Delivering Engaging Customer Experiences No Longer a Strategic Approach but a Necessity for Business Survival

Transcription

1 Delivering Engaging Customer Experiences No Longer a Strategic Approach but a Necessity for Business Survival To be relevant, businesses must learn how to utilize CRM to seize customer intelligence across all channels to provide proactive and personalized customer experiences WHITE PAPER AUTHORED BY TRIBRIDGE

2 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION THE UNSPOKEN DEAL A NEW PARADIGM FOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE LEVERAGE THE BENEFITS OF CX WITH THE RIGHT CRM PROVIDER CONCLUSION RESOURCES 2014 Tribridge All rights reserved.

3 Executive Summary As competition intensifies and businesses become increasingly customer oriented, customer service, once thought of as a cost center, is gradually becoming one of the key business differentiators that can set a company apart from its rivals. According to a recent Forrester Research report, 86 percent of customer service decision-makers say that a good customer experience is one of their top strategic priorities. Sixty-three percent say that they want their customer experience to be the best in their industry, and 13 percent say that they want to be a leader in customer experience across all industries. As more focus is being placed on the customer experience, businesses can be assured that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is not dead. Companies are not running away from CRM as a valuable service, but they are recognizing that there is a more expansive vision one that incorporates the capabilities of CRM while more fully embracing the next generation of social technologies. CRM is essential and a core building block for successful Customer Experience (CX), but it cannot achieve what CX can do on its own. Customers, along with technology, have evolved in the information age. A competitive advantage is no longer just about the best product, but a combination of product and experience. As individuals, customers expect to be treated as such, with specific needs and wants. The powerful combination of mobility, the cloud, social media and big data makes it easy to deliver a personalized customer service experience and sets the customer expectation bar high for every business. Success in today s customer-driven era means companies must deliver compelling and engaging experiences. The good news is that with the innovation of CX solutions, blending online and offline experiences, customer service teams can accomplish things not possible just a few years ago. CX defines the quality of the connection, and as part of a business CRM strategy, users have access to relevant information when needed. With a 360º view of a customer s prior interactions across all communication channels, businesses can enhance relationships, add value to a new interaction and head off any service issues before they occur. The history will enable customer service agents to quickly build trust as well as the overall relationship. Gartner reported that big data investments in 2013 continued to rise with 64 percent of companies investing or planning to invest in big data technology. If a company concentrates on improving customer experiences throughout its sales cycle, even modestly, it can mean a large gain, adding sales, reducing churn and even garnering word-of-mouth recommendations through customer advocacy all positively impacting the bottom line. Businesses need to take advantage of CX and the information available to advance in this modern technology movement those that don t, will become obsolete Tribridge All rights reserved. 1

4 Introduction Collecting data from consumers has become a constant part of daily operations whether from organizations such as the United States National Security Agency (NSA) or large corporations like Amazon and Google. But as the number and variety of digital touch points grew, so did privacy concerns. According to Ellen Nakashima, a contributor to the Washington Post, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr. recently claimed that the NSA had consistently searched through constituent communications without authorized consent issued by U.S. courts. Declassified judicial documents noted that the security organization monitors and collects about 250 million Internet communications between foreigners and Americans every year. We all knew data was being collected, and were accepting of organizations wanting to gain valuable insight on our everyday movements because it was to improve processes it was for the safety and protection of our country. It was most of all being used for good reasons, for example, if a consumer was looking for a new basketball hoop and abandoned the online shopping cart at Dick s Sporting Goods, that individual would not be shocked to receive a follow up the next day concerning their interests. Or, better yet, receive an offer of an interest free deal, or discount coupon on the item that was abandoned. In fact, these practices might entice the consumer to go back and buy the item now all tracking for good reasons. But consumers were very surprised when they found out how far things actually went, and now with valid privacy concerns, they aren t as willing to share personal data unless they are confident in what they get in return. 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0 Customer Experience is becoming a key brand differentiator. Consumers 82 % 62 % 82% of consumers felt their service providers could have done something to prevent switching 62% of global consumers switched service providers in 2013 due to poor customer service *Source: destinationcrm.com 45 % 45% of U.S. consumers will abandon an online transaction if their questions or concerns are not answered quickly Companies and government agencies learned the hard way that failed digital experiences could do serious damage to profit margins, reputation and even policy. These developments, according to Forrester Research, set the stage for two dominant trends for 2014 a pursuit of the kind of User Experience (UX) talents that strengthens successful digital experiences and a focus on mobile to drive CX innovation. The reality is that consumers know there is good insight to be gained by tracking behaviors; it just needs to be done with more protection and with full transparency, and most importantly, the consumer needs to get something tangible out of the experience Tribridge All rights reserved. 2

5 The Unspoken Deal As customers have become more sophisticated, the market for goods and services has become saturated. Commoditization has eliminated price as a differentiator and companies must learn to compete by offering great customer service and providing exceptional customer experiences. A great customer experience not only can cultivate loyalty for your products, it can develop your most loyal customers into strong advocates for your brand. As technology and cultural changes continue to influence customer strategies, the terms and methods used to define them are also changing. Companies can no longer focus on just the consumer s destination. Today, a company must understand and track the consumer s progression from research, to purchase, through to the post purchase relationship. Tracking the journey has become more complex because of the explosion of buyer engagement points in channels and devices such as social media, online support, web sites, mobile phone content, and blogs. In the Nexus of Forces model, a concept developed by Gartner, information is the context that drives the social media and mobile enterprise. Mobile devices serve as the platform for new ways to work and provide opportunities for social networking, while the social media delivers users to work in new ways. Cloud enables that delivery, solidifying the converging structure of the four emerging trends. Gartner estimates that the Nexus of Forces will drive more than 26 percent of the total enterprise software market revenue by This trend shows the power has shifted from the seller to the consumer and that we are in an era of instant gratification buyers want things faster and with significantly better customer service. Customers are also increasingly vocal about sharing their thoughts and experiences. If a customer wants a company to respond to an issue or a request they have, the old way of calling in and asking for a supervisor is gone. If today s customer doesn t get what they want, they know a on Twitter will get much more direct and immediate attention. Social outlets such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram let their community of friends know they weren t happy with their experience. And on the flip side, the same is true for a great experience, thereby exercising considerable influence on their peers and putting greater pressure on the service provider to ensure that each interaction with the customer is a positive one Tribridge All rights reserved. 3

6 The consumerization of technology has demanded instant access to information in exchange for transparency and an equal dose of value. Technology is more pervasive every decision is a click and every click is a decision and what you are giving up for that click and what you get out of it is the unspoken deal. Customers know that many things about them are being tracked and they expect that information to be used to help provide them with a more personalized and robust experience. Ultimately, they are looking to participate in the reinvention of customer-company communications and the creation of products and services. The revenue impact from a 10-percentage point improvement in a company s customer experience score can translate into more than $1 billion. *Source: destinationcrm.com Gavin Newsom, author of Citizenville, makes the argument that society can dictate the outcome of a business strategy. Social media has allowed consumers to communicate in a consistent, informal manner. This can either be an advantage or a curse to companies that fail to treat their customers appropriately. For example, a middle-aged businessman, playing guitar all his life, still in a band today, walks into a guitar shop and is dismissed as a novice player he doesn t fit the typical profile so the sales representative shows him entry level gear, if he pays attention to him at all. The customer experience is not a good one. What the guitar shop should know is that this middle-aged man has a good job and already owns about $30,000 in gear in his basement and is willing to make a significant purchase while in the store that day. A better experience would be greeting the customer by name when he walks in the door, identifying what he might already have in the basement, and knowing what new gadget just came in that he might like. The same holds true when you call in to a call center. People want the business to know the history of their previous conversations so they don t have to go over it every time. Just like the guitar center. Consumers are willing to give up the information, even have an app on their phone to track valuable data, if they could get better service than the next guy. It s all about a handshake we are willing to give up something when we can get something back in return Tribridge All rights reserved. 4

7 A New Paradigm for Customer Experience Today s socially networked consumer is demanding more from the companies with which they do business. Customers are empowered, connected, informed and now have expectations that companies must meet. Companies need to address the entire journey. They can no longer ignore the beginning and simply target customers at the evaluation and buying stages. Businesses need to completely understand how customers seek information and communicate their needs. The digital revolution has improved the way businesses can approach customer service. CRM programs contain new features and functionality capable of assisting companies and creating a more rewarding buyer experience. It comes down to the big four: cloud, mobile, social and big data and CX applications recognize that each of these factors are all connected with each other, and provide users with a perspective of how customers are interacting with them. For example, one tool may record the number of times an individual visits a Twitter account, while another may determine how often a customer browses for products through a smartphone. CX functionality can help businesses aggregate new data and address many important sales questions including: What is the best time of day for the consumer to make purchases? What is the favored vehicle of communication? Forrester Research reports that 50% of companies inconsistently measure, or fail to measure their customer s cross channel journey. Do they shop via a website or mobile device? How are consumers choosing to interact with our business? The CRM business has grown Gartner reports the global CRM market is worth $20.4 billion and with CX as part of a business CRM strategy, users will have relevant information available when needed. It s all about creating positive interactions at the touch points and CX increases the quality of those interactions. For example, author J C Quintana often tells a story about a married couple who both work from home, they go about their work during the day and in the evening, come together for dinner. The couple can have dinner in front of the TV with microwaved TV dinners and watch the Big Bang Theory, or since we know the wife likes Italian food, they can go to a nice restaurant, put away their mobile devices and listen to each other talk with no distractions. In both scenarios the couple gets to eat dinner, but the quality of the restaurant experience is a lot better than the Big Bang Theory option Tribridge All rights reserved. 5

8 Companies implement projects that can take from three to six months long and once the project is turned over, sometimes there is no communication until the contract renews and the relationship doesn t mature. CX is not about providing an easy dinner in front of the TV, it s about having the knowledge to create an actual experience the consumer can enjoy and remember. The rewards are clear, measurable and sustainable. In a Forrester Research study titled The Customer Experience Quality Framework, survey respondents shared that the quality of the customer experience impacts loyalty (81%), advocacy (81%) and increased spending (73%). Companies can glean a lot of insight by understanding what customers have done, what channels they ve used, what products they ve purchased, and what service interactions they ve had. As companies gain a deeper understanding of customers through research and analytics, they ll develop more individualized customer experiences. The success of CRM does indeed lie in the value of the data it collects as it relates to the companies end of the bargain. However, digital information can only help a company get acquainted with consumers shopping habits, not who they are as people. CRM providers today are creating products with customer experience embedded throughout the entire development process. Unfortunately, according to most analysts, over half of CRM projects fail to meet expectations, which is why businesses should do their due diligence prior to selecting a CRM provider. Properly selected and implemented customer experience management can quickly create sustained ROI, measurable in both hard dollars and company reputation Tribridge All rights reserved. 6

9 Leverage the Benefits of CX with the Right CRM provider Troubled CRM initiatives are usually treated very similar to other technology implementations. Most companies looking for a new CRM system base the purchase on expected needs over the next five years. The company will most likely budget a significant amount of money on implementation, integrating it with existing systems and training IT staff. Speed of deployment is often given priority over usability and value to users. So it s easy to understand how customers and employees are clearly not seeing the payback hence user adoption suffers long after the sizzle of the implementation is over. The lack of adoption of CRM systems prevent companies from ever getting a complete view of a customer across its touch points much less ever implementing programs built toward maximizing the customer experience. But until companies move from a technology and task-based model to a more emphasized focus on the user and customer experience, they won t be seeing much of a return on their investment. Access to data has never been more available than it is today. Social media channels offer valuable insight into what customers like and don t like about a business product or services. As long as the customer sees the value or payback in the data collected, they will either actively provide, or passively allow it to be collected the idea is to have the collection occur naturally and unobtrusively, a customer experience that is built in. Brands that build web services that foster community and loyalty gain equity; those that rely solely on price and selection will become obsolete. Oneway participation in content will decline to under 20%. **Source: Google Insights There is a tremendous amount of value to be captured by understanding and empathizing with the customer and companies that utilize a robust CRM platform and deploy a two-way communication model to improve customer experiences will realize the added benefits quickly. Elevating those experiences and interactions means thriving in the digital age and requires careful research to ensure you find the application best suited for your company s operational goals. What sets an experienced CRM solution provider apart is its unique ability to weave business process transformation elements into its methodology. CX is not just a technology add on it is an ongoing and measurable program that includes access, training, social collaboration, goals, dashboards and continuous strategic counseling. Businesses that interact with its customers in a social channel, making direct suggestions and gathering valuable input on enhancements and product usability will drive adoption of its CRM solution and make the overall interaction a more positive experience. Deploying the right mix of technology will determine success in today s customer-focused era Tribridge All rights reserved. 7

10 Conclusion With the shift from a vendor-centric approach, to a customer-centric approach, it is critical that companies understand that the customer experience is a 360º view made of multiple touch points all contributing to define the relationship with the customer. This new social way of interacting is changing how every business fundamentally operates. Whether it s a broadband service provider or a retail outlet, customers now rely on social media to provide input and stay informed. According to the Aberdeen Group, the adoption of social customer service programs increased by about five-fold between 2010 and 2013 ( % adoption and % adoption.) and 70% of businesses will use social media as a part of their customer service programs by mid Keeping up with the latest technology and knowing how to engage customers past a Tweet, Facebook like or comment to build long-standing, long lasting relationships is the new foundation of a successful company. These disruptive forces of cloud, information, mobile and social have created new technology requirements, establishing modern competitive realities. To drive growth, it comes down to the quality of the interaction. Delivering an engaging customer experience is no longer a strategic approach to achieve some of the business goals, but a survival necessity Tribridge All rights reserved. 8

11 Resources 1: NSA searched Americans communications without a warrant, intelligence director says 1: 1: intelligence-director-says/2014/04/01/2fdb5b6e-b9c3-11e3-a397-6debf9e66e65_story.html 2: CRM Is More than Cool: It s Profitable 1: 3: Digital Customer Experience Trends, : The Nexus of Forces: Social, Mobile, Cloud and Information 1: 5: Citizenville, by Gavin Newsom 1: 6: Social Customer Care: Secrets to Building a Winning Strategy 1: 7: Speaking Frankly About Customer Relationship Management 1: 8: The State of Customer Experience Management, : 9: In the Age of the Customer, Service and Engagement Will Define the Brand 1: 1: Will-Define-the-Brand aspx 2014 Tribridge All rights reserved. 9

12 Founded in 1998, Tribridge is a technology services firm specializing in business applications and cloud solutions. The firm helps mid-market and enterprise customers solve their business challenges through Cloud Computing, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Application Development, Portals & Collaboration, Security & Infrastructure and Human Capital Management (HCM). With a focus on industry-specific solutions, a 100% go live track record and deep experience implementing Microsoft, Cornerstone OnDemand and other enterprise technologies, the Tribridge team of nearly 600 professionals operates with an unwavering commitment to provide exceptional service and support, drive measurable results and build lasting partnerships with the firm s 3,750 customers. success@tribridge.com (877) W. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 890 Tampa, FL 33609