2015: The Year That Customer Engagement Took Center Stage
Reflecting back on 2015, one thing is clear: Customer engagement took center stage. We read about it from industry thought leaders. We heard about it first-hand from customers at our Engage™ events all over the world. And, we saw it all over the media.
One thing is clear: customer engagement is here to stay. In fact, we started the year with industry firm, Saddletree Research, proclaiming: “Welcome to the era of Customer Engagement Optimization!” It is indeed a new era, and it’s not enough to simply think about how to engage with your customers more effectively. We all need to optimize!
It does beg the question, however: What exactly is customer engagement?
According to Paul Greenberg, president of customer strategy consulting firm The 56 Group, it is “theongoing interactions between company and customer, offered by the company and chosen by the customer.” He goes on to say that “CRM has systems of record, and customer engagement has systems of engagement ranging from gamification to customer identity management to customer analytics.”
And, it doesn’t stop there. Greenberg goes on to say that customer engagement “is required to capture, keep and analyze the data about the customer so that insights can lead to a better engagement, leading to a great experience, which enhances those ongoing interactions.”
Further, customer engagement extends beyond the customer service function. According to research advisory and consulting firm DMG Consulting, “Great service needs to be an integral part of a company’s culture, the overarching operating imperative that guides every employee’s interactions with customers and prospects and how departments work with each other.”
The ultimate goal: Customers achieve better outcomes with less effort.
The survey results we commissioned through The New Rules of Customer Engagement with Ovum and Opinium showed that the majority of consumers surveyed just want their questions answered quickly and easily. Even when companies make mistakes, many consumers are forgiving of companies they feel make an effort to understand what they are trying to accomplish and how helping them will reach that goal. A clear need to strike the right balance between personalized service and privacy can help establish longer-lasting relationships.
Our Verint Engage events that took place this year around the globe afforded us the unique opportunity in 2015 to hear from customers who are squarely focused on optimizing customer engagement. Some were also seeking to drive down operational costs and others to increase revenue. And all wanted to improve customer loyalty. You can read more about their inspiring stories here.
Stay tuned for my upcoming 2016 predictions blog about what trends will likely most affect how we take care of our customers in the new year and beyond.
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