<\/p>\n
We live in a world of non-stop branding, with companies begging for our attention on a minute-to-minute basis. Yet, often, the message doesn\u2019t live up to its promise, and customers are left disappointed. With hopes dashed, you can expect them to jump ship.<\/p>\n
When contrasting organizations who manage to get the customer experience right against those who don\u2019t, a clear marker is the lack of or attention paid to researching the individual customer. Much like a first date, first impressions count, and your brand is a digital swipe away from being discarded on the scrapheap of broken marketers dreams if you don\u2019t do one vital thing \u2013 pay attention.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMajor disruptors in the customer relations industry are driven by an intense need to secure personal connections with customers \u2013 both current and potential \u2013 as a means to enhance the customer experience at all touch-points through a customer-for-life mind-set,\u201d said Eugenio Cassiano, Chief Innovation Officer at SAP Hybris.<\/p>\n The impact of big data and analytics on the customer experience: A bridge over troubled water<\/strong><\/p>\n According to Cassiano, the CX revolution of the future will rely heavily on employees becoming more customer-focused and working creatively to resolve problems, offering a highly focused, responsive, and personalized service.<\/p>\n \u201cMachine learning is something is going to impact how employees interact with the customer, and it will also become a tool that supports the customer as they progress through different touch-points within an organization. It\u2019s important for us, being in the business of customer relations, to get to the next level of intelligent enterprise, and we do this by focusing less on the outcome, and more on doing the right thing at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s vital for any brand to have the foresight to get ahead of upcoming technology trends. Examples include the increasing sophistication of virtual assistants to facilitate everyday customer interactions, and augmented machine learning software for immersive customer experiences.<\/p>\n The cutting edge of omnichannel marketing and AI<\/strong><\/p>\n Omnichannel marketing is changing. Though it works across many touchpoints, there is a gradual evolution towards what is known as customer success management. This shifts the traditional role of a CMO into a Customer Success Manager position.<\/p>\n The message is clear from the top \u2013 we want to develop customers for \u201clife\u201d i.e. continuing beyond a touchpoint. In the customer experience revolution, it will be this approach that gives leaders of commerce the edge in customer relations management.<\/p>\n Customer success: What sales orgs must know<\/strong><\/p>\n If there were only two or three key factors for sales organizations to be aware of for customer success, what would these be?<\/p>\n Efficiency:<\/strong> Organizations need to optimize costs where possible, and make more intelligent sales decisions, which will lead to less waste.<\/p>\n Customer-for-life mindset:<\/strong> As customer expectations change, so should we \u2013 we need new and responsive models for developing and maintaining customer satisfaction. This will lead to increased revenues and stability.<\/p>\n Keep it simple:<\/strong> Get back to basics, but with more empathy. In the future, employees will have an intimated understanding of the customer developed through big data and will be working towards a longer-term relationship, past the point of sale.<\/p>\n