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    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014

    As the number of interactions and touch points with customers continues to increase, from mobile to social to digital channels, the customer experience process has become extremely complicated – and unfortunately, the technology is left fragmented.

    To streamline the process and strategy, CIOs should ensure they have resources in five key areas: Web content management, marketing campaign automation, ecommerce optimization, documentation and language/localization. Each provides unique benefits to enterprises – and ultimately – the consumer itself.

    In this slideshow, SDL’s Howard Beader walks through the five customer experience capabilities that CIOs and CTOs should ensure they are prepared for in 2014.

    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014 - slide 1

    Click through for five must-have customer experience management capabilities organizations should ensure they have in place in 2014, as identified by SDL’s Howard Beader.

    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014 - slide 2

    Web content management: Drive captivating interactive brand experiences

    Businesses today are struggling to provide consistent, integrated experiences that engage customers across all interactions, and they are relying on IT for help. As the demands from the business and the growing complexity of IT infrastructure continue to increase, it can be difficult to deliver the required service levels with limited resources.

    A Web content management (WCM) system plays a pivotal role as the central content hub for contextually relevant experiences across channels, but it’s crucial to look for a system that has been architected to act as part of a wider ecosystem of digital marketing technologies. Modern Web-based integration points can help connect on-premise and cloud-based solutions that jointly drive a great customer experience. Efficiency and interoperability are key – and Web content management is a crucial part of that.

    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014 - slide 3

    Marketing campaigns: Improve ROI throughout the customer journey

    CIOs are no longer just responsible for keeping the lights on in the IT department; they are major players in propelling the business forward. For both the marketer and the CIO, the focus on campaigns is crucial in improving the opportunity for increased revenue throughout the buyer journey. Customers must be met with highly targeted, consistent and personalized messaging, regardless of the channel. For this to happen, it requires not only seamless integration, but also data capture in “real time.”

    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014 - slide 4

    Documentation: Automate content across every channel

    One of the most critical, overlooked aspects of the customer journey is post-sale support. But by utilizing structured content to its full potential, companies can reinvent their technical documentation to deliver a modernized self-service support experience that turns customers into advocates.

    Just by moving to structure, companies can greatly increase content reuse while simultaneously lowering translation costs. However, to deliver documentation publications on time, and quickly and easily track content across multiple forums on a budget, the proper documentation solution is critical. It has to integrate with standard automated publishing processes, but also support internal collaboration among subject matter experts as well as integrated analytics to determine if customer needs are being met. Lastly, with the right solution, documentation can be personalized and provided to customers in their preferred format, in any language, on any device. That immediacy of access helps solve problems before they escalate to traditional support channels. If you can save customers time, they will show more loyalty.

    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014 - slide 5

    Language: Speak your customer’s language

    With so many connections and consumers across the globe, enterprises need to understand market preferences and deliver relevant customer experiences across languages and cultures – no matter the device. Remember that it is important to communicate – in local language – throughout the customer journey to build international brand value, drive global revenue and create brand advocacy. Now, CIOs can enable their organizations to translate more content than ever before by implementing a language platform that streamlines and automates translation workflows. There is a wide range of technology options available that include advanced machine translation for high-volume, real-time translations, to directly accessing high-quality human translations through integration with business applications. SDL has a language platform that allows every customer interaction to be delivered in the right language and helps to match the right content to the right translation method at the right price point. And remember: Once context (language, channel, device) is understood and established with customers, the relationship can expand well beyond the basics of pre-sales, purchase and support.

    Five Critical Customer-Experience Management Capabilities for 2014 - slide 6

    E-Commerce: Drive purchase conversion rates with data-driven insights

    With new cloud solutions, IT can focus on core responsibilities that help the business succeed and be more profitable. As brands and retailers continue to develop e-commerce channels and enable commerce across devices and interaction points, the need to be able to optimize digital shopping is becoming a critical business requirement. On the one hand, consumers demand a more consistent online shopping experience that is personalized to their needs and intuitive. On the other hand, businesses must optimize the experience to move the needle on conversion rates, while giving the customer a relevant experience to drive loyalty. Technology solutions are now capable of handling multiple data sources of customer context, purchase history and catalog information, which can be blended together and used to deliver the most relevant and most optimal item and content to the right customer. Being more personalized in this way is helping businesses achieve their conversion and revenue goals quicker, while developing a more loyal customer base that will repeat purchases.

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