Seeing the future in customer service
“Then you need to give employees the right tools to provide exceptional CX every time, which means identifying the components that are responsible for CX,” Viswanathan adds. “Then look at employee interactivity with those tools and see how easy it is for them to fetch data and analyse it. If it is easy for them then it will be easy for the customers. Tools can only enable the culture or vision of the company.” The next step is to assess how well a CX platform is working with existing systems within the enterprise. Integration is key, but it needs to be effective. “You don’t want to rip out and replace everything,” remarks Viswanathan. “You need the flexibility to integrate and exchange data with other systems, such as finance systems, so you have to look at integration beyond the CX and CRM tools.” “Next, you have to remember that no two businesses are the same,” he continues. “Each one has unique workflows, tools and policies. You cannot have a rigid system for CX. While off-the-shelf systems might do 80% of what you need, the rest is unique to your company, so you need the flexibility to build your own apps.”
This is a reflection of the fact that internal teams may be used to developing apps that reflect the specifics of the industry in which they are working. In real estate, for example, apps need to embody the specifics of selling houses or land.
“People are realising the long-term cost of these things, so we are seeing a lot of migration to Zoho CX solutions because they do the same thing as other solutions but at a much lower cost.”
Suvish Viswanathan, Zoho
“So you need to be able to refine the system, which must be configurable to your industry and your business,” Viswanathan explains. “Ask how you can customise your system and develop new apps on top. You are buying a platform, not a rigid product. There must be space for a business to develop on top of the platform. The system should not just be solving today’s problems, but should also look to the future as a business or an industry evolves.” “Once you have that capability, next you have to look at analytics,” he adds. “There are many tools on the market for business analytics, and having advanced analytics capability in a CX platform is an absolute must. The CX solution carries most critical data, including financial data, and you need the right analytics for trends and forecasting. It is possible to integrate an analytics solution, but whatever choice you make it must be a core part of your CX strategy.” Next comes an in-depth examination of whether the
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implementation of a CX solution has the capacity to adapt to changing compliance requirements, as local laws around the world change to deal with issues such as data privacy. “You need a vendor with a global operation who understands what is happening in different regions,” says Viswanathan. “You will be using their product, so you want to make sure you have all the necessary privacy and security features to safeguard your customer and employee data.”
“Only when all of these considerations have been examined can you start to look at the critical issue of long-term cost,” he adds. “It is not just the licence cost that needs to be considered, but also the cost of setting up and implementing the solution, as well as maintenance and integration. There is also the cost of money and time in getting your employees to learn how to use the new tools. The world can be very unstable, the stock market can crash, and businesses can struggle to get money from their clients, so you don’t need a burden on your finances.” Viswanathan stresses that cost must be looked at in a holistic way, and that the licence cost is just the tip of the iceberg.
Post-pandemic prosperity
Asking the right questions of a vendor has become more important than ever over the past two years, as companies have reworked their delivery models and their customer engagement strategies to reflect the ‘new normal’ that is starting to emerge. “In the CX area, one big thing is that now companies are really trying hard to upgrade their systems because they had to accommodate remote working and their systems were not always ready,” says Viswanathan. “It was a big change. For us, we saw changes in demand patterns from our customers. For instance, our customer service product saw a 200-300% increase in requests.” “Suddenly, businesses needed a cloud data infrastructure rather than an Excel spreadsheet, so we saw our customers become increasingly willing to look at new tools and upgrade their existing technology. But we also saw that clients wanted more value for money, too.
“People are realising the long-term cost of these things, so we are seeing a lot of migration to Zoho CX solutions because they do the same thing as other solutions but at a much lower cost.” The economic turmoil that stems not only from the pandemic, but also from broader global geopolitical trends, is leading many businesses to look at alternative solutions in the CX area – as they recognise how important it is for their survival and future prosperity. But rushing to choose a platform and a vendor can be fraught with danger. Armed with the right questions, however, a business can make the best choice quickly and cost-efficiently.
Finance Director Europe /
www.ns-businesshub.com
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