There’s no doubt that customer experience (CX) has become a board-room level discussion as it’s grown to be the key brand differentiator.
In recent research, we found that 61% of consumers are willing to pay more for a better experience, and 55% would switch brands for better levels of service.
We found consumers valued efficiency in solving their problems, the ability to self-serve effortlessly, and expect frictionless interactions delivered on the channels they want to use.
We recently partnered with research firm Metrigy to find out about the latest CX trends and how cloud communications platforms (CPaaS) are helping enterprises to build inclusive customer experiences across the entire customer journey.
CX and CPaaS are intertwined
Robin Gareiss, CEO and principal analyst at Metrigy, undertook recent research that showed the majority of businesses are working to improve CX and have various initiatives currently underway. More specifically, 22% have initiatives planned for this year and 16% for 2023.
Priorities of these initiatives are wide-ranging, but the top of the list includes:
- adding cloud-based applications
- improving customer self-service capabilities
- fraud prevention
- scaling conversational interactions
To enable these initiatives, many organisations are turning to CPaaS, harnessing the APIs and real-time communication capabilities offered by providers to automate communications, add new channels, utilise AI, etc.
Giving insight into adoption, 38% of businesses are already leveraging CPaaS platforms, while 30% plan to use them this year and 10% plan to invest next year. Of these, 29% expect their use of CPaaS to increase drastically as they scale capabilities to address more complex solutions, workflows, and use cases.
The convergence of lines of business to deliver outstanding CX
We know that the way companies do business is changing. Traditionally, marketing is tasked with driving new opportunities for revenue, operations deliver a rigid process for fulfilment, and customer service reacts to inbound customer problems.
But now, these business areas are converging, with those that really understand great CX treating customer journeys as a virtuous cycle.
How can marketing deliver personalised interactions across multiple channels and simplify the hand-off to operations? How can operations deliver interactive experiences that are valuable for the consumer and business, as well as link back to marketing for new opportunities?
How can customer service become more proactive in addressing customer needs before they contact the business? The entire customer journey needs to be a connected experience delivered at scale across multiple channels and geographics.
A central platform enables a connected experience
CPaaS providers vary in their approach to implementation. Some specialise in offering just APIs for developers, while others offer low-code platforms from which to build and manage applications.
The central platform approach, otherwise known as enterprise CPaaS, lays the foundation for delivering a connected experience. The platform acts as an orchestration and automation layer between an organisation’s systems and customer channels.
It enables inbound and outbound integrations into enterprise systems, allowing data within these systems to be leveraged to power and updated. As a result, more complex end-to-end journeys can be orchestrated and automated with interactions maintaining context across time and channels.
Start with the moments that matter
With CPaaS’s wide range of capabilities, it can be difficult to know where to start or scale efforts. Some companies may already have mature messaging programs, while others are just starting out. The key is to focus on high-value, high-impact use cases, looking at the main pain points within the customer journey. Addressing these ‘moments that matter’ drives tangible return on investment for different lines of business.
It’s important to recognise that uses-cases will likely grow over time into full end-to-end experiences. For example, a retailer might start with a simple triggered RCS reminder of an upcoming delivery of a new TV, and this will evolve into a two-way interaction, allowing the customer to respond that they will be available for delivery, reschedule, or designate a safe place for drop off.
Once the item has been delivered, an automated follow-up message can be sent sharing a video with installation instructions, and if the customer needs more help they can request to speak to an agent. All of this can be delivered in-channel without having to direct the customer to an app or website.
Learn more about CPaaS and Metrigy’s research
As businesses prioritise digital transformation and improved CX, the maturing CPaaS market will have an important role to play. Enterprise CPaaS will be particularly critical for larges organisations whose IT departments are under increasing pressure to enhance digital competitiveness and enable a connected experience.
To learn more, download the ‘How CPaaS is Transforming Digital Engagements’ on-demand webinar.
This article is part of a paid partnership with imimobile, part of Webex by Cisco.
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