Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: 4 Key Takeaways from the Customer Experience Summit 2016
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > IT > 4 Key Takeaways from the Customer Experience Summit 2016
IT

4 Key Takeaways from the Customer Experience Summit 2016

Annie Bustos
Annie Bustos
7 Min Read
SHARE

We had the pleasure of attending the 5th Annual Customer Experience Strategies Summit last week in Toronto (our home town). Over the course of 2 days we listened to some amazing speakers and had some great conversations with innovative customer experience leaders from a variety of industries…and we got to enjoy some amazing food courtesy of the Ritz Carlton staff who were amazing hosts!  

We had the pleasure of attending the 5th Annual Customer Experience Strategies Summit last week in Toronto (our home town). Over the course of 2 days we listened to some amazing speakers and had some great conversations with innovative customer experience leaders from a variety of industries…and we got to enjoy some amazing food courtesy of the Ritz Carlton staff who were amazing hosts!  

We have so many takeaways from the summit, but some that especially stand out for us are focused on bridging the gap between IT and business teams, smoothing out the omnichannel approach, customer self-service tools and how IoT is changing the game completely.

More Read

How to Keep Your Data Safe When Using Connected Devices
Citizens Look to Big Data to Protect Against Draconian Government Oversight
How Is Mobile Technology Impacting the Food and Beverage Supply Chain?
VPNs Are Essential Data Protection Tools for Home Offices
NPV Considerations for Open Source Big Data Technologies

 

1. IT and Business Must Get on the Same Page

From our conversations with fellow attendees, it’s clear that many companies are still facing a common roadblock when it comes to innovating their customer experience – the communication gap between IT and business teams. Bridging this gap should be a high priority for business if they want to gain a competitive advantage and boost customer loyalty and engagement.

Businesses can begin to bridge this gap by opening up more dialog and by working to find a common language as well as common goals for both teams. One of the ways to do this is focus on the business impact of a project first and the technology second and then come up with a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure success. At the end of the day it’s the business requirements that dictate the underlying technology needed to support it. It’s often the case that IT and business do have the same goals they just speak a different language.

 

To learn more, register for our upcoming webinar on May 4th – “Bridging the gap Between IT and Business”. 

2. Companies Must Manage Omnichannel Experiences

Several speaking sessions during the CX Summit explored the need for companies to streamline their omnichannel strategies. For example, a session titled “How to Use Virtual Agents to Enhance Omni-channel Experience and Client Retention” by Neff Hudson from USAA looked at the role virtual agents can play in providing fast access to needed information. It recommended a blend of virtual and live agent support to effectively handle easier questions without staffing while still allowing customers to engage with someone if necessary.

Another amazing session from Terry Gardiner of Telus detailed how consumer demands are requiring support tools to integrate with various channels. And, customers will often travel across these channels in order to resolve a question or problem to their liking. Companies should find gaps in their service offerings by reviewing their operations, continually improving, and focusing on building a brand culture of service and customer-centric thinking. And back to our first point – it’s also imperative that companies align their goals and their culture across business divisions in order maximize the success of any omnichannel strategy.

 

3. The Importance of Seamless Self-Service

As omnichannel offerings expand due to consumer demand, companies will need to find tools to help manage the costs of service. One approach is to implement sophisticated self-service tools, where consumers have multiple opportunities throughout their experiences to answer their own questions, manage their accounts, and resolve problems.

Many of the speaking sessions (and informal conversations) during the CX Summit focused on customer care and service as central to a quality experience. An example of quality self-service can be found with Amazon, where consumers can process returns, adjust their account information, and perform many other actions without ever needing to actually speak to a support person. But when help is needed, the online chat is available around the clock and most problems are fixed promptly – I think we can all agree this is the direction every company should be moving toward.

On the business side, Amazon’s self-service even allows third-party sellers to begin offering products through Amazon without any interaction with a sales or operation staff member at Amazon.

A key part of self-service is the tech and UI that is required to create a portal that is simple to use and allows customers to complete tasks that previously required significant work from support staff. And of course actions taken through self-service need to be instantly shared across other channels, to enable the seamless experience.

 

4. The Transformative Impact of IoT

Many attendees at the event touched on the broad impacts we’ll see from IoT in the near future, especially as they relate to the customer experience. As physical devices increasingly relay information to both consumers and companies, there will be a shift in how those devices and the Big Data they generate are used.

One of the industries that will benefit the most from IoT in the next couple years is retail. Retailers are starting to revive their brick-and-mortar stores in the wake of the eCommerce revolution with sensors and beacons that can helped them deliver real-time personalized offers and optimize store layouts – bringing the “Amazon experience” in-store. IoT will eventually transform nearly every industry, not just retail – we are living in an exciting time!

New Call-to-action

 

Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

The Panama Papers- It’s all about the data!

8 Min Read

Disaster Recovery Solutions in Cloud Infrastructure

8 Min Read
big data and e-commerce fulfillment
Big Data

eCommerce Brands Use Big Data for Logistics and Fulfillment Warehouses Protection

10 Min Read

Benefits of Cloud Computing (Virtualization) for IT Disaster Recovery

3 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

data-driven web design
5 Great Tips for Using Data Analytics for Website UX
Big Data
ai chatbot
The Art of Conversation: Enhancing Chatbots with Advanced AI Prompts
Chatbots

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?