Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers. Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization & Innovation Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...
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R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...
Read moreIn interviews with over 100 digitally focused, modern CMO’s, shared common challenges in the transformation of their roles and with the support of new digital business models. The top 20 modern marketing challenges (not in order of importance) include:
As the head marketing role evolves, Constellation identifies archetypes of the modern CMO. Using an approach that considers marketing strategy versus marketing execution and audience development versus audience acquisition, four distinct personas emerge (see Figure 1):
While few CMO’s can bring all four personas to the table, modern CMO’s bring on lieutenants to balance out their weaknesses. Given each of the personas must perform to a different set of metrics, CMO’s must identify which areas they need to prioritize. For those prioritizing on audience acquisition, brand and demand generation tend to gain focus. For those focusing on audience development, communities and internal communication projects are prioritized. The modern CMO role will require he or she to manage the portfolio against changing business models and the digital transformation ahead.
Are you ready to transform marketing? How will you develop the four personas of the modern CMO. Add your comments to the blog or reach me via email: R (at) ConstellationR (dot) com or R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) org.
Please let us know if you need help with your Digital Business transformation efforts. Here’s how we can assist:
Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
Read moreNICE Systems announced that it has received four prestigious Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. NICE won three Silver Stevie® Awards in the Contact Center Solution New Version category for the following:
NICE’s Sales Performance Management Suite also took home a Bronze Stevie® in the Incentive Management Solution category. The suite provides the end-to-end ability to create, manage and distribute all aspects of a commissions program. It automates the process of commission, bonus, and incentive administration in support of any type of variable pay strategy to deliver a pay-for-performance system that rewards employees for achieving targets that align with business strategy.
The 10th Annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top sales awards, business development awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 115 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. More than 60 members of several specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging earlier this month.
“Entries to the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service continue to grow every year, further validating the essential roles that business development, customer service, and sales play in business success,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie® Awards. “The widespread support of this program made the 2016 competition that much more intense among finalists. The judges were deeply impressed by the winner’s accomplishments and we congratulate all of the winners on their commitment to excellence and innovation.”
“We are honored to have received four Stevie Awards in recognition of our leading customer engagement solutions,” said Miki Migdal, President of the NICE Enterprise Product Group. “NICE is committed to providing organizations with all the tools and information they need to create outstanding customer experiences and to make sure their employees are fully engaged, informed and prepared for every interaction. The innovation of our solutions is grounded in this mission.”
Details about the Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Stevie® winners in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/sales.
@drnatalie petouhoff, Constellation Research
Covering Customer Service, Customer Experience and Digital Transformation
Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
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Starting something new is exhilarating, daring and, at times, even daunting. People who create know this. Having an idea isn’t the hardest part. Getting that idea off the ground is – building adoption, clarifying value, then scaling that idea to realize its full impact in the world.
Building a sustainable, vibrant developer community is hard work. It isn’t just about APIs, SDKs or toolkits. It’s about working together to solve problems. Engaging community members wherever they are. Defining a long-term strategy that benefits all. Creating real revenue and business value to flow to everyone. Promoting those successes. And doing the hard work every day of supporting, servicing, communicating with, adjusting when necessary, and expanding the ecosystem around the community.
They are creating such a place. A place where ideas become tangible. A place to access technology that is essential to people’s everyday lives – money, finances, and identity. A place they call Capital One DevExchange.
It’s time that banking and financial services catch up to the rest of our digital-enabled lives. They still believe that information, technology and great people are the magical combination needed to drive innovation. But they also know that great people – including great developers, engineers, and product visionaries – are everywhere. And they want to work with you.The challenge isn’t just to convince people to devote their engineering and development resources to working with them. It’s also to make sure you have a voice in this community.
Maybe the world is changing? Nice to see people being considered as a key component!
@drnatalie petouhoff
Covering Digital Transformation
Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
Read moreHow Does IOT and Customer Behaviors Affect The Insurance Technology Companies?
The World Insurance Report 2016 (WIR), released by Capgemini, identifies multiple threats pushing the insurance industry toward massive disruption. The continued evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT), combined with changing behaviors and preferences from Gen Y1 customers, is driving the urgent need for insurers to undergo significant transformation or risk falling behind emerging competitors such as FinTechs.
What Did the Capgemini Voice of the Customer Survey Find?
Capgemini’s Voice of the Customer Survey, (which covered) more than 15,500 insurance customers worldwide, found that Gen Y customers are much less likely to have positive experiences with their insurers compared to other age groups, despite communicating with them more frequently. Gen Y customers have more interactions with their insurer across all communication channels, particularly digital ones. They interact with insurers up to 2.5 times more on social media than other customers and over two times more via mobile.
Gen Y Has Higher Expectations of Digital Experiences Than Older Generations Those interactions, however, are resulting in positive customer experience levels that are nearly 20 percentage points lower than those of customers in other age brackets, suggesting that Gen Y customers have higher expectations for the standard of digital channels than their older peers. Given that more than one-quarter of all customers plan to purchase or renew their insurance through digital channels in the next 12 months, customer experience levels among Gen Y customers is particularly concerning for the industry. In addition, nearly one-quarter of Gen Y customers say they would be likely to buy insurance from non-traditional technology-led providers, highlighting the threat from emerging competitors to the customer base of traditional insurers.
A Note From The Executives: John Mullen, Corporate Vice President and Global Insurance Leader for Capgemini said, “By not providing adequate engagement for digitally-advanced customers, carriers run the risk of pushing them toward a growing population of market entrants and non-traditional technology-driven competitors. Gen Y is clearly indicating that they do business differently and those insurers who respond to them on their terms will have a clear competitive advantage.”
A more fundamental threat, or enabler, to the future of insurers is the coming wave of connected technologies, in the form of such innovations as smart home ecosystems, wearable devices and machine-enabled drones, robots, and cars. These IoT technologies are expected to transform traditional insurance business models, including everything from the way insurers connect with their customers to their fundamental assessment and management of risk. Yet despite this threat, insurers are significantly underestimating the degree to which connected technologies will be broadly adopted. Only 16 percent of insurers think customers will embrace driverless cars, for example, while 23 percent of customers express interest.
Gen X is More Likely To Adopt Connected Devices
More significant than age, affluence2 is the most compelling factor in determining customer uptake of IoT technologies. More than 45 percent of affluent Gen X3 customers are likely to adopt connected devices, smart ecosystems and wearables, compared to only 30 percent to 35 percent of younger, non-affluent Gen Y customers. Customers that are both Gen Y and affluent are the most likely to adopt connected technologies (50 percent). However, affluent customers are also more likely to purchase insurance from non-traditional technology-led firms. Nearly 31 percent of affluent customers globally say they are likely to purchase insurance from technology firms, a percentage that increases to 47 percent for affluent Gen Y customers.
IoT Is Expected to Have a Big Impact on Redefining Risk in the Insurance Business. In addition to its impact on customer connections, IoT is expected to have an even bigger impact on the core tenets of the insurance business. In a connected world, data provided by connected devices, smart ecosystems and wearables will increase risk transparency, a dynamic that will likely lead to new business models, especially in pricing and risk control. Risk ownership will also shift with connected technologies, as responsibility for actions, for example in the case of driverless cars, moves from car owner to car manufacturer. Finally and most important, IoT looms large in managing the level of risk exposure due to safer environments. This will shift premiums significantly, threatening some carriers, but providing opportunities for those who can understand the emerging risks that are inherent as the rate of technology change becomes more pervasive in the lives of people and commerce.
What Should Insurers Do? Insurers must start preparing themselves for the transformation of the insurance business. The report advises insurers to build strong but agile foundations in the short term. In the medium term, they must sharpen their value propositions through strategic alliances and data-driven insights. Long-term strategies must focus on transforming the business to stay ahead of emerging risk profiles, new interaction models, changing customer behaviors and IoT’s expected disruption of risk selection, pricing, and loss prevention.
“While already experiencing digital disruption, the insurance industry needs to brace itself for the massive, inevitable disruption brought on by Gen Y and the Internet of Things,” said Vincent Bastid, Secretary General, Efma. “Those insurers who make it a top priority to improve their ability to manage and leverage data and risk will be the most prepared.”
The World Insurance Report 2016 features data from more than 15,000 insurance customers globally through Capgemini’s Voice of the Customer survey and exclusive Customer Experience Index (CEI), as well as findings from more than 150 insurance executive interviews. The report’s research covers 30 markets across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific representing 93 percent of the global insurance market in terms of premium income.
For more information visit www.worldinsurancereport.com
The report will be presented at the Insurance Summit in Milan on June 9-10, 2016. To register to attend the event, please visit: www.efma.com/insurance16.
Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
Read moreCustomer experience management is a top priority for many enterprises, particularly as we look beyond 2016 to the competitive landscape. Today, customer experience heavily influences customer retention, customer loyalty, and customer advocacy – all desirable outcomes for modern organizations.
Managing the customer experience, however, is a facet of business operations that proves challenging. From utilizing the right technology to support customer experience, to empowering employees with a sense of ownership that cultivates a strong desire to provide exceptional experiences for customers, to developing systems and protocols to create a consistent experience across touch points and channels, there are myriad considerations to weigh when designing a customer experience management program.
We’ve rounded up 55 tips from customer experience thought leaders to help you navigate the complex maze of customer experience management, encompassing challenges, best practices, examples, and strategies for creating amazing customer experiences from the top down in your organization.
Click on a category name below to jump to a specific section:
Use predictive insights to deliver optimized responses in real-time. “To provide an experience where customers can navigate across multiple devices (mobile or desk-bound), brands must deliver engagement and shopping experiences that recognize each device and automatically adjust interactions to deliver seamless experiences. You will want to be able to respond to each customer’s interactions in real time and extend relevant content and offers based on an individual’s real-time activity, when their engagement is at its highest.” – Natalie Petouhoff (Dr. Natalie), Webinar About Best Practices: Customer Experience Management, Technology, Roles and Strategy, Dr. Natalie; Twitter: @drnatalie
Want to see all the tips? You can find them here at NGDATA.
Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers. Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization & Innovation Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...
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Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
Read moreIt’s just not true. Customer self-service is one of the key capabilities of any company that actually cares about their customers. Companies contemplating a self-service customer care solution to support digital customer experiences should consider the following five steps:
1. Anticipate Requirements for a Digital Business Model. As organizations make
the shift to a post-sale, on-demand, attention economy, organizations must start supporting self-service for post-sale scenarios. Brands and organizations should plan to support customers frequently during and after the sale and direct them to the next self-service experiences whether they be answers, community, video, product, new offer or feedback.
2. Determine Your Company’s Willingness to Change. Suggestions for improving self-service cannot be realized unless the organization, from top to bottom, is ready for transformational change and has the structure and the budget to make and support change. Align incentives to support self-service and digital customer experience initiatives by the customer’s journey. Customer experience should not be governed by a department or fiefdom business model. It must be driven by being customer-focused regardless of which department “owns” the channel.
3. Determine Metrics for Reducing the Cost to Serve Customers, While Enhancing Revenue from Top-Notch Customer Experiences. Look at critical metrics like First Contact Resolution (FCR), Average Handle Time (AHT), reduction in call volume, increases in the opportunity to generate revenue, improved marketing, greater self- service employee engagement, increased digital customer engagement on any device, anywhere, anytime. Use the customer journey as the guide for overall success metrics.
4. Create and Use the Customer Journey Map to Maximize the Customer Experience. Evaluate your current customer journey from the customer’s point of view. How customer-focused are the ways in which customers can interact and engage with your company? Remember, customers don’t think about which department they are interfacing with. They just want you to give them what they need, regardless of channel or device. They expect you to understand their context when they seek you out and expect that your responses are relevant, transparent and authentic. Once you have created a set of current customer journey maps, ask customers how they could be even more customer-focused. Use that feedback to transform your customer journeys.
5. Deploy a Solution to Create Integrated, Personalized, Seamless Customer Experiences that Generate Customer Loyalty. When you serve the customer, you serve the business. As you interview vendors, make sure they answer all your questions and you understand how the software will solve your business issues. When you find a solution that can provide the answers to your business issues, you will be able to reduce operational and managerial costs as well as increase revenue through the excellent customer experiences your brand creates.
For more information about this paper, you can find it here.
@Drnatalie Petouhoff
VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Covering Customer Service, Self-Service and Customer Experience
R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...
Read moreAn estimated 1800 paid attendees, 4200 partners and employees converged into New Orleans, Louisiana, for Microsoft’s inaugural business decision makers conference. The three day event which also drew 100,000 online viewers, started April 4th, 2016 and concluded April 6th, 2016. The event themes celebrated business transformation and digital transformation. During the keynote, CEO Satya Nadella welcomed the audience and emphasized how this event focused on, “The role technology can play in making these (transformational) changes happen.”
As organizations make the shift to a digital organization, that transformation requires organizations to think about the shift in their business model and how disruptive technologies will transform the business model. Nadella’s keynote echoed similar themes in the past in how organizations must move from systems of transaction to systems of intelligence and maintain a customer focus with digital feedback loops.
While the Commander Scott Kelly interview by Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela was the highlight of the Day 1 keynotes, the announcements and demos throughout the event gave attendees an insight into the transformation possibilities that lay ahead. Three key announcements provided insight into the current and future landscape of Microsoft and its brand promise to business leaders:
CEO Satya Nadella has embarked on both a cultural and market transformation of Microsoft and the early efforts are starting to pay dividends. Rising on the momentum of Build 2016, Microsoft showed both humility and optimism in what it can offer organizations seeking business transformation through technology. While traditionally focused on technology decision makers, the unique inaugural conference provides a first step in capturing the hearts and minds of business leaders looking for a trusted provider. In fact, conversations with over 100 business leaders show that business leaders seek platforms to deliver market differentiation in an era of digital transformation. The early efforts of Envision show customers the relevance of Microsoft and the opportunities to co-innovate and co-create solutions that have not been discovered to date. Success in the future will require better participation and inclusion by partners in the process and a greater focus on business outcomes and programming thought leadership.
Do you see Microsoft as a leader in delivering on digital transformation? Will you consider Microsoft technologies in a different light? Do you miss Convergence? Add your comments to the blog or reach me via email: R (at) ConstellationR (dot) com or R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) org.
Microsoft Build 2016 – Day 1 Keynote Takeaways
Research Report: Blockchain: Understanding the Weak Links
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Copyright © 2001 -2016 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC All rights reserved.
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Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
Read moreWant to know a paradigm that has always been false, but many people believe it? Organizations are battling each other to deliver the best customer experience for the right customer at the right time in the right channel. Customer service and customer engagement now play key roles in digital transformation strategy. However, leaders often stigmatize customer service or customer care as a cost center. This paradigm is false. Who created this paradigm should have their sanity checked. It makes no sense at all. Unless of course, a company is doing a poor job of customer service and customer experience.
Savvy managers understand the value of great customer service and experiences. Top notch self- service is a key part of excellence in customer experience. New channels such as text and social media have now surpassed the phone for the first time in history, showing how channels to the customer must be ubiquitous.
This report looks at the nine pillars for successful customer self-service:
Some of the benefits of providing excellent customer self-service are:
• Reducing the cost to serve customers through the deflection of issues from the content center
• Helping customers to obtain information quickly and easily on any device,
anywhere, anytime
• Delivering unique, personalized, seamless, consistent, self-service customer experiences via many channels
• Improving consistency of answers and increasing first contact resolution rates and customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Increasing positive word of mouth, earned media exposure and likelihood of recommendations about products and services to friends and family members and
• Reducing risks, fraud and mistakes and improving compliance.
For more information about this report, you can find it here.
@drnatalie petouhoff
VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Covering Customer Service, Customer Experience and Customer Self-Service
