SAP Customer Experience LIVE 2020 was the first time SAP CX held an event completely online. Earlier, we put together a Champions Roundtable to look ahead to CX Live. We returned to our roundtable this week for reactions.
Participants included:
- Jeannie Walters, CEO and Chief Customer Experience Investigator, Experience Investigators
- Scott Luton, Founder and CEO, Supply Chain Now
- Denise Lee Yohn, Brand Leadership Expert, Author, and Speaker
And me, leading the discussion.
Making virtual engaging
Are organizations beginning to figure out how to pull off virtual events and make them more engaging? If CX LIVE 2020 is any measure, it looks to be true.
All of our roundtable guests found comedian Sarah Jones, the host for CX Live, to be warm and quite funny. “Her personality just oozed out across the event,” says Jeannie Walters. Check out a promo video she did for the event:
Ashton Kutcher – actor and tech investor – was a hit, too. Scott Luton likes how Kutcher brings the human factor to the fore when evaluating whether or not to invest in a company. “He looks for enduring folks that create enduring happiness,” say Luton. Not a bad yardstick!
Denise Lee Yohn found the event platform “engaging and immersive,” making it possible for Sarah Jones’ personality to shine through. Jones personally helped many attendees navigate the platform and get comfortable for the event. Luton also praises the search function of the platform – which helped attendees find breakout sessions and other happenings throughout the event.
Resilience, opportunity, and more
During #SAPCXLIVE, Ashton Kutcher mentioned two words in particular that come to mind when he thinks about our collective Covid-19 experience. He talked about resilience and opportunity.
During our roundtable, I asked our guests to follow suite with their own words about the same.
Here’s what came to mind:
- Adaptability: Jeannie Walters has seen a lot of companies learning the importance of being adaptable during all the changes forced by the coronavirus in 2020. Even in the midst of the pandemic, companies are pushing through with digital transformations designed to help them meet the needs of customers no matter what they are.
- Leadership: Denise Lee Yohh feels like the coronavirus is separating out the great leaders from the rest of the pack. Great leadership knows how to communicate to employees and customers alike, how to set expectations, and how to follow through on initiatives that keep the customer front and center.
- Reality: Scott Luton thinks the coronavirus has deliver a heaping helping of reality to companies everywhere. If you’ve always thought your organization to be resilient, well coronavirus has likely put you through the test. The only way to improve and remain relevant in today’s altered economy is to face up to the reality of your strengths and weaknesses as a company.
- Innovation: As for yours truly, my word is “innovation” – which I think has been quite strong throughout the pandemic. Neither is it temporary. Much of what’s being perfected today will long outlive the pandemic. CX Live itself serves as an example. Hopefully, next year we return to a live event, but look for virtual capabilities – expertly executed – to play more of role for remote attendees moving forward.
One company featured at SAP Customer Experience LIVE seems to inhabit all of these traits: Maui Jim sunglasses.
Before the pandemic, Maui Jim had a three-year plan in place. In face of the virus, leadership at the company faced the reality that their plan no longer reflected reality. With resilience, adaptability, and commitment to innovation, Maui Jim has kept its brand relevant to customers. During CX LIVE, attendees were live- streaming accolades for the company – that’s brand loyalty.
Customer experience is the product
Maui Jim sells sunglass – but so do many other companies. What sets Maui Jim apart is the experience customers have with the company. Maui Jim has a fan base – which was self-evident at CX LIVE.
Many think that the days of differentiation based on price are numbered. Increasingly, CX matters more to customers.
In the roundtable, Denise Lee Yohn adds that empowering employees to deliver these experiences is an important key to success.
Luton added: “When you start to compete on CX and make that your strategy, it’s the ultimate differentiator, because customer experience is delivered by the humans at your company and no one else has your humans.”
Humans make the difference. That’s good news, I hope.