A lot of customer experience tends to revolve around the warm and fuzzy: engaging with customers, and how brands can ‘delight’ them. These soft metrics are important, but not exactly what’s top of mind for the CEO and other business leaders.
The CEO is focused on what CX means for growth, conversion, and cost. Paying more attention to these kind of business metrics will influence the way organizations look at CX moving forward, said Sameer Patel, Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer, SAP Customer Experience.
“It’s those kinds of things that govern our product strategy and our focus for how we bring a good balance of the important softer metrics with a very considerable effort on solving real business problems,” he said during #SAPCXLIVE.
With its breadth of products and global reach, SAP offers businesses “industrial-grade CX,” Patel said. “We will let you be as big and successful as you want.”
The real business benefits of CX done right
Companies that have adapted to rapid market changes by transforming their customer experience are seeing results, according to a global survey of CX leaders by Aberdeen Strategy and Research.
“Businesses are not only creating happier customers, but also generating operational efficiency and driving better financial outcomes,” said Omer Minkara, Aberdeen VP and Principal Analyst, at SAP CX LIVE.
Having a single view of customer data across the business is key to helping these companies deliver agile CX and personalized experiences, he said.
Artificial intelligence is a gamechanger for marketers, said Sara Richter, CMO of Emarsys, an SAP company. Better use of AI, breaking down silos, and integrating customer data with back-office data can pay dividends.
While Aberdeen research showed that 80% of companies struggle to use data, those that get it right see increases in customer lifetime value of up to 240% year over year, she said.
Green CX: Sustainability + growth
Some may view sustainability and business growth as separate goals, but not Pia Heidenmark Cook, former CSO and current Senior Advisor to IKEA. Her view: Customers today value sustainability and expect it from the brands they do business with.
“Why do customers trust companies? Sustainability is a big driver of trust,” she said.
IKEA takes a multi-pronged approach to the circular economy by looking at how where it sources products, shifting to renewable and recyclable products, and testing ways to make products last as long as possible.
Sustainability isn’t just a passing trend, she said “It’s not a fad. The science is clear. Customers are changing. Investors are changing. It will be the new normal,” Heidenmark Cook said.
Companies need to understand the topic, assess their risks from an environmental and social perspective, and figure out how they can be part of the solution.
“Data is there to help you make the right decision, no matter if that’s a financial decision or an environmental or social decision,” she said. “It’s about how you enable change.”
Spotlight on customer success
At Moen, automation helped the American maker of faucets and other fixtures streamline sales and service for better efficiency and effectiveness. First, the company focused on helping its sellers improve their close rates. After seeing good results and quick wins, Moen shifted its focus to its consumer call center, where agents pored through thousands of pages of technical specifications to get answers for customers.
Shifting to a digital platform with SAP boosted first-call resolution without any drop in Moen’s high Net Promoter Score, said Tim Baker, SVP of Information Technology at Fortune Brands Global Plumbing Group. Showcasing evidence of the value prop of the CX digital initiative helped win support from other parts of the organization, he said.
When Western Digital wanted to open its own e-commerce shop to reach consumers directly, it turned to SAP. Selling through marketplaces and outsourcing to third-party vendors for its three brands had created confusion for customers. The company wanted to control its messaging — and costs.
“How do we control our digital destiny?” Gopal Bist, Director of IT, Digital Commerce and Marketing at Western Digital, said in a panel discussion at an SAP CX Live event in Santa Clara, Calif.
Western Digital is leveraged the flexibility of SAP Commerce Cloud beyond the B2C world to its B2B customers. B2B customers want the same kind of experiences they enjoy in the consumer space, Gopal noted.
Going with a mobile-first strategy during the pandemic paid off for Casey’s, said Kathleen Kalpakoff, Global VP, Customer Experience Advisory at SAP. The midwestern chain of gas stations and convenience stores launched a native mobile app that was an immediate hit with three million downloads. The app helped boost Casey’s revenue 65%.
Brands also are boosting CX and driving business value through personalization. Levi Strauss & Co. leverages AI and machine learning to create hyper-personalized offers to drive customer loyalty.
The customer journey has changed dramatically in the past 10 years, said Karthik Kumar, VP of Global Brand and Commercial Tech, Levi Strauss & Co.
“People sit on their couch and browse your website, then walk into the store and expect you to know them,” he said.
Better.
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Amazing every time.
A CX that drives loyalty + bottom lines starts HERE.
