Home Blog Page 13

AI and Data Top CX Trends in Forrester Predictions

At the recent Forrester Data Strategy & Insights 2020 virtual conference, analysts described a future where people and technology work together to bring out their best capabilities. In particular, connecting humanity and technology through AI and data strategy are emerging as key priorities to improve the digital-first customer experience and help shape the future of CX. Here are some highlights from the event:

Address and Improve AI Biases

Data science isn’t founded on empathy, said Brandon Purcell, Forrester principal analyst. Artificial intelligence takes in information and is widely exposed to the biases around it. These factors are what Purcell calls algorithmic and human bias: training data not representative of an entire population and historical inequalities captured in data. “AI is a moral mirror,” he said. “It takes the morality it finds in data and codifies that into a model.”

Purcell emphasized that fairness and bias prevention become a necessity for responsible AI adoption. Purcell gave 4 tips help to develop algorithms ethically:

  • Define what’s fair: For every unique use case clearly articulate how it to be deployed, data scientists can often be missing the context.
  • Deploy diversity: Listen and act on the diverse perspectives at all levels of the organization. This goes from the data scientist to executive level and beyond.
  • Listen where the action is: Deploy voice of the customer technology to hear feedback in real-time.
  • Ask for help: Third parties can be utilized as an outside perspective to vet your algorithmic process for biases.

Homogeneity makes for blind spots, which creates a business imperative to solicit a diverse array of viewpoints. This is incredibly important for what Purcell identified as value-based consumers who only do business with organizations who match their values.

Level up your data game

The pandemic has brought on disruption. Digital initiatives once believed to be years ahead are happening in the span of months. In this environment business leaders are sitting on mountains of data. Forrester Vice President and Principal Analyst Michele Goetz recommended firms take a moment to quantify and define the purpose of information in order to thoughtfully deploy it. This is essential not only for business leaders, but also politicians, doctors, and people of influence who use data to manage uncertainty. Data needs to be a “vaccine to chaos,” said Goetz.

Leaders need to consider how data can used holistically to define the bigger picture and make interactions better each time. Goetz defined 5 mindsets needed for organizations to improve their “Data Game:”

  • Skill up: Data isn’t always logical. Leaders need to reconsider how data paints a representation of their business in a more abstract sense.
  • Design up: Experiences need to come first, architecture can come second. Data needs to be configured with all the experiences customers and employees have with a brand.
  • Adapt up: A competitive advantage in the data space is finding areas to be innovative with emerging technology. Do not become stagnant in an evolving world.
  • Tinker up: Leaders need to look holistically at what their data encompasses. Consider how data affects every program and solution in an organization. Do not get siloed in.
  • Hire robots: AI needs to rationalize data. AI can help businesses discover opportunities hidden within the information they gather.

Goetz defined this as a ‘delete and repeat’ process that fits into a continuously evolving and expanding business world. In short, it’s about understanding that one person or department alone is going to invent a meaningful data strategy. It takes a whole village to make data come alive.

AI and data strategy will reshape the future of work

Data and AI are constantly reshaping what every industry defines as “work,” said J.P. Gownder, Forrester vice president and principal analyst. In some cases, they replace age-old roles, but often they serve as a catalyst to strengthen how people operate. In this age of change brought on by COVID-19, Gowdner underlined 4 “Shock Factors” that can both be brought on and solved by AI:

  • Systemic risk: Factors from the outside of a business, like COVID-19, that bring on change fast and hard. Organizations need to adapt quickly or perish.
  • Robotics and automation: If organizations aren’t using AI in relevant ways they risk becoming irrelevant to competitors.
  • Employee data: Businesses are drowning in data and if businesses misuse it they cannot paint a clear picture of their employees and create poor experiences.
  • Employee power: People are empowered to deploy social to voice their opinions, good and bad, to large audiences.

According to Gowdner, addressing these shocks means augmenting employees with AI, data, and automation to make them more adaptive to changes. For decades computers have filled up manual tasks that took people away from jobs that needed the human touch. Instead of painting a picture where AI replaces human jobs, business leaders should look for a future where AI complements their work to become better versions of themselves.

COVID-19 Disrupted Customer Loyalty and Brand Loyalty. Here’s How to Rebuild.

Man waiting for customers in cafe.

How has COVID-19 affected customer and brand loyalty and what can businesses do to regain that loyalty? Here’s what industry experts, researchers, and customer experience leaders are seeing on the ground as major corporations to SMBs attempt to answer this very question.

Customer loyalty vs. brand loyalty: what’s the difference?
Customer loyalty relates to customers who transact with a business on a frequent and ongoing basis, largely for financial reasons. Brand loyalty on the other hand, describes consumers who are devoted to a brand because the brand’s mission or values resonate and/or they believe the brand offers a higher quality experience, product, or service than anyone else.

Brand-loyal customers are less price-sensitive than other customers, however they tend to make fewer purchases, according to research by retentionscience.com. It therefore makes good business sense to build both customer and brand loyalty, especially in today’s tumultuous economic environment.

A volatile loyalty landscape
When COVID-19 began to spread across the world, disrupting global supply chains and operations, many people abandoned their normal shopping patterns which created a domino effect. Consumers started stockpiling products, forcing other shoppers to purchase alternative brands or visit different stores. A McKinsey report found that more than 3 out of 4 consumers have experimented with new brands, places to shop or methods of shopping during the pandemic. Customer loyalty also took a dive when customers experienced obstacles, such as a confusing website or app, or a difficult ordering process.

And as customers discover new brands, they’re also considering cost—choosing more private label options with lower prices over national brands, reports Convenience.org. A study from AlixPartners found that consumers are trying national brands at rates around 10-20 percent, and new private label brands at about 15-25 percent.

Rethink, reset, rebuild
“Having things go wrong does not destroy loyalty per se. Not addressing, fixing, and apologizing for those things is what causes resentment,” commented Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, on a recent RetailWire forum.  
Indeed, this is not the first time that companies have struggled to maintain customer and brand loyalty. It’s how they respond that will determine whether they can earn back the loyalty they’ve built with customers. To get it right, companies must start with the customer perspective, noted Lauren Volpe, chief experience officer at QuadPay.  Speaking at a recent virtual conference, ICMI Contact Center Expo, Volpe explained the importance of understanding how customers navigate through a company’s various channels and then working to remove obstacles within those channels. This is where customer experience management, if executed correctly, can help, she said.

“Experience management relies on two types of data: experience data—how customers feel about an experience [with a brand]—and operational data, Volpe explained. “Operational data can reveal what has happened in the past but it lacks the insights into why something happened and why it could potentially occur again. Companies need to find the right balance of experience and operational data.” The end result, she added, should be an effortless experience that builds customer satisfaction and loyalty.

For many companies, customer loyalty and brand loyalty practically disappeared overnight in the face of COVID-19. Smart companies that survive the fallout will seize this opportunity to create and reinforce positive brand experiences that turn a survival story into one about thriving.

Can You Spot a Toxic Company Culture?

Shot of a young businesswoman looking stressed while using a laptop in her home office

Where is the line between performance feedback and bullying? When does hustle culture become abusive and dangerous? Toxic company cultures are all too common in modern businesses. One in five Americans have left a job in the past five years due to bad company culture, according to a recent SHRM report on workplace culture. The cost of that turnover is an estimated $223 billion. 
 
Addressing toxic company cultures—typically defined as a culture where employee trust, morale, and psychological safety have plummeted— is especially important in today’s rapidly changing workforce and workplace. Employee demands for organizations to be more inclusive and diverse are growing and technological advances are changing the ways people work and collaborate with each other. 
 
Steve Koepp, cofounder of From Day One, a conference series and media outlet that’s focused on corporate values, and a former executive editor for Time and Fortune magazine, has spent a lot of time studying the relationships between employers and their employees as an entrepreneur and journalist. Koepp shared insights on how to avoid a toxic company culture and still be customer obsessed.  
 
What lessons have you learned about balancing business growth and positive company culture? 
 
Steve Koepp: I have learned valuable lessons in the damage of both growing too slow and too fast. At the early stages, growth was frightening, and as I developed our teams, the leaders started to lose vision without expansion. They stopped seeing the potential for growth within my company. This either caused an A-player to reduce to a B-level or to leave my company for another opportunity. 
 
The contradiction of slow growth was expanding opportunity before my table was set. In 2015 my ego and ability to expand outgrew the size and capability of my team. This forced us to hire and perform different than the module that we built and were successful with up to this point. Hiring outside our normal parameters forced us to settle with B-players in a management position that demanded an A-player.  
 
These B-players were often from another company that did not have the culture that we did, and we did not have enough time with them inside our culture to conform. This became even more dangerous because their management position included training of new hires. This instantly affected our customer satisfaction in a negative way, and we stopped getting the retention that our model demanded. This required us to advertise more to compensate for the lack of retention. I saw our company culture shifting in a way that hurt my soul. 

At what point does adhering to a company’s mission become obsessive and toxic? 

SK: A lot of companies have mission statements. Not a single company of mine does. Is that against the norm? Yes. Is a mission statement necessary to run a business? No. What’s even worse that I’ve seen, though, is companies that have a mission statement but it’s the farthest thought process from their actual culture and how they operate. You and your choices of who you hire keep your company from becoming toxic. Obsessive isn’t a bad thing, but being stubborn with a statement on a wall is toxic. I preach that your head has to be on a swivel and be light on your feet. Meaning, be open to new ideas and the ability to see things through others’ eyes. 

Given customers’ high expectations for 24/7 support and fast service, is it harder than ever to deliver great service?  
SK: Customers’ expectations have always been high and they should be. All of the technology advances with smartphones has just given everyone everything they have always wanted right there in their hands, but that does not change good old-fashioned customer service. Customers’ biggest complaints are that we waste their valuable time, but this does not mean we have to be faster, it just means, DO NOT WASTE THEIR VALUABLE TIME.  

What’s your advice for small companies on meeting customer and shareholder expectations without losing their employees? 
 
So, my advice is: 

Be prepared 

  • When you have an appointment [virtual or in-person] with customers or clients, be early and have all the information they have requested and might request ready when they get there. 
  • Send them appointment reminders so that they know you are a professional. 
  • When they are there, HUSTLE, so that they eventually give you permission to slow down. They will appreciate the fact that you value their time, and the opportunity to earn their business. 

 
Be available  

  • Give customers your cell phone number. 
  • Ask them their preferred form of communication, then honor their request there. 
  • Being available 24/7 is not literally 24/7, but answering a text while eating dinner is acceptable as long as you explain that you will get right back to them after dinner. 

 Don’t focus your energy on not losing an employee otherwise you will be walking around on eggshells all the time 

  • Instead, give your employees (team members (I hate the word employee)) all the resources they need to be successful.  
  • Servant leadership—this is why I hate the word employee—your team needs to feel like you work for them.

3 Ways Companies can Reset—and Win—at Customer Loyalty

The importance of customer loyalty and retention can’t be overstated. Loyal customers are less price sensitive and more likely to make frequent purchases—in addition to being brand advocates. Research also shows that just increasing customer retention rates by 5 percent increases profits by 25 percent to 95 percent. Plus, retaining customers costs less than continually acquiring new ones.

But what does it mean when the usual factors that drive customer loyalty—product, price, place, and promotion—have been stripped away or nullified? Brands are finding out for themselves as they look to adapt to markets and customer behaviors that have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. As companies reshape their business strategies, here are 3 predictions for the evolution of customer loyalty.

1. Relevance will be redefined

To keep customers loyal, brands need to be relevant. They must be able to track changes in consumer behavior and quickly act on those fluctuations. However, brands walk a fine line between coming across as superficial (see: the deluge of generic emails from brands assuring customers that ‘we’re here for you.’) versus authentic.

More and more consumers expect companies to take stances that reflect their values. According to a recent report from communications firm Edelman, which surveyed 12,000 people in several countries, 71 percent of respondents said that if a brand is perceived as “putting profit over people, they will lose trust in that brand forever” and 77 percent said “they want brands only to speak about products in ways that show they are aware of the crisis and the impact on people’s lives.”

Some brands, such as the British retailer Boden, took a frank approach in acknowledging the pandemic while explaining why they’re continuing to sell merchandise. “It might seem highly inappropriate to show you clothes for which you currently have no need,” the retailer wrote in an email to customers. “But we’ve already made the clothes. We’ve already taken the photographs, we’ve already printed the catalogues. It was too late to stop. We hope you don’t find it horribly insensitive.”

Other brands highlighted the ways that they’re supporting people who have been impacted by the pandemic, such as continuing to pay hourly workers such as office cleaners for reduced-service needs, or converting factories to produce hand sanitizer and masks.

Prediction: Looking ahead, relevance will be defined less by the products and prices themselves and more by a “what have you done for me lately” mindset where brands must demonstrate how their values are aligned with their customers’ values.

2. Contact center associates will play a more active role in driving customer loyalty

Contact center associates are at the front line of customer issues but most are limited to resolving problems after they occur. What if contact center associates were instead proactively identifying solutions in a methodical, strategic approach that improves efficiencies, increases cost savings, and increases customer satisfaction?

At TTEC, we’ve been helping clients empower their front-line staff to make recommendations on how to solve customer pain points and improve the customer experience using their deep domain expertise and insights. For example, by equipping agents for an airline company with a speech analytics tool and Proactive Solutions training, they were able to uncover the fact that more than 57K inbound calls and chats were from members seeking assistance in retrieving their frequent flyer number (FFN).

Based on that insight, associates made it a point to inform members that they can retrieve their FFN, reset their PIN, and get access to other profile information through the airline’s online portal or its app by using their registered email address or mobile number. This insight ultimately led to an 87% reduction in call volume and $128K in annual cost savings. In another case, associates shared customer feedback about a new campaign that helped increase the brand’s Net Promoter Score by 2.3 points.

Prediction: At a time when many companies are working with tight profit margins, more will be looking to maximize employee resources. Empowering agents to proactively recommend solutions that improve the customer experience and increase loyalty is just one example of how companies will be making incremental improvements that drive fast outcomes.

3. Convenience becomes hyper-personalized

Even before the coronavirus struck, customers valued convenience. In January, the National Retail Federation released a report that showed 97 percent of consumers have backed out of a purchase because it was inconvenient for them. Fast forward a few months where conveniences such as contactless payments, curbside pickup, and grocery delivery have become a necessity.

It’s not a secret that customers value their time and appreciate brands that recognize this. They loathe being forced to take extra steps such as having to re-identify themselves to a customer care associate or repeat a question in order to complete a request.

Prediction: The companies that win at convenience and customer loyalty won’t necessarily be the ones with the shortest delivery times or most sophisticated contactless options. Rather, it will be the companies that understand as an individual’s situation changes, his or her perception of what is convenient also changes. Brands that have a robust system for identifying a customer’s digital behaviors coupled with the customer’s historical transactions, demographic, and psychographic data, will be better positioned to anticipate and act on a customer’s needs.

A new era

Even after the pandemic subsides, customers won’t return to pre-COVID expectations of service and support. To succeed in this new era of customer loyalty, companies must be willing to abandon old approaches and engage with customers in newly relevant ways. The good news is that companies already have most of the data needed to deliver more value to the customer—they just need the right strategies and tools to unlock those opportunities.

Survey: 67% of CEOs Expect to Hit Original 2020 Growth Targets

Man waving at computer screen
Man have business meeting via video call in a cafe

At the start of 2020, many CEOs had modest to high growth goals for their organizations. And then the COVID-19 pandemic struck. How have CEOs’ goals and priorities shifted in today’s new reality? And what lessons have they learned as they move forward?

Pete Hayes, CMO and principal at the consulting firm Chief Outsiders, shared insights from a recent survey his company conducted with more than 170 chief executives from mid-market companies across retail, technology, construction, healthcare and others on where they expect their businesses to be 6 months from now. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. 

Judith Aquino: According to the survey, most of the CEOs saw economic conditions improving in December 2020 or later. What factors do you think influenced that prediction and will you be conducting follow up surveys to see if that estimate changes?

Pete Hayes: That data point shows that most did think different things would be happening by six months out, so it’s kind of the end of the year timeframe, but almost the same amount of folks thought things would be improving sooner so it was a little bit of a split, but we do plan to come back to market after the third quarter to get a checkpoint.

But the things that we asked later on in the survey itself, it looked as though that was their expectation related to several, you know understandable, factors that you know what’s going on with the COVID trends themselves in terms of infection rates and so forth.

They came into this year, very optimistic about their own growth plans. In fact, they’re very optimistic about having a pretty strong year even though you know economic forecasts, you know, were suggesting slower growth. So it looks as though you know companies are kind of split there, but those factors are the things that they’re watching, not surprisingly.


What other results did you find particularly interesting or surprising?

PH: There’s a couple of areas of data points that are interesting and it has to do with the data sets that we collected…in general, you know, digital readiness and digital marketing capabilities, not surprisingly, are very, very high on the list of things to attend to. CEOs get it that customers are going to have to buy differently. So they have to provide more support through their digital channels.

And companies are having to accelerate even areas of e-commerce that weren’t on their priority list for right away. Even in the B2B space, what we’re seeing is that companies are having to find ways of getting sales without a salesperson visiting the factory. So they’re having to amp up their capabilities digitally.

CEOs are usually the visionaries, the ones with the big ideas, but it seems now they’re really buckling down and as you said, getting things done.

PH: Yeah, it’s a little bit of a surprise. The way we were looking at the past couple of months, or the past six weeks, you know, our advice to CEOs is just recognize you’re having to do five years of strategic planning in the next six weeks. And what seemed to resonate is there’s a few things that we [CEOs] might want to check on and shift and, you know, the data also showed that they were largely looking at new markets, new offerings, making pricing changes and doing those things you can expect you would tweak and finesse.

But overall, they believe that their core strategies—most businesses, their core strategies for growth—are solid and they just have to get things done.

Listen to the full interview podcast and read the transcript at the CXPod.

Forrester’s 2020 CX Index Report: CX Scores Rise Even During COVID

Businesses in every industry are continuing to deal with the effects of COVID-19. With many previous predictions on the US economy now registered moot, experts are now weighing on what it means to deliver relevant customer experiences.

Forrester’s 2020 US Customer Experience Index Report captured the early effects of the pandemic. This glimpse at the early days of COVID-19’s reach helps paint a vital picture on how uncertainty can affect customer experience.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways highlighted from the report, which surveyed more than 97,000 U.S. customers across 250 brands and 14 industries from January through March.

Brands that invest in CX are winning

Leading this year’s list are USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union, which scored 83.9 and 82.4 respectively, ranking them at the top of credit card issuers and banks (multichannel) for a second year. The report said they were exceptionally suited to the ‘new normal’ brought on by the pandemic because of their ability to:

  • Consistently meet customer’s needs. They are insightful enough to understand what people want from their brand.
  • Understand and react to emotions. These brands know how to delight their customers and foster these moments into great experiences.
  • Rebound from mistakes. A key factor in the ‘new normal,’ these brands are have performed enough good acts to their customers that there is room for error as they reshape themselves post-COVID-19.

Organizations that led their industry in 2020 were:

  • Airlines: Southwest Airlines (73.5)
  • Auto manufacturers (luxury): Lexus (78.6)
  • Auto manufacturers (mass market): Subaru (76.6)
  • Banks (direct): USAA (78.6)
  • Banks (multichannel): Navy Federal Credit Union (82.4)
  • Credit card issuers: USAA (83.9)
  • Federal government: National Park Service (77.2)
  • Health Insurers: Florida Blue (72.1)
  • Hotels: Hampton by Hilton (77.5)
  • Investment firms: Edward Jones (77.6)
  • Retailers (digital): Zappos.com (79.3)
  • Retailers (multichannel): Trader Joe’s (80.7)
  • Utilities: SRP (70.6)

Brands also saw a slight increase in CX satisfaction this year. The number of brands that scored “Good” (score of 75 to 84) jumped from 17% in 2019 to 20% in 2020, the highest in the last five years. Meanwhile brands who ranked “Poor” (score 55 to 64) dropped from 16% to 13% since last year.

Several brands that made the leap from “OK,” (score of 65-74) to “Good” included GEICO, Nationwide Mutual Insurance, and Lincoln.

Overall, multichannel retailers saw the biggest jump from ‘OK’ to ‘Good’ as seven brands: Kroger, Kohl’s, Petco, Ulta Beauty, Sephora, ALDI, and Costco Wholesale improved their scores.

Hotels and multichannel banks also had several brands move into the ‘Good’ category some of which were: Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express, Chase, and U.S. Bank.

For a third year in a row, however, no brands where ranked “Excellent” (score 85 to 100).

Emotional connections remain essential

When we previously reported on Forrester’s annual US Customer Experience Index Report, we wrote that ‘customer experience is a never ending-journey.’ Customer expectations evolve, technology changes, and new ways to communicate emerge, but the need for human connection stays the same.

This year, it’s especially important due to how much has changed since the pandemic began. Feelings of happiness and value connect customers to a brand. A majority 76% of this year’s respondents who feel appreciated by brands will continue their relationship with the business, while 80% say they will spend more.

Likewise, as customers demand more empathy, they will continue to have a lower tolerance for negative interactions. Only 18% of customers who said they were disappointed by a brand will keep continuing business with them.

“To emerge successfully from this global crisis, brands must build experiences that help them engage with their customers at an emotional level,” said Sharyn Leaver, SVP of Research at Forrester in a statement about the 2020 report. “Brands can build a well of CX equity if they embrace a disciplined approach to envisioning, designing, and delivering a consistently high-quality experience. When consumer spending resumes, brands with experiences that engender customer loyalty will benefit the most.”

1...121314...24Page 13 of 24

© 1to1 Media