Allow me to introduce myself. I am Laura Bassett, the Director of Marketing at Avaya for Customer Experience and Emerging Technologies.
Recently I was privileged to deliver the keynote at the ACCE 2012 conference in Seattle. The focus was on how businesses can leverage new strategies and innovations to improve day-to-day performance, manage the customer experience, and foster long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty. Afterwards I was impressed with how many people approached me and said that now, more than ever, they are finding it more and more necessary to implement new best practices and cutting edge technologies in order to stay competitive.
The fact is, our world has CHANGED. The way people interact has changed. Forever. We as citizens and consumers are more AWARE, more INFORMED, more CONNECTED.... We are more MOBILE, more SOCIAL, and more NETWORKED...The traditional ways of managing relationships has changed. FOREVER. And that means the way we respond as businesses has to change.
Making sure your customers have the best possible experiences (keeping you in business) means we need to embrace change, not be afraid of it. Roll with the punches and find a way to turn those experiences into opportunities. Being truly customer driven means making sure people, processes, and technologies are interconnected and working in symphony.
But, managing a differentiated customer experience can seem overwhelming. Think about it: "Crowd-sourced" buying behaviors and customer service models...Mobile...Social...Video...SMS and Instant Messaging. "Big Data" and Analytics...Proactive customer care...Customer Service in the Cloud... Oh me, oh my!
Creating and delivering a superior customer experience means getting out of our comfort zones. It means a persistent holistic focus on understanding and measuring customer experience, innovation and strategy, branding and experience design...Most importantly, it demands a strong focus on your CULTURE and your PEOPLE. It's all about Customer Experience Management.
But why does it matter? Well, according to your customers it does. 90% of consumers will share their experiences across their social networks. I will leave to your imagination the impact that can make - both positively and negatively. Be sure to check back frequently for more information like this in our upcoming blogs! For example, you'll see some compelling results from a consumer preferences study that will generate some new ideas!
My team and I, as well as many guest bloggers, are bringing you this forum to talk about Customer Experience Management. Over the next several weeks and months we'll have subject matter experts talking about evolving key technology trends, and providing their insight and innovative ideas about managing powerful customer experiences.
We also know many of you are talking the talk AND walking the walk, and we want to hear first hand what's "top of mind" so we can learn from your comments and insight as well! So, stay tuned as we get this conversation started and, of course, if you have something you'd like to talk about, please let us know!
