Embracing the power of AI and CX for the digital world

At Digital Transformation World North America this month, join Arnold Buddenberg, Enterprise Digital Business & IT Transformation Architect, Orange, as he talks about how to embrace the power of AI. In the meantime, enjoy his article below as he gives us some of his insights in the run up to the event. A digital service provider (DSP) can make sure it is ready for the customer engagements of the future. When a bad customer feeling results in a negative perception of the brand, and when this perception is a main driver for the customer's decisions, it becomes important that the DSP strategically manages the customer experience (CX), in the same way it manages revenue and cost.

Defining experience

User experience is a change from user interface (responsiveness and tools for interaction) during customer engagement; it consists of moving from screen to mobile device, applying different capabilities during the engagements, and across the apps.

Also, experience is differently perceived, depending on where you come from. Measured experience is a statistical value; there are no ‘certainties’ for a client’s preferences. It is an uncertainty what people prefer.

Today’s experience

The evolved CX drives engagement, with 100% mobile penetration and 90% coverage. Customers rely on a broad range of engagement experiences, whether during private or work moments, during formal client-decision process, or accessing it as a quick reference on the customer journey. The new client experience will engage, attract, draw in and guide clients to increase usage. It impacts all customer-facing processes, formal client process, informal on-demand information and user peer-to-peer generated content.

Data-driven evolution

To generate value, the DSP should find ways to tap into a new way of working with and for their clients to better understand their needs, and market the output to companies and institutions, or use it to solve problems and help causes. The resulting data about the customers and their journeys helps to build a seamless link between physical and digital journeys. New consumerized learning will help to enhance the engagement experience, and will include: A TM Forum workstream on CX plans to help organizations better demonstrate impact, establish baseline experience and track business results. A new customer journey assessment could include impact measurements, post-experience reports and success rates. Organizations might also benefit from new experience services and reporting capabilities in the areas of usage, experience analytics, contribution/participation, and organizational impact.

• Polls, discussion forums, comments, and ratings to spark informal interaction between an organization and a customer. Clients who demand new user experiences will more easily share and apply these experiences and apps with others.
• Comprehensive search capabilities which enable clients to gain faster access to their desired end solution, capabilities such as filtering by subject, media, service, product type and relevancy.
• Media-driven engagements to bring real-world context through user stories.
• Guided navigation options which help clients get where/what they want based on available time and interest.
• Ability to learn about ‘how’ a user follows a journey and apply ‘why’ they want to finish that journey.
• Augmented reality that can promote specific information about combined services and products most relevant to an organization.

Previously, a great experience was a nice-to-have, not a requirement. A new service only had to work. Now, customer experience is not just a marketing tool; the cost of delivering a product is no longer a barrier to enter markets, and quality is no longer a differentiator. So what’s left? The CX.

To remain competitive, profitable and agile in the digital world, every part of the organization should become infused with the understanding that great design delivers great experiences that become enhanced through machine learning.