The ever-growing importance of Customer Experience tools

Many enterprises have already realized the power of great customer experience (CX) and have optimised their contact centres with technology to accommodate hybrid working. 

The 2023 NTT Global Customer Experience Report looks at the importance of CX and EX and how they are being transformed, delivered and managed, based on a global survey spanning nearly 1,400 organizations in 25 countries. The report reveals that CX remains a top C-suite priority, with 95% of organizations now having a named C-suite executive responsible for this business area. 

The report found that the majority of CEOs agree that improvements in CX (92%) and EX (91%) will directly affect their net profit. However, there is room for improvement, as over 80% of organizations agree that CX and EX are currently a weak link for them, leading to a negative impact on their business.

Customer experience directly impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. As businesses strive to meet and exceed customer expectations, a positive customer experience can differentiate them from their competitors, increase brand value, and drive revenue growth. 

Consumers have access to a myriad of options and channels to interact with businesses. Delivering a seamless, personalized, and efficient customer experience across all touchpoints has become a top priority for enterprises. Enterprises can adopt various customer experience tools to enhance their customer interactions. Here's an overview of technologies that enterprises can adopt to improve CX.  

1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software: This tool helps enterprises manage customer data, interactions, and feedback in a centralized platform. It enables businesses to track customer behavior, understand their preferences, and personalize their interactions. 
2. Customer Feedback Management (CFM) software: This tool allows businesses to collect, analyze, and act upon customer feedback across multiple channels. It helps enterprises identify areas for improvement, address customer complaints, and measure customer satisfaction. 
3. Live Chat and Chatbots: These tools provide real-time customer support and assistance. Live chat enables businesses to address customer queries and concerns quickly, while chatbots can handle routine inquiries and provide 24/7 support. 
4. Voice of Customer (VoC) tools: These tools help enterprises capture customer sentiment, opinions, and feedback through surveys, social media listening, and other data sources. It enables businesses to understand customer expectations and tailor their offerings accordingly. Personalization tools: These tools help businesses deliver a personalized experience to customers by leveraging customer data to tailor product recommendations, promotions, and communication. It increases customer engagement and loyalty. 

Digitalisation is fostering hyperpersonalisation via analytics intelligence, and organically through AI. Transformative technologies such as blockchain, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to improve customer experience in the following ways: 

1. Blockchain: Blockchain can be used to create a secure and transparent system for customer transactions and data management. It can help businesses reduce fraud, improve data privacy, and build trust with customers. 
2. Virtual Reality (VR): VR can provide customers with an immersive and personalized experience. It can be used to showcase products, provide virtual tours, and simulate real-world scenarios, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. 
3. Internet of Things (IoT): IoT can enable businesses to collect real-time data on customer behavior and preferences. This data can be used to personalize product offerings, optimize supply chain management, and improve customer service. 
4. Augmented Reality (AR): AR can be used to provide customers with an interactive and engaging experience. It can be used to provide product demonstrations, visualize product features, and deliver personalized promotions. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing can be used to analyze customer data, predict customer behavior, and provide personalized recommendations. This can enhance customer engagement and satisfaction. Here's some specific use cases for your enterprise:

• Personalization: AI can analyze customer data to provide personalized product recommendations, offers, and communication. This helps businesses provide a more relevant and engaging experience to customers. 
• Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots can handle routine customer inquiries and provide 24/7 support. They can understand customer intent, provide quick and accurate responses, and escalate complex issues to human agents if needed. 
• Voice assistants: AI-powered voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant can provide a hands-free and personalized experience to customers. They can answer queries, provide directions, and even make purchases on behalf of customers. 
• Predictive analytics: AI can analyze customer data to predict customer behavior and preferences. This helps businesses anticipate customer needs, offer relevant products and services, and provide proactive support. 
• Sentiment analysis: AI can analyze customer feedback across multiple channels to identify customer sentiment and opinions. This helps businesses address customer complaints, improve product quality, and enhance customer satisfaction. 

By adopting AI-powered customer experience tools, enterprises can enhance customer interactions, improve customer satisfaction, and drive business growth.

How is CX being planned for implementation?

From the 2023 NTT Global Customer Experience Report, cloud technology tops the list of solutions that will reshape future CX capabilities, ranked ahead of AI (in second place) and predictive analytics. Top performers are already prioritising AI, whereas it remains part of a three-year plan for most other organizations.

Over two-thirds (71%) of CX interactions will still require some form of human support in the near future, re-emphasising the importance of EX in enabling employees with the right tools and knowledge no matter where they work.

Our experience in migrating organisations to the cloud, combined with our proven CX and EX capabilities, will complement your existing infrastructure and technology service and give you a competitive edge.

Enrich your CX strategy with NTT's Managed EX Premium product suite, which allows you to focus on your company’s core competencies while NTT supports you with ours: SLA-driven operations, certified engineers, proactive monitoring and full-service management of your collaboration, communications and productivity solutions.

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