suitecx©2015,  suitecx Inc. December  20,  2015

Customer  Experience  Management:8  Customer  Experience  Predictions  for  2016As  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  and social.

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.

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