Customer experience is one of the biggest concerns that today’s companies need to face. If you can’t deliver the experiences that your clients are going for, then they have no problem abandoning you for another vendor that can provide the goods.
The question is, in today’s ever-changing business world, how do you make sure that you’re delivering the moments that your customers crave?
Enghouse Interactive is one of the leading experts in the customer communications world today. Through immersive contact centre solutions, they give companies a way to differentiate their services, provide customer loyalty, and gain feedback. Enghouse Interactive is also one of the fastest-growing software companies in the space today.
To glean a better understanding of how the world is changing in the context of CX and customer experience solutions, I spoke to Group VP of marketing and alliances for Enghouse Interactive, Jeremy Payne.
What is the Customer Conversation Like Today?
As businesses of all shapes and sizes explore new opportunities, I was keen to find out what the conversation looks like for businesses like Enghouse when they serve a customer. After all, there are plenty of PBXs and platforms out there from Cisco to Microsoft, and many of these UC and contact centre solutions take very different approaches.
“Usually, what customers are looking for is something that will sit over the top of their existing technology and push information back and forth. They want a complete overview of what’s going on with their customers on all levels.”
“At Enghouse, our contact centre can pull data from various proprietary systems, into a universal queue. This means that organisations don’t have to waste the investments they’ve already made, whilst they deploy a controlled migration towards a new fully digital state”
According to Jeremy Payne, the real conversation for many companies right now revolves around system integration. In an era of disruptive technology like AI and self-service, the key focus is on making the customer experience better than ever – in a way that remains cost-effective for companies. “One of the biggest problems is simply ensuring system integration. When we visit companies, most of the time we see that they already have 90% of the puzzle pieces they need. They just haven’t found a way to connect everything yet.”
How Do You Approach Customers Today?
With so many new technologies in the marketplace, there’s a lot more to talk about in today’s UC, and contact centre environment than there once was. I asked Jeremy how Enghouse addresses this new conversation.
He told me that the first thing his company does is take people back to the basics, asking them about the top customer journeys that drive revenue, compliance opportunities and cost for the business. “We find the customer journeys that require the most attention, and the ones that deliver the biggest bang for the company’s buck. Then we can start to look at those journeys in terms of what customers are trying to do, and how we can make things easier for them.”
According to Payne, usually, there’s a focus on removing any unnecessary steps in a customer journey, so that they can access the most convenient experiences. Once Enghouse has successfully mapped out their customer journeys, they can look at what “pieces of the puzzle” the company has to contribute, in terms of people, process, policy and technology and then map out where the gaps are.
“It’s not about just responding to the hype curve where everyone assumes that they need AI and chatbots just because they’re new.” Enghouse addresses customer experience by actually looking at the customer journey and finding out what the customer wants and what the business needs.
Is There an Ideal Contact Centre Solution?
Buying a contact centre in the modern environment isn’t just about finding the technology you need right now. Companies are investing in solutions for both today and tomorrow. For some organisations, this means taking a digital by design approach. “Every company has it’s own journey to consider. I think nobody has a crystal ball where they can just see into the future. As a business, you can make assumptions on your business model, but the rest is very changeable.”
For Jeremy, the best solution is one that’s as flexible and agile as possible. This means creating systems that have open APIs, and the ability to integrate with other solutions as the business evolves. One of the limiting factors for many companies right now is that their systems have been designed to work in a single environment.
“Enghouse has very open APIs, so we don’t mind which system we’re building on. We’re giving people the flexibility and adaptability they need to move in a way and speed that’s right for them”
Where Do You Think the Industry is Heading?
Finally, I asked Payne where he thinks the industry is heading, and what today’s companies need to thrive. He told me that Enghouse is focusing on a “have it your way” approach with their business roadmap. “There’s no one size fits all. If you think about the shift to the cloud, pure cloud isn’t right for everyone. Some third-party integrations will be in the cloud, and others won’t be. Having the option to deploy in a way that’s right for the business is key to our thinking. Open APIs and our ability to integrate with the things that matter is essential.”
Jeremy and Enghouse believe that the future will be built on agility and flexibility. Companies need to be able to pull the right solutions for their needs into their systems at the correct times. “It’s not just about plugging new technology into a system. It’s about making sure that people understand where they’ll be getting value from their new technology.”
The world is changing at a rapid pace, and for many companies, the move to the cloud will be inevitable and irresistible. However, everyone has their own approach.
“Businesses need agile systems, underpinned with agile thinking to deliver the right customer experiences”
