As we move into a new business year, promising to be the most CX-‐focused ever, we wanted to share some key predictions that we believe will come to pass.
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8 Customer Experience Predictions for 2016
1. suitecx ©2015, suitecx Inc. December 20, 2015 Customer Experience Management: 8 Customer Experience Predictions for 2016 As we move into a new business year, promising to be the most CX-‐focused ever, we wanted to share some key predictions that we believe will come to pass: 1. We will start to better define “Customer Experience” One of the things that happens when a trend is spotted or a market starts to heat up, is that everyone jumps on that term to talk about something that may or may not be actually related to it. In recent years Customer Experience, marketers, digital mavens, call center software providers, heck almost most everyone in Marketing Technology and digital clickstream management is shouting that they do Customer Experience. Some certainly do aspects of it, but not many can provide a complete 360 degree view into the experience that includes insights from online and offline, data and behavior, emotional andsocial. Thought Leadership #6: Disruptive competitors will appear when and where you least expect them. 2. Customer Experience will expand to focus on employee engagement. As the economy recovers, there is more demand for specialized talent to stay competitive. Attracting and retaining talent will be critical to future growth. In order to make your organization attractive to current and future employees, it will be necessary to treat them as valuable individuals, providing fulfilling work and varied paths to success. Companies like Glass Door help potential candidates learn how others have rated your company as an employer. Social media lets you connect with friends to get the “inside scoop.” Bottom line, companies will need to improve the employee experience in order to improve the customer experience. 3. Customer Experience will become more integrated into an organization’s DNA. Organizationally, CEM teams tend to come from the Marketing and Service departments. A few companies have begin to separate the function into a free standing group with a holistic view across all parts of the organization. Every successful approach requires C-‐level support, new organizational structures and improved internal communications. Forward thinking companies are beginning to realize that internal barriers between IT, marketing and finance are preventing them from being agile in adapting to changing market conditions. Therefore, more companies are beginning to promote CX as its own cross-‐functional area, create goals that require cooperation between several departments and set up governance that enables the expertise of other disciplines to be included in the decision-‐ making. To quote Oprah, “the more we know…the better we do.” 4. Customer Experience will benefit from a review of the existing marketing technology and data stacks so all the customer data can be combined into a single 360o view of customer. On the technology front we are seeing many new systems that have integrated customer data, campaign management, offer management, online advertising, machine learning, text mining, etc. Many of these integrated solutions are not perfect, but they are certainly a big step ahead. Now is the time to consolidate all the customer data in one place so you can use it effectively to engage. Once you have gotten this data in place –clearly not an easy task – you can replace your legacy platforms with more flexible and dynamic technology.
2. suitecx ©2015, suitecx Inc. December 20, 2015 About SuiteCX® Backed by over 120 years of combined experience in customer experience consulting, SuiteCX is a set of software tools that allow users to make fact based decisions and process improvements that are grounded in the customer experience. Customer-‐centric diagnostics, touch inventories, journey maps, customer storytelling and precision marketing are all components of this groundbreaking software. Thought Leadership 5. More emphasis will be put on understanding WHY customers do what they do, not just on the what and when. Most organizations have an understanding of what their prospects and customers do when they come to the website or read an email. We have data on what people view, how long they search, what emails they open, when they post on social media, how to retarget them, etc. What is missing is all the data we can’t easily gather, which helps us understand why the customer does what they do. More emphasis will be put on ethnographic research to help us get a more thorough understanding of what are customers are thinking and feeling as they engage with companies. People can now buy a car online but they still might prefer to go to the dealership for the emotional experience of the test drive, the new car smell, the way it handles on the road, the sound the engine makes, etc. Don’t underestimate the value of the emotional and psychological connections to the purchase experience. 6. Disruptive competitors will appear when and where you least expect them. Disruption is everywhere these days –just look at the meteoric rise of Uber, Apple Pay, the Internet of Things, etc. In order to prepare for the future, organizations will have to spend more time and energy looking outside of their current environment to understand how the landscape is changing. Companies will begin to use CEM to develop new products and services. Competitive customer experience audits can tell you where your competitors are doing a great job and where they are not. It can also show you the white space of opportunities that aren’t being addressed. Focusing on the customer experience in product development will help you quickly recognize problems and opportunities that will enable you to grow, pivot and survive. 7. Mobile will be fully integrated into customer experience planning so there is more synergy between online and offline. Many organizations are doing a great job at improving their websites to make them mobile friendly, easy to use and easy to connect with a push of a button. However, they are still not sending targeted, relevant messages that use the power of geo-‐location, customer history and current conditions. As mobile continues to grow in importance, learning how to build better mobile apps and more engagement will be critical to the business success. Customer experience and journey mapping will help you understand what customer’s are trying to accomplish and enable you to create more intelligent cross channel experiences. 8. Customer Experience will flex depending on customer segments’ needs. Many businesses still think that Baby Boomers are not using mobile or social media, and therefore that old fashioned methods of communicating are sufficient. In the new CX era, consumers will not be defined by their age as much as their interests. What this means is each segment has a different definition of a good customer experience. It’s up to your business to understand what each of your key customer segments wants, and then deliver different experiences that meet or exceed expectations. One size does not fit all, and this will be ever more important in the coming year. We are very excited to see what the new year brings. If even half of these predictions come true, the winners won’t only be the companies that implement CX improvements, but also the customers who benefit from them. Customer Experience Management: 8 Customer Experience Predictions for 2016
1. suitecx ©2015, suitecx Inc. December 20, 2015 Customer Experience Management: 8 Customer Experience Predictions for 2016 As we move into a new business year, promising to be the most CX-‐focused ever, we wanted to share some key predictions that we believe will come to pass: 1. We will start to better define “Customer Experience” One of the things that happens when a trend is spotted or a market starts to heat up, is that everyone jumps on that term to talk about something that may or may not be actually related to it. In recent years Customer Experience, marketers, digital mavens, call center software providers, heck almost most everyone in Marketing Technology and digital clickstream management is shouting that they do Customer Experience. Some certainly do aspects of it, but not many can provide a complete 360 degree view into the experience that includes insights from online and offline, data and behavior, emotional andsocial. Thought Leadership #6: Disruptive competitors will appear when and where you least expect them. 2. Customer Experience will expand to focus on employee engagement. As the economy recovers, there is more demand for specialized talent to stay competitive. Attracting and retaining talent will be critical to future growth. In order to make your organization attractive to current and future employees, it will be necessary to treat them as valuable individuals, providing fulfilling work and varied paths to success. Companies like Glass Door help potential candidates learn how others have rated your company as an employer. Social media lets you connect with friends to get the “inside scoop.” Bottom line, companies will need to improve the employee experience in order to improve the customer experience. 3. Customer Experience will become more integrated into an organization’s DNA. Organizationally, CEM teams tend to come from the Marketing and Service departments. A few companies have begin to separate the function into a free standing group with a holistic view across all parts of the organization. Every successful approach requires C-‐level support, new organizational structures and improved internal communications. Forward thinking companies are beginning to realize that internal barriers between IT, marketing and finance are preventing them from being agile in adapting to changing market conditions. Therefore, more companies are beginning to promote CX as its own cross-‐functional area, create goals that require cooperation between several departments and set up governance that enables the expertise of other disciplines to be included in the decision-‐ making. To quote Oprah, “the more we know…the better we do.” 4. Customer Experience will benefit from a review of the existing marketing technology and data stacks so all the customer data can be combined into a single 360o view of customer. On the technology front we are seeing many new systems that have integrated customer data, campaign management, offer management, online advertising, machine learning, text mining, etc. Many of these integrated solutions are not perfect, but they are certainly a big step ahead. Now is the time to consolidate all the customer data in one place so you can use it effectively to engage. Once you have gotten this data in place –clearly not an easy task – you can replace your legacy platforms with more flexible and dynamic technology.
2. suitecx ©2015, suitecx Inc. December 20, 2015 About SuiteCX® Backed by over 120 years of combined experience in customer experience consulting, SuiteCX is a set of software tools that allow users to make fact based decisions and process improvements that are grounded in the customer experience. Customer-‐centric diagnostics, touch inventories, journey maps, customer storytelling and precision marketing are all components of this groundbreaking software. Thought Leadership 5. More emphasis will be put on understanding WHY customers do what they do, not just on the what and when. Most organizations have an understanding of what their prospects and customers do when they come to the website or read an email. We have data on what people view, how long they search, what emails they open, when they post on social media, how to retarget them, etc. What is missing is all the data we can’t easily gather, which helps us understand why the customer does what they do. More emphasis will be put on ethnographic research to help us get a more thorough understanding of what are customers are thinking and feeling as they engage with companies. People can now buy a car online but they still might prefer to go to the dealership for the emotional experience of the test drive, the new car smell, the way it handles on the road, the sound the engine makes, etc. Don’t underestimate the value of the emotional and psychological connections to the purchase experience. 6. Disruptive competitors will appear when and where you least expect them. Disruption is everywhere these days –just look at the meteoric rise of Uber, Apple Pay, the Internet of Things, etc. In order to prepare for the future, organizations will have to spend more time and energy looking outside of their current environment to understand how the landscape is changing. Companies will begin to use CEM to develop new products and services. Competitive customer experience audits can tell you where your competitors are doing a great job and where they are not. It can also show you the white space of opportunities that aren’t being addressed. Focusing on the customer experience in product development will help you quickly recognize problems and opportunities that will enable you to grow, pivot and survive. 7. Mobile will be fully integrated into customer experience planning so there is more synergy between online and offline. Many organizations are doing a great job at improving their websites to make them mobile friendly, easy to use and easy to connect with a push of a button. However, they are still not sending targeted, relevant messages that use the power of geo-‐location, customer history and current conditions. As mobile continues to grow in importance, learning how to build better mobile apps and more engagement will be critical to the business success. Customer experience and journey mapping will help you understand what customer’s are trying to accomplish and enable you to create more intelligent cross channel experiences. 8. Customer Experience will flex depending on customer segments’ needs. Many businesses still think that Baby Boomers are not using mobile or social media, and therefore that old fashioned methods of communicating are sufficient. In the new CX era, consumers will not be defined by their age as much as their interests. What this means is each segment has a different definition of a good customer experience. It’s up to your business to understand what each of your key customer segments wants, and then deliver different experiences that meet or exceed expectations. One size does not fit all, and this will be ever more important in the coming year. We are very excited to see what the new year brings. If even half of these predictions come true, the winners won’t only be the companies that implement CX improvements, but also the customers who benefit from them. Customer Experience Management: 8 Customer Experience Predictions for 2016