human—over the phone or in person—rather than a self-service channel for activities with more severe consequences for mistakes.
  The bottom line: Companies should stop thinking about digital channels as an alternative to other channels, and instead design experiences incorporating multiple channels aligned with their customer’s journey.