Engage Customer Industry Report: The Human Face of Engagement - Why People Come First

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FEATURE

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FEATURE

Best routes to customer happiness

Gaining an emotional understanding

Show me more than the money

Summit brought some of the finest customer and employee experience minds together

Recognising the human impact of their work can be crucial in boosting performance

UK banks need to focus on emotionally engaging with customers

ENGAGE CUSTOMER C U S T O M E R

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EngageCustomer.com

THE HUMAN FACE OF ENGAGEMENT WHY PEOPLE COME FIRST

VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT CHAIRS

16 & 24

2018 Customer Engagement Summit chairs report from their respective halls.

Described by a summit chairs as the best yet - remarkable for the sincere and engaging presentations from those companies that have strong commitments to improving the lives of their customers and colleagues

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PEOPLE POWER Is your organisation in the midst of some kind of major change?

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER EDITORIAL David Craik Features Editor david.craik@ebm.media 01932 506 300 Steve Hurst Editorial Director steve.hurst@ebm.media 01932 506 304

MARKETING Katie Donaldson Marketing Manager katie.donaldson@ebm.media 01932 506 302 Hannah Mulea Marketing Executive hannah.mulea@ebm.media 01932 302 112 Claire Poole Conference Producer claire.poole@ebm.media 01932 506 300

SPONSORSHIP James Cottee Sponsorship Sales Manager james.cottee@ebm.media 01932 506 309 Dominic Stone Sponsorship Sales dominic.stone@ebm.media 01932 506 303 Kimberley Bishop Sponsorship Sales kim.bishop@ebm.media 01932 506 308 Dan Moran Sponsorship Sales dan.moran@ebm.media 01932 506 303

MEMBERSHIP Dan Skinner Delegate Sales dan.skinner@ebm.media 01932 506 307 Jamie Ross Delegate Sales Jamie.ross@ebm.media 01932 506 306

FINANCE Sabrina Clarke Finance Manager finance@ebm.media 01932 500 103 Jenna Pollard Accounts Executive accounts@ebm.media 01932 428 542

MANAGING DIRECTOR Nick Rust nick.rust@ebm.media 01932 506 301

Welcome This year’s Customer Engagement Summit was entitled ‘The Human Face of Engagement: Why People Come First’. Over two days some of the UK’s biggest and most innovative companies and organisations considered how being more human can enhance both the customer and employee experience. he Summit looked at what this meant in practice for areas including customer engagement and experience strategies, the working of contact centres, employee engagement and the use of technology such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

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To bring the theme to life there were case studies detailing how best practice has already been implemented with dramatic results.

This included Kent Fire & Rescue service which interviewed victims of domestic blazes to gauge how people respond to tragedy both at the time and afterwards and which has subsequently re-shaped its practices to improve emotional engagement. We also heard from Sky Betting and Gaming which has used chatbots to improve customer experience and upskill their employees, and major banks such as Metro which aims to put a smile on the face of their FANS through better products and dog bowls!

The major themes to emerge from these studies were the importance of getting buy in from the board and chief executive, to use real life customers stories to ensure staff get more emotionally engaged, how technology can enhance the customer journey and to view everyone as a customer even if you are not a retail business.

Our Session Chairs were also busy welcoming the speakers on stage, facilitating questions and encouraging debate. Each was left with a huge admiration of the work being done in UK Plc and what lessons all businesses can learn to be more human and improve their interactions with customers.

Cathy Brown was particularly enamoured with the number of companies who are following the simplest but most often ignored strategy – asking their customers how they feel.

She believed that companies making the effort to talk to their customers and ask them ‘what’s going on’ and sometimes saying ‘thankyou’ for their custom was important in preventing lazy assumptions taking hold. This use of ‘proper feedback’ combined with behavioural data could really enhance the customer and employee experience.

Gerry Brown was enthused by technology particularly how AI can use ‘human touches’ to improve personalisation of customer experience.

He also highlighted strategies in place to ensure that employees remain engaged with a customer centric culture such as reward and recognition and the use of digital channels to help keep them in the loop and up to date on customer issues.

Similar themes were also picked up by Nicholas Brice who praised methods such as mapping end to end customer experiences and servant leadership styles to build ‘customer experience differentiation built through their people’.

We hope you enjoy this Summit report and that some of the learnings can be rolled out to ensure that customers gain the respect and service they deserve from retail to transport and beyond.

David Craik, Features Editor

EngageCustomer.com Engage Business Media Ltd, Nicholson House, 41 Thames Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8JG. Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in the compilation of this publication, the Publishers cannot be held liable for errors and omissions. ©COPYRIGHT: Engage Business Media Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent in writing to the publisher.

CONTACT CENTRES ARE IDEALLY PLACED TO BECOME THE BEATING HEART OF AN ORGANISATION 13 FEBRUARY 2019

DECEMBER 2018

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER NEWS

UK shoppers now spend less money in shops than online Some 43% of spending, by volume, takes place in UK stores, while 57% takes place online, according to a new Mastercard study. More than a quarter (27%) of all spending takes place using mobile devices, the study found.

suggested that 33.8% of non-food retail sales took place online during November 2018, while ONS figures showed 18% of sales taking place online in October 2018.

Some 20% was spent via a smartphone or tablet used at home or at work, while 7% was spending using a smartphone or tablet elsewhere. Almost a third (30%) was spending online using a PC or laptop.

New research underscores the need to be purposeful when using chat bots; notes sharing sensitive information, lack of understanding and inability to solve issues among top concerns when using chat bots for service interactions

The research was carried out through an online survey of 18,174 adults in 12 countries including the UK - averaging around 1,500 per market.

NewVoiceMedia reveals that threequarters of consumers prefer to have their customer service inquiries handled by a live agent over self-service options or a chat bot. Chat bots can provide customers with quick answers to frequently asked questions or issues, and the survey notes the benefit of chat bots for certain interactions, such as 24/7 service.

Across all markets, it found that more than half (51%) of spending takes place in store, with the balance online. Almost a quarter (24%) of transactions take place online using a PC or laptop, while 24% are made via a smartphone or tablet at home or at work.

The countries that, the study found, have higher levels of high street spending – and conversely lower levels of online spending – include Russia (59%), the Netherlands (57%) and Switzerland (56%). Countries where less than half of spending takes place on the high street included Germany and Hungary (both 44%).

When it comes to handling sensitive financial and personal information, however, most customers are more comfortable with a live agent, and just 13 percent say they’d be happy if all service interactions are replaced by bots in the future.

Mastercard says the shift correlates with its own Mastercard Spending Pulse tracker. The latest edition suggests an 11.1% rise in online shopping over the holiday season. But it is well ahead of other indicators. The latest BRC/KPMG Retail Sales Index

According to the survey¹, top concerns for using chat bots for service include: lack of understanding of the issue (65 percent); inability to solve complex issues (63 percent) or get answers to simple questions (49 percent); and lack of a personal service experience (45 percent). Though 48 percent of respondents indicated they would be willing to use chat bots for service – versus the 38 percent who wouldn’t – 46 percent also felt that bots keep them from reaching a live person.

More than one in three field sales reps feel hindered by technology Over a third (38%) of UK field sales reps believe technology is “more of a hindrance than a help”, according to new research from cloud-based mobile sales software provider Skynamo.

This hindrance is creating technophobia in the sales environment, fuelled by the bad experiences reps have had using the tools deployed by their organisation. 18% state that cumbersome technology directly impacts their ability to enter work-related data accurately.

In its survey, Skynamo found that sales organisations are placing a high reliance on ‘low-tech’ such as Excel spreadsheets (48%) and email and instant messaging (41%) for day-to-day updates. Many of these spreadsheets and emails are printed onto paper and used as the basis for formal reporting. A further 7% admit to relying on purely paper-based filing and handwritten notebooks. All these disjointed tools contribute to distrust in the data that field sales reps and their managers are using to make informed sales decisions.

Just under half of sales reps (43%) are required to use more sophisticated and professional customer relationship management (CRM) platforms from vendors such as Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Zoho. A further 29% have to use

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Three in four customers still favour live agent support

enterprise resource planning (ERP) software /accounting packages like Sage, as well. The stipulation to enter data into multiple systems means inconsistences are rife, especially as these tools can’t always be accessed easily while reps are out on the road.

When asked about transactions for which they would not feel comfortable using a chat bot, a significant majority of respondents said large banking (82 percent), medical inquiries (75 percent) and small banking (60 percent). For frequently asked questions or common issues, however, chat bots can add efficiencies to the live agent’s day, freeing them to provide the extra care and time to more complex issues and to the customers who really need it.

“With more than 20% of the UK population employed in sales it’s jaw dropping to think that more than a third of these men and women are being let down by technology,” said Brian Howe, Alliances Director at Skynamo.

This research follows NewVoiceMedia’s Serial Switchers Swayed by Sentiment study, in which nearly half of respondents (48 percent) considered calls to be the quickest way of resolving an issue.

“Massive advances in technology, including cloud computing, mobile phones and the internet give us all the essential components to make it easier for salespeople to access everything they need to present and update accurate information – but this isn’t happening! Improving the technology available to support reps selling in the field has the ability to reduce idle time and hours spent on admin, so they can spend more time in front of customers building relationships and selling,” continues Howe.

The survey also found that the top reasons customers leave a business due to poor service are feeling unappreciated (36 percent) and not being able to speak to a person (26 percent), but that 63 percent would be more likely to return to a business if they felt they’d made a positive emotional connection with a customer service agent.

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER NEWS

Brands’ ability to meet customer expectations Declining New research from Conduent Incorporated finds that despite increased options for digital customer communications, brands’ ability to meet consumer expectations for sales, service and experience is declining.

Brands are falling short of these expectations: one in four consumers believe brand experiences have not improved in the last 10 years.

Conduent’s Consumer Experience Report found the stakes are high: 58 per cent of customers in the technology, retail, communications and media industries report they are likely or willing to change brands to seek better experiences, a 12 per cent increase from last year.

61 per cent of consumers surveyed prefer to resolve their own issues rather than work with a representative from the company, an increase of 12 per cent since 2017. Customers expect brands to provide things like FAQ pages and digital assistants to empower them to do so quickly; 66 per cent of consumers want a 10minute resolution to any issue.

Across the board, customers expect an end-to-end consumer experience, with businesses offering highquality, consistent service across multiple channels.

Roadblocks cited include insufficient detail in the FAQ (12 per cent) and a solution not existing online (23 per cent), forcing a call to customer service or an in-person visit.

Almost every punter switches gaming companies within a year Almost every UK customer (97%) switches gaming company within a year, research by global reviews and customer insights technology company Feefo has found. On average, customers switch almost every 7 months.

Exploring the habits of 1,009 adults who use UK gaming firms, the research found that half (50%) of punters are using two gambling companies at any time. Almost one-in-four (39%) switch because of better introductory offers elsewhere and 31% because of better odds.

The most common reason for staying with a company is its loyalty programme (selected by 46% of respondents). A good loyalty scheme also persuades 28% of customers to choose a company initially, but a reputation for trustworthiness is even more effective – selected by 46% of players. 15% of customers move to a different company every month.

“Our research demonstrates the scale of the loyalty challenge UK gaming companies face,” said Ben

Marley, head of market development, Feefo.

“Gaming firms need to be much more savvy about loyalty programmes, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and review platforms to build trust and personalise the experience for millions of punters in the UK. Clearly almost all customers currently feel the grass could be greener elsewhere, emphasising the increasing importance of providing a better player experience.”

The research found almost four-in-ten customers (39%) most value the frequent receipt of special offers, but a quarter (25%) place the greatest emphasis on receiving better odds if they are a long-term customer.

Only a third (33%) of customers can provide all the companies they use with feedback about their experience, using a mechanism such as a smart customer review platform. However, where firms do offer such opportunities, 68% of their customers believe they listen to the feedback.

Samsung stay top as technology firms the best loved brands The 2018 Brand Loyalty Index from Sodexo Engage has revealed that technology brands continue to dominate when it comes to customer loyalty and building those all-important relationships that promote future sales.

Promotions and giveaways, alongside product experience, have been the main drivers in how loyal consumers are.

Maintaining their position from last year, Samsung and Apple take the top two spots in the Index, while Dyson and Sky TV also make it into the top 10 for the first time (5th and 10th respectively). Meanwhile, streaming service Netflix falls out of the top line-up altogether with rival Amazon also dropping 11 places to 17.

The research also highlights that the relationships technology brands share with customers are now showing signs of maturing. Sky TV (79%), Apple (78%), & O2 (70%) are all developing long track records with

consumers. When it comes to loyalty, over half (51%) of Apple users and six in ten Dyson customers (58%), feel their loyalty is rewarded.

Rising numbers of consumers report having had a poor experience with some tech brands which is a particular concern in a sector where quality counts. In last year’s Index, more than half of those surveyed said they have never had a negative experience with these brands. Today only Samsung, which tops the Index, maintains that claim.

Chris Baldwin, Director of Consumer Promotions and Loyalty at Sodexo Engage said: “The rise in negative experiences when it comes to tech products is hardly a surprise – consumers use these brands all the time.

With about a third of consumers on their Apple or Sky products every day (31% for each), there’s much higher chance for them to encounter problems which impacts their loyalty to the product.”

Funeral industry taking advantage of people’s grief The boss of the UK's largest funeral provider, the Co-Op Group, has admitted the industry has taken advantage of people's grief in the past. Steve Murrells said price wasn't on the agenda for people arranging a funeral - which created "the wrong behaviour in the industry".

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a major investigation into the sector. The CMA said it had "serious concerns" about above-inflation price rises.

The Co-Op has recently launched a number of affordable products, including a cremation without ceremony product, which Steve Murrells says is already proving popular.

He added that attitudes to funerals are also different: "People's interpretation at the saddest point is changing, from one of grief to celebration." The average cremation fee was £737 last year, with the fees having risen by 84% in the past 10 years.

The CMA found that people typically spent between £3,000 and £5,000 organising a funeral, with the average price of the core elements now standing at £4,271.

Mr Murrells said the Co-op had been pushing for an investigation. "We think this market needs regulation. This is a caring market that needs to provide the best service at the most difficult of circumstances," he said. "You or I could open up a funeral business tomorrow with no qualifications or regulation. It's crazy."

A PLATFORM WHERE LIKE-MINDED PROFESSIONALS COME TOGETHER 22ND MARCH

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THE BEST ROUTES TO CUSTOMER HAPPINESS The 2018 Customer Engagement Summit brought some of the finest customer and employee experience minds together. So what strategies for closer customer engagement did they share to enable UK plc to improve performance?

In order to establish a successful customer centric strategy it is imperative to get the board on board from the start.

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im Arthur, creative director at Virgin Money, said simply that if a chief executive does not buy into a customer engagement scheme then you “might as well not do it at all”.

The boss needs to believe wholeheartedly that understanding exactly what their customers both want and need will change their business for the better.

However, in order to get the top man or woman and the rest of the management team, to be truly enthused by closer engagement they need to hear succinct reasons why they should bother.

“It is not about putting masses of data in front of their eyes, they need to hear it in a human way. Tell them a story and show them the human face of engagement,” said Arthur. “Look through the data and tell management three things that customers want that they can actually engage with.”

This theme was also picked up by Richard Spencer, director of Promoderation, which has created an Index and dashboard to help charities better understand customer loyalty and disloyalty. By looking at the data displayed on the dashboard – which is segmented to show, for example, that people in the North East are more prone than others to stop giving – chief executives can better shape strategy to prevent supporter attrition and increase funds.

“Having important and easy to visually digest measures on the dashboard

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can help chief executives better understand how supporters are feeling,” he told his audience.

Storytelling also plays an important part in getting employees to recognise the importance of closer customer engagement.

Christine Smith, claims and commercial director at warranty and insurance provider NHBC, explained that it has radically improved its claimants Net Promoter Score from 9 to 48 in just three years with storytelling a key driver.

“During the severe winter weather storms in Christmas 2013 and January 2014 our claims phones were ringing off the hook and our emails were stacked,” Smith explained. “Our system started to break and show its flaws. We had fragmented processes, delays in response and poor communication when dealing with complaints. Our staff were telling us that things needed to change so we revisited our customer satisfaction journey.”

In order to improve “ownership and accountability” real life customer experiences were communicated to staff in a very personal and human way.

“We would tell the story of say Mrs X who called us about an issue with rats in the cavity of her home. Even though she spoke to a kind and polite claims handler her story fell between the cracks of our departments,” she explains. “She called again after hearing nothing but could not speak to our original claims handler. We did

Having important and easy to visually digest measures on the dashboard can help chief executives better understand how supporters are feeling

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not have the end to end case process that we have now. Once that was introduced we got the rats out of her home. Those stories remind us of the human impact that we can have.”

Citibank uses storytelling to help both management and staff boost its new ‘Be The Best For Our Clients’ strategy.

The focus, even for employees who do not have direct customer interaction, was to understand their needs and experience.

“We wanted our employees to be at their best through continual learning,” said DebbieBennett-Jackson, marketing consultant.

“We looked at storytelling both internal and external to find great stories about how our employees can be at their best. We got many of our senior team to film short videos talking about something they did which they were passionate about outside the office from sport to their family. It was about how to connect at a human level and show best behaviour and mindset. By doing that at work you can help clients.”

Fellow finance firm Metro Bank extended the human theme to discuss

DECEMBER 2018

ENGAGE CUSTOMER

how to emotionally engage with customers.

It prides itself on features such as dog bowls in branches to welcome customers with furry friends into branch and Magic money machines to make financial savings exciting for children.

Andrew Richards, head of organisational development at Metro Bank, described how it creates FANS rather than customers through a combination of choice and personal engagement.

“Nobody goes back to a friend and says ‘I went to Metro and I asked for £50 and they gave me £50,” he said. “They go back and say they had a dogbowl with freshwater or they put a smile on my face. It is turning a transaction into an experience and realising that emotional brands create massive value.”

To enable this Metro hire staff who are ‘friendly and helpful and passionate.

Richards said: “We hire for attitude and train for skills.”

The human element is vital but smart use of technology can also help. Sky Betting and Gaming described how it automated its contact centre through the use of Chatbots.

DECEMBER 2018

“It tackled issues with queues and callers waiting and enabled our staff to spend more time answering complex queries,” explained head of product Nicholas Cockerill. “By automating the process we allowed our people to start being people again including focussing more on their learning and development.”

Oisin Lunny, chief evangelist at OpenMarket, highlighted the work it has carried out with Virgin Trains on Rich Communication Services – the next evolution of mobile messaging. “Texts are the only communication method which will reach every customer. We all open texts,” he said. “The vast majority are read within 3 minutes of receipt. So, we have reimagined text messages to deliver an empathetic, interactive experience. Parents with kids or the elderly will be messaged advanced notification of which platform their train is on to beat the rush. Virgin’s and Euston Railway Stations NPS have both increased. It’s like moving from black and white text TV into colour!”

Aside from the technology angle, Lunny’s speech also highlighted the importance of reviewing. How to take something which

Nobody goes back to a friend and says ‘I went to Metro and I asked for £50 and they gave me £50

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER FOCUS ON

already exists and make it better for customers.

treatment and more human engagement during the call centre process.

NHBC reviewed its customer engagement strategy and developed on it by building closer collaborations between claims staff and builders. “Previously we had no dedicated claims handler for our builders,” said Alex Walker, claims operations manager. “We altered that and now have strong interaction with housebuilders. We know how each builder is getting on and have clear information on claims lifecycles.”

Bringing the theatre into private school selection and understanding that feepaying parents are also customers has boosted Kent College Pembury. Sascha Evans, theatre producer and Director of External Relations at the school explained how introducing fun and immersive journeys for pupils on open mornings has helped lead to 20% increase in recruitment.

“Buying into a school is an emotional process. Parents and pupils should be offered a bespoke and personalised journey,” she said. “We created marketing campaigns such as ‘Time Travel Adventures’ where girls could come to the open morning and find clues and lost time travellers. They and their parents got emotionally invested in it.”

One final theme from the Summit was the realisation that most organisations can benefit from closer customer engagement even if the traditional definition of a ‘customer’ doesn’t traditionally apply.

Kent Fire & Rescue Service has created the sector’s only customer experience managerial post – held by David Wales and through talking directly to people involved in house fires now better understand how the average person reacts.

This has led to alterations in post-fire

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Emotion – probably the overriding message of the event. Understanding that your customers are human and need to be respected, enthused and appreciated at all times.

KEY POINTS Get buy-in from the top. Enthuse the chief executive and Board.

Use storytelling to inspire staff to become more emotionally engaged.

Realise that your customers are human – make them smile, inspire them and understand their frustrations.

Use technology when it can enhance the human experience of customers and staff Constantly review your engagement strategies and determine where you can improve Everyone is a customer – from parents to those involved in house fires and charity supporters.

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13 FEBRUARY 2019

CONTACT CENTRES ARE IDEALLY PLACED TO BECOME THE BEATING HEART OF AN ORGANISATION DON’T MISS THE UK’S BIGGEST EVENT OF ITS KIND – BACK FOR ITS FIFTH YEAR IN 2019 With the contact centre space providing a significant, growing opportunity for customer experience, it is these touch points that provide a powerful tool to transform the success of a brand in today’s digital world where customers expect responses 24x7x365. For this reason, we’ve gathered experts in the field from an array of world-class organisations who have already successfully transformed engagement, and they’re excited to help you do the same.

Contact centres are at a tipping point. Rapid advances in customer and employee facing technology have created a digital world in which contact centres have to adapt and change if they are to successfully deliver a consistent and joined-up customer experience across the customer journey.

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER FEATURE

GAINING AN EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING Fire services and charities may not be the most obvious choice when thinking about customer experience but recognising the human impact of their work can be crucial in boosting performance.

Nobody wants to be visited by the Fire and Rescue Service. Losing your home and possessions to a fire can have a devastating impact on your life.

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ut if a tragedy does arise then being treated in the most respectful, understanding and professional way can lessen the impact.

It is why Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has taken a pioneering approach in adopting a ‘customer model’.

“People don’t want or plan to be our customers. But you may be, and you

don’t know when,” explains David Wales, customer experience manager at KFRS – the only such position in the country. “If they do then we need to understand as much as possible about them in order to give them the dignity and service they need at such a distressing time.”

This way of thinking began in 2009 when KFRS launched a research project to determine why the public did not behave as expected or advised

in the event of a house fire. “Our advice was stark – get out in the event of a fire, call the services and then stay out,” explains Wales. “But we were seeing a disproportionate number of injuries because people were not doing as they were told and trying to save possessions. We wanted to take a deeper look at fire behaviour.”

KFRS initially interviewed 10 people who had been injured in a house fire with Wales explaining that their responses were quite ‘unexpected’. He says: “I thought I understood fires but until then I didn’t quite realise the emotional impact on people both before we had arrived on scene and after we left. Our advice had been to avoid harm and leave it to the professionals, but we hadn’t recognised what was important to people such as saving their pets and possessions in a fire. They didn’t understand, and we didn’t explain why we were breaking down this door or that. Our advice was too arrogant and paternalistic, and our language was negative. We were seeing fires on our terms and not theirs.”

People don’t want or plan to be our customers. But you may be, and you don’t know when

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DECEMBER 2018

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The study grew, through funding from the University of Greenwich into a national research partnership involving 26 fire services. It garnered the experiences of 500 people involved in house fires and created a behavioural database.

In turn this generated six key insights, one of which identified the need to reassess the relation with, role and needs of the public as customers. It was clear that fire services had to understand and work with, rather than against, human behaviour in a fire and afterwards.

Changes have already been implemented in Kent such as the service visiting people after a house fire to offer advice such as not eating food recovered from a dwelling because it could be dangerous, rather than the previous method of phone or online communication. “In the next couple of years we also want to develop our call handling services,” Wales explains. “When people make a call today the average response time of the service to get to the fire is 8 minutes. During that time we should keep people on the line, updating them and managing their stress or anger. That’s a lot of time to stand and look at your property burning. We should be hearing what their priorities are, so we could retrieve a loved possession quickly if it was safe for our firemen to do so. We haven’t understood the value of possessions

DECEMBER 2018

such as a laptop which could be someone’s livelihood.”

It may even include, in future, giving remote assistance on products they can use to deal with a fire safely before the fire service arrives or giving firstaid, insurance and recovery advice post-fire.

“We hadn’t really thought about our role in helping people recover. It affects their family and working lives.

We can avoid this,” says Wales.

He adds that he and KFRS’s chief executive Anne Middleton are promoting the customer model to colleagues through training and the use of customer advocates. It is also working hard on promoting national change. “This is about delivering the human touch and meeting the emotional needs of our customers,” Wales says.

We hadn’t really thought about our role in helping people recover. It affects their family and working lives. We can avoid this, says Wales.

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In 2015 Spencer carried out a study initially working with 5 charities including the WWF, CATS Protection and the RSPCA to identify the emotional engagement of supporters rather than campaign response rates or average gift levels.

“We looked at the different facets of loyalty and asked questions of around 22,000 charity supporters around commitment, satisfaction and trust,” Spencer states. “What drives the loyalty? If you are a Cystic Fibrosis sufferer or a parent of a sufferer or someone who has no direct experience of it then people may have different emotions, support and allegiance around giving. If you know more, you can create stronger relationships.”

Better understanding the factors that drive human decisions is also crucial in the charity sector given present pressures. As explained by Richard Spencer, director of Promoderation, the sector has been impacted by a growth in demand for mental health services, recent behavioural scandals such as Oxfam and growing financial pressure following Government budget reviews.

“Increasingly charities are turning to private supporters but trust and

confidence in their organisations has fallen,” he says. “Supporter retention in the sector is a problem.

So, how can you fix a customer relationship before it has broken?

How can you predict in advance if someone is going to stop supporting you? We need to look not just about behavioural loyalty but what drives that – emotional loyalty. It was one thing charities were not measuring.”

David Wales, customer experience manager, KFRS

It created the Chase Index and more recently a dashboard where charities can benchmark their emotional engagement scores against each other and help them devise strategies

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER FEATURE

Knowing who your customer advocates are will also help spread the word. They can be your promotional champions

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and tactics or change culture to improve their ratings. The index, based on survey responses, segment customer groupings so charities can see who are the most loyal to their organisation, who are borderline and who are least loyal.

“It could lead to conversations about supporters and the roles that they play and how to get them to emotionally commit and improve through new strategies or marketing,” he explains. “Perhaps you’ll find that people in the North East aged under 40 have lower satisfaction. If so, you can find a way of delivering a better experience to that group before the relationship is broken.

“That could mean looking at your brand narrative and bringing out more emotive stories. Knowing who your customer advocates are will also help spread the word. They can be your promotional champions.”

He adds that having important and easy to visually digest measures on the dashboard can also help chief executives or board members better understand how supporters are feeling.”

Spencer says Oxfam is one leading charity which has invested in loyalty. It found that a 1-point increase in the commitment and satisfaction of supporters would increase their retention by 3.4% and lead to £1.35million of extra income year-on-year.

Spencer says he hopes to roll out similar studies in other sectors such as higher education and professional membership organisations. It could also be used by retail organisations, banks or mobile phone companies to help them determine who is most at risk of switching services.

“Emotional loyalty underpins it all,” he adds. “You need to understand the underlying motivations of your customers.”

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Essential Trends in CX: The 2019 Forecast Which CX trends are worth pursuing in the coming year?

2019 looks set to be a year of many possibilities, say CXB HUB Founders Claire Bonniol and Alexis Grabar, whose company specialises in customer experience.

F

or those of us in customer experience, it can sometimes feel that the industry is at a crossroads – torn between the allure of more and more advanced solutions, and the need to keep in touch with a more human approach. Finding a workable balance represents one of the major themes of the next twelve months, where the future of CX must reflect a true merger of effective IT, without neglecting the all-important human touch.

In truth, CX is always evolving. AI is starting to make an impact, with digital identity encryption service YOTI using facial recognition to help make travel speedier and more accessible. Personalisation of this kind will continue to be a key theme throughout 2019, as

companies review existing structures and actively working to deliver a more personalised experience.

Customer expectations have shifted, with more and more people expecting customisation which suits their needs without overstepping their boundaries, and this delicate dance between the high-tech and the human can be seen everywhere from car manufacturers to mainstream banking institutions. It is here where humanity remains at the core of operations. This humanised outlook can manifest in a number of ways, including providing clear portals of contact, or creating bespoke products which reflect the personality and desires of each customer. One of the key ways of achieving a human-centred objective is by maximising the use of customer feedback, and rigorously analysing

it to learn from mistakes and ensure a more successful end service is provided, time and again.

Engaging customers is another key area for investment, particularly when teamed with greater value. The data collected from feedback and sampling can help to increase engagement, and tools like offering subscriptions to an online service have proven effective at increasing consumption.

As brands move away from more established models of communicating, they must also begin to view their customers in a new light. The relationship between the company and the consumer is shifting, with more choice now becoming the standard route to winning both fans and custom.

No matter the industry, customer experience can make or break a business. By examining the key values of audiences, brands can gain more detailed insights and more effectively meet customer need. AI and new technology are making this process simpler and more streamlined than ever before, but companies must be clear about where their priorities lie. No matter what other big trends emerge, there's one which never goes out of style, and it's also the most important: remembering that tech is there to help aid, but never replace humans. This is the ethos we live and work by, in 2019 and beyond.

Find out more about CXB HUB at the official website www.cxbhub.com

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DECEMBER 2018

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SHOW ME MORE THAN THE MONEY UK banks need to focus on emotionally engaging with customers still nervous a decade on from the credit-crunch.

Customers have long memories when it comes to the financial crisis of 2008.

They remember the long queues of nervous customers outside bank branches, the tales of excess and squander within financial organisations and the longrecession which caused huge damage to ordinary households and businesses.

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ven a decade on banks need to tread carefully when it comes to the subject of customer service and engagement. They know they have a responsibility to do better but also understand the wariness of customers to slogans and slick marketing campaigns.

So how can banks and other financial institutions develop real and meaningful customer centric strategies?

the top. “If your chief executive doesn’t buy into the strategy. If he or she doesn’t 100% believe in that what customers want, and need will change their business then you might as well not do it at all,” he said.

The Customer Engagement Summit heard from two retail banks making progressive moves. Tim Arthur, creative director at Virgin Money, said any change must be led from

One way of convincing those at the top that closer knowledge of the customer can lead to results is to ‘storytell’.

“You could put masses of customer data and feedback in front of the board and they might love the information but have no clearer understanding of how to respond,” he declared.

“Instead, tell them a story, show them a human form of engagement. Take all that data and find three things from it that our customers want and that we can actually engage with.”

In order to get that information from trusting customers Arthur’s message to banks is “if you want to be loved, be loveable”.

“We carried out research on what the ideal bank would look like for customers and how it fitted in with our Virgin values of giving ‘heartfelt

You could put masses of customer data and feedback in front of the board and they might love the information but have no clearer understanding of how to respond

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DECEMBER 2018

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service’. We couldn’t take a red-hot approach like Virgin Atlantic does, we couldn’t make jokes about being overdrawn!

We recognised that banks can cause huge fears amongst people struggling with their finances,” Arthur said. “Our customers said they didn’t want to be forced to sign up to a product that wasn’t right for them. They felt they could never see the same person twice and wanted us to show greater understanding and accountability. How much did we know about them and their changing circumstances? They felt banks never listened and that everything was about money. It’s not brain surgery, it was a simple message, but other banks were not doing it.”

So Virgin Money’s definition of ‘heartfelt service’ was to improve the ease of banking and to empower its customers so they felt in control of their money.

“We altered the tone of voice as well as look and feel of our contact centre. I thought our guys were already doing a great job but that wasn’t being shown through our branding in

a consistent way,” Arthur said. “We improved end to end processes, broke down silos and ensured our customer strategy and marketing messaging was consistent. Every department knew who the audience was and what good service looked like such as making digital sign-up as easy as possible.”

Virgin also wanted to bring some ‘joy’ in adding services outwith ordinary banking.

Arthur describes one customer calling the contact centre and mentioning she had just had a baby. “This led to us sending her baby memorabilia,” Arthur said. “We also have bowling alleys in our Virgin Money lounges where you can hold kids’ parties if you are low on cash. People matter. They are not just data points,” he said. “Do the right thing for them and help transform their lives.”

Also emphasising the importance of engaging with customers on a human level is Metro Bank. Andrew Richards, head of organisational development at the bank says it wants FANS rather than customers and

We altered the tone of voice as well as look and feel of our contact centre. I thought our guys were already doing a great job but that wasn’t being shown through our branding in a consistent way

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talks of its stores not branches. “This is the Nirvana we are aspiring towards, Customers are associated with transactions but what we want to do is to build relationships. That means creating an emotional and legendary experience,” he said. “Of course, you do what they want but nobody goes back to their friends, family or coworkers and say, ‘My Goodness, I asked for £50 and they gave me £50!’

For me that is transactional like putting a coin in a vending machine and getting a packet of crisps. It did what you asked but nothing more.

What you need to look for is that added value which is going to make someone walk out with a smile on their face.”

Metro’s answer includes dog biscuits and dog bowls with freshwater inside for customers with furry friends as well as colouring books and Magic Money Machines for children.

It also means practical and operational changes such as making it easier to open accounts, bank online, Sunday openings and even drive-thru banks.

“We have turned the transaction into an experience,” Richards states. “Then people are much more likely to go back home or to the office and mention their visit. To build this you need to have a secret formula. This

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involves having a unique culture and a fanatical execution. Your employees need to believe the model because they will make or break whether this actually happens.”

Richards says Metro considers itself retailers rather than bankers.

We audition our colleagues and tease out their behaviour and personalities. Are they friendly and helpful? Do they want to make a difference? We hire for attitude but train for skills

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“What will make it as easy, friendly and convenient as possible for the customer? Through this we have developed a pact with our customers.

They trade rates for experience,” he says. “They know we are not offering the lowest rates on loans, but they are ok with that because they know their interactions with us are going to be far superior to others. But you need to have the culture to enhance that model and be passionate about it.”

It starts with recruitment.

“We audition our colleagues and tease out their behaviour and personalities.

Are they friendly and helpful? Do they want to make a difference? We hire for attitude but train for skills,” he explained. “All colleagues know the banks AMAZE mantra – such as Attend to every detail, Make every wrong right etc –. It makes it very simple for colleagues to know what the focus should be,” Richards explained.

He advises all firms to “rethink everything you do to create a legendary experience” for customers.

“Whenever a customer comes in figure out a way to go above and beyond. We’ve got an NPS score playing in the 80’s now. It leads to a virtuous cycle where they recommend you to others and we grow via word of mouth,” Richards said. “This is the impact of focusing on people. We don’t have product targets, we rate our staff on customer experience. Emotional brands create massive value.”

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Synergy Organisational Solutions recently undertook a project for a large Bank, which included helping them understand how they compared to best in class, we found they were streets ahead of their competition in technology adoption, they were fearless, agile and dare I say, disruptive. The problem was this agility did not extend to all areas, teams were struggling with the high degree of change, processes were creaking, causing fundamental errors impacting customer experience, customers lacked confidence with the new technology often resorting to multiple channels to solve their problems.

O

rganisations are struggling to become truly agile, constrained with legacy systems, practices that act as impediments, staff fearful for their jobs, exacerbated by concerns following Brexit. For many, agility is not part of their DNA, but it is an expectation from their customers, without it, there is a serious risk both to brand and customer experience. The facts speak for themselves, poor customer service is costing businesses $75 billion a year in lost revenue (New Voice Media).

Unlike our client, the Bank, many organisations are fearful of fully embracing the new wave of technology, whether it be voice technology, AI, IoT or other emerging technologies. Clearly too much disruption is not good, but neither is too little.

DECEMBER 2018

About Synergy Organisational Solutions Synergy Organisational Solutions are a specialist Digital Customer Care provider and Contact Centre management experts. With insight and innovation, we are focussed on helping companies change and evolve easily and painlessly as possible. Specialising in customer care solutions from advice to strategy through to delivery of managed services, using smart working practices and partnerships with leading technology providers. Synergy are an owner managed business providing a personal and flexible service to our clients and their customers.

Olu Orugboh is the CEO and Founder of Synergy Organisational Solutions Ltd T: 01733 345 900 E: o.asikhia@synergyorganisation.com www.synergyorganisation.com

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CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT SURVEY RESULTS

How would you rate the organisation of the day?

45 51 2 2

%

Excellent

%

Good

%

Average

How useful to your company was the information presented at the event?

%

76%

20%

4%

Extremely useful/ Very useful

Moderately useful

Slightly useful

Below average

Which days of The Customer Engagement Summit did you attend?

63%

27%

4%

Maybe

No

33%

69% Yes

Tuesday 13th November (Day 2)

Would you return to the Customer Engagement Summit next year

Monday 12th November (Day 1)

I attended both days

4%

How did the event compare to what you expected?

40

18

%

Much better

%

Somewhat better

33

2

1

%

%

%

About what I expected

Poor compared to what I expected

Not as good as I expected

Which speakers were your favourite?

Sascha Evans

Gerhard Fourie

Kent College Pembury Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd

Sally Earnshaw

Stephen Robertson

Tim Arthur

Moira Clark

Andrew Richards

Blue Sky

The Big Issue Foundation

Virgin Money

Henley Business School

Metro Bank

Katrina Broster

Nick King

David Wales

Gavin Ingham

Clare Carroll

Tara Mansfield

The Telegraph

Auto Trader

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (FRS)

GavinIngham.Com

The Co-op

Monzo

Can you describe your experience at the summit in one scentence?

I expected a very well organized event and was not disappointed.

Jam packed day with powerful engaging speakers and engaging knowledge sharing

Enlightening, inspiring and enjoyable

Opened up my opinion of what we need to be delivering to our customers and what they expect from us.

A wide ranging selection of presentations that covered all angle of customer and employee engagement

Good networking opportunities and an energetic agenda

Really engaging and fantastic range of speakers.

A great first experience of a large event on Customer Engagement

Useful, gaining insight into how major companies are approaching their marketing and customer engagement and transferring that back to our school

Very informative, lots to take away, and I was eager to share what I'd learnt with my team

Please rate the streams you attended: Day 1 Plenary (Speakers inc. Gavin Ingham, Genesys, Confirmit, Virgin Money) Customer Engagement Transformation Part One (Speakers inc. Olympus, Verint, NHBC) Customer Engagement and Employee Engagement Part One (Speakers inc. Kent Fire and Rescue, Hawk Incentives, Employee Ownership Association) Engaging with the Digital Customer Part One (Speakers inc. Virgin Holidays, Conversocial, Fidelity International) Evolution of VOE across the Enterprise (Speakers inc. Formica, Capita Transformation, St Andrews Healthcare) Innovative and Disruptive Strategies in CX Part One (Speakers inc. Vodafone, Kantar TNS, IPSOS Mori) The Evolution of CX Service Design Part One (Speakers inc. Tasis, OpenMarket, Centrica Hive) CX Strategies for the Customer Journey Part One (Speakers inc. Co-Op, Eptica, Kier) Combining CX Strategy with Culture (Speakers inc. Taylor Vinters, Blue Sky, Henley Business School) Future of the Contact Centre Part One (Speakers inc. Heal's, Avaya, CitySprint) Engagement in Financial Services and The Public Sector (Speakers inc. Monzo, DWP, Metro Bank) Engaging with the Digital Customer Part Two (Speakers inc. Autotrader, Bold360, Holiday Extras) Internal Communications Part One (Speakers inc. Citi Bank, Marks and Spencer, Energie Fitness) Innovative and Disruptive Strategies in CX Part Two (Speakers inc. Sky Betting and Gaming, Kent College Pembury) Engagement in Retail and Media (Speakers inc. The Times & The Sunday Times, mGage, Forrester) Marketing and The CX (Speakers inc. ING, Selligent Marketing Cloud, Telegraph Group) Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (Speakers inc. Kiwi.com, Content Guru, CX Company) Linking VOE and VOC (Speakers inc. Farecla, Experian) The Evolution of CX Service Design Part Two (Speakers inc. Samsung, Promoderation) CX Strategies for the Customer Journey Part Two (Speakers inc. Water Plus, Imperial London Hotels) Training, Learning and Development (Speakers inc. Food Standards Agency, Zero Suicide Alliance)

Good

Excellent

48.00% 50.00% 40.00% 66.00% 55.00% 38.00% 33.00% 44.00% 50.00% 25.00% 23.00% 43.00% 36.00% 20.00% 75.00% 60.00% 25.00% 14.00% 25.00% 50.00% 33.00%

44.00% 25.00% 50.00% 33.00% 33.00% 54.00% 56.00% 33.00% 30.00% 13.00% 62.00% 57.00% 55.00% 60.00% 13.00% 40.00% 63.00% 43.00% 50.00% 25.00% 50.00%

33.00% 33.00% 38.00% 50.00% 29.00% 63.00% 38.00% 40.00% 20.00%

67.00% 67.00% 63.00% 38.00% 43.00% 38.00% 20.00% 60.00% 60.00%

Day 2 Plenary (Speakers inc. Barclays, Blue Sky, Bold360, The Big Issue Foundation) Future of the Contact Centre Part Two (Speakers inc. UCLAN, IFS World, PCI PAL) Evolution of VOC across the Enterprise (Speakers inc. Lowell, Critizr, Save the Children) Customer Engagement Transformation Part Two (Speakers inc. Customer Lifeguard, Limitless, Business Stream) Engagement in Retail and Leisure (Speakers inc. Just Eat, Marks and Spencer) The Future of CX (Speakers inc. Aston Martin, Sun Finance) Customer and Employee Engagement Part Two (Speakers inc. Southeastern Railways, Engage for Success, London Zoo) Internal Communications Part Two (Speakers inc. Laing O'Rourke, Anglian Water, Nationwide) Cross Sector Customer and Employee Engagement (Speakers inc. Belron, Policy Expert, Tata Consultancy Services)

ENGAGE CUSTOMER VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Martin Hill-Wilson Customer Engagement Summit 2018 was the best yet. Great insight and networking, now extended over one and a half days. The central theme was the importance of the human touch in our increasingly automated world and how the human and digital workforces compliment each other.

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ay one began with motivational speaker Gavin Ingham who got everyone in the right mindset focusing us on being the very best version of who we can be.

M&S shared their progress using chatbots to cover high volume, low complexity interactions and in the process helped generate £2m in sales. If you google for more info, pretty much every headline screams M&S replaces call centre staff with bots. Yet the message on stage was much more nuanced. They are part of an integrated workforce not a replacement.

M&S shared their progress using chatbots to cover high volume, low complexity interactions and in the process helped generate £2m in sales

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people when their situation is complex and/or emotional. Equally they don’t want to sit in a queue when a bot can instantly deliver the answer. Getting this balance right defines a brand’s ongoing success.

Claire Sporton from Confirmit then took to the stage with some new insights into effective CX leadership habits which covered CX goals (make them business focused), innovation (be agile) and listening (add more stakeholder voices to widen your insight).

Tim Arthur, Creative Director, Virgin Money then explained why the Virgin DNA is so formidable in terms of being a brand that people find easy to love. It’s the well-timed gifts and acts of random kindness that remain anchored as emotive memories in customers’ minds. For instance, many of their customer lounges have bowling lanes to make it easy and affordable for kids birthdays. Give some to get some as they say.

Benjamin Rand and Anna Hagen from Olympus shared their story of an increasingly common theme. Product excellence in a digital economy is not enough. It’s the experience that matters and differentiates.

Marije Gould from Verint emphasized the importance of people in delivering the right experience. In a world of declining loyalty, what makes customers stay with a brand for longer? Very much in alignment with my own thoughts, customers want to engage with

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Martin Hill-Wilson, Barinfood Consulting

Christine Smith and Alex Walker shared the NHBC change story. One that has already yielded a 30 points improvement in NPS in just 3 years. It was a tale that started with multiple points of failure that were systematically fixed by careful stakeholder listening and actioning of priorities. This was a programme based on measuring performance and managing against it coupled with focussed recognition. It’s a lesson that top notch operational leadership creates high performing teams.

Paul Somerville Senior Manager Risk & Compliance Vodafone Group Enterprise had some relevant messages about customer data in a hyper connected world. Privacy matters otherwise customer trust shatters and regulators prosecute. While so many opportunities for attack from within and outside the organisation, it is simply insufficient to rely entirely on technology to keep things safe. It’s a matter of culture summarised as Educate-Empower-Recognise.

Anna Wilcox Head of Customer Experience at Bupa is a familiar face at Customer Engage conferences. This time she made a

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stand out contribution by admitting being behind the curve on progress and in need of an altered focus. For her, that added up to better measurement. In a world of ‘perfect’ use cases, it takes some to admit things seldom go to plan’ Her takeaway message was those who adapt and recommit are more likely to deliver.

Stephen Yapp is one of those smart folk from IPSOS MORI. Hand on the pulse, able to make sense of the noise. In summary, this is his take on what trending in CX. Expectations transfer across sectors. Products can be reinvented as margin richer services. The connected world is exhausting, everyone craves simplicity. Decision making thrives on emotional nudges. We remember the moments that matter.

Purpose attracts loyal customers.

John Mihill from Heals had a few pearls worth passing on. Have fewer staff but pay them more. Its ends up cheaper.

Great staff deliver great experiences which makes your job so much more enjoyable. Enlighted self-interest.

Gregg Widdowson from Avaya came armed with more research. The stats that caught my included 42% of issues are not resolved first time. I knew 70% was too optimistic! A third of brands find it difficult to blend digital and human interactions. Another indicator of immature omni-channel strategy.

Rosie Bailey of City Sprint knows that complaints in the time critical courier business is make or break for loyalty.

She has been pioneering a new centralised CRM based complaints team in the face of locally devolved centres

DECEMBER 2018

which know their patch but work idiosyncratically. Hers was the story of how she has been nudging them to hand over complaints to her team in order to improve speed and quality of resolution.

50% faster as a result and £170k saved to re-invest in proactive service. Nice and let’s not forget coming in silver for most improved complaint handling, 2018 UKCHA.

build around 7,500 cards each year and receive around 3,000 serious sales enquiries every month. Engaging that aspiring fan base are therefore crucial for luxury brands. Servicing that dream is as customised as the product. CRM has become crucial in this high touch effort.

It was then my turn to talk about emotion management as the new competency in customer engagement, specifically customer service. Steering customer experience towards positive emotional memories banks the goodwill required to for boosted lifetime value. The first open course to design the leadership strategy is due Q1 2019.

Rounding off day one Nicholas Cockerill Sky Betting and Gaming continues to innovate and remains one to watch. Then Sascha Evans proved just how powerful theatre can be in a business context.

Improvisational theatre for school prospecting rocks!

Finally, Zane Rudovska, Head of Customer Care & Sales, Sun Finance showed what a new brand with mojo can be achieving with a great value proposition and a committed aligned team.

Day two was just as rich. Here are the highlights for me.

Barclays wanted us to know that humans remain important in banking in the face of fintech and smart apps. Sally Earnshaw obviously beat the drum that people are the rocket fuel that unleashes growth and success, so make sure you understand how they tick.

Nick Pegram of Bold360 made the point that well designed virtual assistants supported advisors to do what they do best and were therefore a support not a threat.

Stephen Robertson, CEO of The Big Issue Foundation spoke passionately about the philosophy and activity that drives the Big Issue. Total respect for his leadership and team for their social activism.

So, as I said it was the best yet. Slides are available if you want more. Even better make it to the full conference next year.

Barclays wanted us to know that humans remain important in banking in the face of fintech and smart apps

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Being marketing director of Aston Martin is something of a dream job for many and for Gerhard Fourie it’s a reality. They

17

ENGAGE CUSTOMER VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Cathy Brown As always, such a pleasure to be chairing a great set of speakers at the 2018 Customer Engagement Summit. Inspired by the plenary speakers, especially Gavin Ingham giving us real insight into what gives us the edge at work, we started straight in on our Customer and Employee Engagement stream in style!

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ur first speaker was David Wales, of Kent Fire and Rescue. Bringing our conference theme in straight away (The Human Face of Engagement), David gave us a really thought provoking case study of the moment his organisation had an epiphany about their customers. They hadn’t really thought of the public as customers, and perhaps worse, they had assumed that public behaviour during incidents was at best foolish and at worst, irrational. The turning on its head of that assumption, as they started to really talk to, connect with and understand their involuntary customers, has transformed the way they work. Their focus has moved to how to minimise subsequent damage and stress, for example by ensuring that they deal with burns victims immediately (as they have the water and the expertise to hand) rather than handing them off to a hospital service which often doesn’t have the equipment or special knowledge to prevent further injury.

We then hear from Ben Orme of Hawk Incentives, and they’ve made the connection between customer and employee – realising their employees are their best customers.

The key moment came for them when they actually asked what was going on – and started to say thank you.

It was then a pleasure to me to introduce my boss Deb Oxley to the stage! We are hearing much more about alternative business models these days, and the Employee Ownership Association is leading the way on this. The recent announcement that Aardman Animations has transitioned to being owned by its employees is just one of many examples of forward thinking organisations investing in shared endeavour, and then reaping the benefit in increased purpose, productivity, profit and performance.

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We are hearing much more about alternative business models these days, and the Employee Ownership Association is leading the way on this.

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We then moved on to our first stream on Customer Experience Design. Angel Lozano of the American School in England (TASIS) challenged our preconceptions again, this time about how we tell our story to our customers. He showed us a brief advert, very moving (there was much surreptitious sniffing and eye wiping in the audience) but we couldn’t guess what the ad was for. It was for Kleenex! We all needed one… The indirect approach was really effective, it told a great story that we felt involved with.

Cathy Brown, Employee Ownership Association

Oisin Lunny then educated us in the ways of the digital disrupter. How the intelligent use of big data can give us big insight into our customers behaviours. And how perception is so important – we might think we are doing the right think, but if we bother to ask our customers the likelihood is that they will tell us something quite different. He then wowed the geeks in the audience (most of us, including me) by showing us RCS in the context of Virgin Trains at Euston. I can’t wait for Rich Communication Services to hit my phone. As a customer, I think it will transform my experience positively. As an organisation, it’s a really effective, interactive channel. More on RCS later, with one of our afternoon speakers.

Terence Sorrell of Centrica Hive then presented us with another ‘ah ha’ moment, talking about how to impress your customers

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER

when your products have been designed to be seamless, efficient and ultimately forgettable? Hive have done that, and their journey was fascinating.

Gosh, we were ready for lunch by then!

We started back in with a series of case studies on Engagement in finance, public sector, retail and media. An incredible breadth of experience and expertise from all across those sectors, that once again stressed the need to ASK PEOPLE how they feel, to be brave about doing the right thing, to build fans rather than customers, to use data and behaviour together to understand the customer, and to build trust, loyalty and connection with our employees.

We finished the day back in Customer Experience Design, hearing from Samsung about making things simpler, and from Promoderation around creating behavioural loyalty.

For me, the theme running through the whole day was that of not making assumptions, but about asking for proper feedback and blending that intelligently with data to enhance both the customer and the employee experience.

We boned back in raring to go on Day 2 – with Voice of the Customer and then a strong Engagement finish.

Another eye opening presentation, this time from Sarah Sargent from Lowell.

Lowell’s customers again are involuntary, but the organisations attitude towards them is caring, non judgmental and above all, practical and effective. Once again, a mix of feedback,

DECEMBER 2018

behaviour and data had been used to create and improve customer journeys throughout the organisation.

organisation that people connect to; managing people well, trusting them and treating them as individuals; giving them a voice, and welcoming what they say; and behaving with integrity.

Douglas Mancini was entirely customer focussed too, giving us some great retail examples of how they were changing the local experience of customers on the fly as they started to give real feedback.

Because they could see action was being taken, it drove the quality of the feedback given, allowing even quicker, better transformation.

Julia Barbosa talked to us about how Save the Children view failure as a learning tool, and she very honestly talked us through some personal points of failure so we could follow her learning.

She encouraged us to not be afraid to start all over again if necessary.

Alvin and Diane from Southestern Railway started our final set of talks with a stirring case study. Their focus on autonomy and empowerment resulted in the formation of Station Master posts, where there was no job description.

People were recruited for altruism, told that they had the power to do whatever would sort out the problem for the customer, and allowed to get on with it.

Complaints are down, customer satisfaction is up, productivity in general is up on the stations, good practice is now being shared and everyone is happy!

Our final speakers finished us off with hard facts and cute animal pictures – Teresa and Nichola from London Zoo – again an organisation surprising in its breadth of work and with a tough story of transformation on a budget.

An incredible amount of experience, expertise and enthusiasm was on display from all our speakers. Once again a great conference – thought provoking, challenging, illuminating.

People were recruited for altruism, told that they had the power to do whatever would sort out the problem for the customer, and allowed to get on with it

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We then moved to Jo Moffatt, of Engage for Success, the UK’s movement for Employee Engagement. Jo stressed to us the need for autonomy again, a common theme throughout the day. And she covered the Four Enablers of Engagement – having a great, purpose driven, authentic story of the

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Gerry Brown This year’s Customer Engagement Summit, was remarkable for the sincere and engaging presentations from those companies that don’t necessarily make the CX headlines or the award shows but have an equally strong commitment to improving the lives of their customers and colleagues. As we’ll see as we take a look at the highlights.

The afternoon session was full of insights and predictions about artificial intelligence

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he theme of the conference was the Human Face of Engagement. While technology also featured prominently, it was respectfully, intelligently and creatively blended with the role that humans play to show why people, customers and colleagues, still come first.

builders are not just about strong tea and cheeky whistles. She demonstrated, both literally and figuratively, that Hi-tech, Hi-Viz and high heels can be a winning combination to gain colleague commitment and customer advocacy to inspire high performing teams and produce excellent customer results.

After some great plenary session presentations, we got off to a flying start and before we knew it were all going on a summer holiday with Pauline Wilson from Virgin Holidays. Caroline eloquently shared the importance of being up close and personal and making a difference at every point in the travel experience, from the first thoughts of a summer sojourn to the taxi ride home and everything in between. She made her point compellingly with a heart-warming story about a family’s special trip and how Virgin’s extra touches made it even more memorable.

Intelligent journeys into the future

The Voice of the Customer is heard loud and clear

The afternoon session was full of insights and predictions about artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots named Gladys and Nick King from Autotrader was his usual ebullient and knowledgeable self in taking us down the road on an intelligent and connected digital journey. He drove off the forecourt in style and into a much wider and comprehensive world of personal experiences that are enabled, but not replaced, by technology.

Nick is an entertainer first and foremost and blends his 80s rock band experiences with scientific, but never boring, insight into consumer behaviour and technology adoption.

Stella Creasey from Fidelity and Olivier Njamfa from Eptica looked at, and listened to, the Voice of the Customer from slightly different vantage points. They met conveniently and compatibly in the middle to demonstrate the value of closing the loop and ensuring that customers and colleagues are kept constantly informed, engaged and empowered and never wondering, “what did happen to that survey I completed?”

Nick Pegram from Bold360 told us keep calm and embrace AI, as it will help us be faster and better than we ever thought, but that the droids weren’t really taking over the world. He provided some vivid and impactful evidence of those companies that have successfully implemented AI technology, aligned with human touches to enable better customer interactions that drive business growth and enhance customer satisfaction.

If we build it they will come

Nick Worth, from Selligent Marketing Cloud, introduced us to the “Entitled Consumer” and how this is rapidly changing the way that businesses must react to increasingly demanding customer needs and expectations. He shared stories from companies such as ING, IHG and Asda to clearly articulate how digital marketers are increasingly turning to automation, personalization, and AI to enhance customer experiences in an always connected world.

Claire Carroll from the Co-op reminded us all about the importance of the contact centre as a strategic asset and how her “Journey to Relevance” has been the catalyst behind making the Co-op “great again”, and revitalizing her colleagues and the customer experience into the bargain.

Then Jackie Ducker from Kier constructed the perfect presentation to show that Gerry Brown, Customer Lifeguard

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DECEMBER 2018

ENGAGE CUSTOMER

Turning on, tuning in and turning down We finished Day 1 with some great insights from the previously unheralded “stars” of customer experience.

Kim Ratcliffe from Water Plus poured out her heart to show how a relatively unloved and unknown business (the non-household water market) still needs to keep the competitive juices flowing and attention to customer experience fully turned on. She explained how a winning combination of engaged colleagues and leadingedge technology came together to shower the customers with new levels of service that has made them the largest and most successful water retailer in the country.

Katrina Broster from The Telegraph penned a lead story about conversion and the value of tuning in to their customers and basing their marketing strategies on delivering the right content at the right time and in the right place.

This resulted in increased revenue conversion and made significant improvements in customer

Day 2 didn’t lack for energy or compelling stories that kept the audience engaged and responsive.

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DECEMBER 2018

engagement and retention. And that definitely wasn’t fake news!

Gemma Todd, from Imperial London Hotels, then put the session to bed for the night with a heartwarming and engaging story about how a long standing and successful family business is addressing the ever-changing demands of the hospitality industry. Not only in guest expectations, but in how their employee experience program, that features reward and recognition and career development, has attracted and retained top quality colleagues despite the uncertainty of the Brexit fiasco.

Although Day 2 was somewhat shorter it didn’t lack for energy or compelling stories that kept the audience engaged and responsive.

Vinay Parmar from National Express got us on the road with a great example of the power of community and how National Express passengers are helping each other through a “crowd service” model from Limitless. This

treat customers fairly by reducing both consumption and costs, and create a truly novel experience in the utility world, a Win-Win scenario.

Sam Bleazard from Laing O’Rourke showed us the human, caring side of large construction and took us on a journey of enlightenment, illustrating the focus on diversity that Lang O’Rouke has introduced to adjust to the changing world of the construction industry. By attracting new, young talent from a variety of backgrounds and demographics and providing opportunities for a career, not just a job, they are truly reshaping the industry and building a sustainable legacy for the future.

provides significant cost benefits to National Express, handles spikes in demand and creates new fans that can share their knowledge and experiences with others for the good of all.

Some more utility stories, starting with Caroline Black from Business Stream who truly brought a new meaning to utilitarianism in the 21st Century.

Her philosophy showed that doing the right thing for customers wasn’t just about taking them on a new journey that ended up in the same place, with the same issues. By evaluating the experiences that customers and colleagues have on the inside of the business, they have created a measurable and sustainable customer engagement model that can thrive in a new customer empowered world.

Louise Oliver from Anglian Water continued this theme and introduced Anglian’s Corporate and Social Charter that is aimed at achieving the right outcome for customers and the environment. She explained how this has been instrumental in helping Anglian meet regulatory requirements,

The morning, and the conference, were brought to a positive and powerful conclusion by Heather Mustafa from Nationwide and her focus on operational communications. This has involved a complete revamp of how Nationwide ensures that colleagues are kept in the loop and up to date on any and all customer issues.

Increasingly creative use of digital channels to serve a more agile and flexible workforce has resulted in more information reaching the right people at the right time and keeping Nationwide as a customer experience leader in the financial services industry.

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TS E K C 2 TI

5 9 9 £

CUSTOMER ROBOTICS AND AI 4 APRIL 2019

WATERLOO PARK PLAZA I LONDON

HOW ORGANISATIONS ARE IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE ROI AND GROWTH The use of new technologies is having a profound impact on how we interact with our customers and nowhere is this change more marked than developments in the world of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Our Robotics and AI in Customer Engagement Directors Forum will drill down into these exciting new areas and examine how organisations are grappling with the challenges and opportunities they are presenting in relationships with their customers.

Delegates at the event will hear from global experts, leading edge technology companies and also from organisations implementing robotics and AI strategies in the field of customer engagement.

CustomerRoboticsandAi.com 2018 SPONSORS

ENGAGE CUSTOMER VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Nicholas Brice We opened after coffee looking at how Voice of the Employee had been front and centre of the business for Formica’s European Business, where in 2015 engagement figures had ebbed to less than 50%. Emma Dixon, joining Formica after a spell at BT, showed us how leadership development can support the culture change from a low skill, low accountability, them and us leader-worker climate to a much more communicative, ‘one team’ ethosdriven, performance culture. Key features of this great programme were the co-articulation of key behaviours with the workforce, and the use of storytelling and strengths psychology to get people bringing their real selves to work.

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oritz Dinger of Capita Transformation highlighted the critical balance needed when businesses implement their lean strategies for digital transformation with the need to get clear insights into the people impacts of such change – the need to get people on board with the change process.

Taking the right steps to modernise the working culture with the deep level behaviour change that supports it can help achieve the desired CX in a way that is more complete and longer lasting.

At St. Andrews Healthcare, Martin Kersey, works with some of the more vulnerable people in our society. He spoke about the challenges of getting and keeping people engaged when they can be on the receiving end of some rough treatment including verbal and physical abuse. Martin spoke about how he gets patients themselves playing a pivotal role in helping St Andrews pinpoint the best ways to help them as “no-one knows what it’s like being a patient than a patient”. Martin uses these insights to inform the design of the entire employee journey.

Moving away from VOE, we moved into the key role that culture plays in deploying CX strategy.

Do you work for a Unicorn or a Zebra company? You may have other animal metaphors but Peter Finding of Taylor Vinters used these two to differentiate companies with fundamentally different purposes. Some were surfing high growth through their monopoly, ‘high-flex’ reduced employee rights workplaces, aiming to scale up and sell out as quickly as possible (the Unicorns – Peter says think Facebook, Uber…). Others those businesses that evolve and develop over time, with a ‘more-than-just-make-money’ purpose at heart, delivering clear community benefits and employee stake-holders at the core (the Zebras – such as Gett and Cadbury

DECEMBER 2018

– who were founded on Quaker values). In Zebra firms, people are people not assets, they work with regulatory bodies rather than clash with them, they are proving that ethical business is not counter-productive. Peter explained how the ongoing transformation in company law is ensuring companies report on purpose – that they are generating their profit through purpose.

In her session ‘The Culture Code’, Blue Sky’s MD Sally Earnshaw, quoted the remarkable statistic that while 80% of companies say they deliver superior service, only 8% of customers think they do.

Blue Sky’s award-winning work with BT Enterprise featured strongly in her session as Sally spoke of how great stories and narrative helped get clarity and commitment to the why behind the change, helping operational managers get the climate right, to communicate what good looks like and how to deliver it (‘Cracking the Code’ and ‘Knowing Your Onions’) for front-line personnel and their leaders to shift NPS. Sally told us how they “avoided the corporate bullshit at every stage”, and had managers taking the narrative and making it their own to share with their people in their way to help their people climb the accountability ladder.

Another brilliant behavioural metaphor they introduced was the idea of being a Cow or a Rhino in how you went about your business (think saying ‘moo’ a lot versus charging through obstacles…).

Prof Moira Clark of Henley Business School explained how at companies such as First Direct, customer experience differentiation is built through their people. Helping leaders and teams adopt the skills and competencies to do a great job and giving them processes to back them up, turning the organisational pyramid upside down to focus on servant

Nicholas Brice, AMEX Community Stadium leadership and watch out for the interesting dilemma between securing a high level of engagement - but not at the expense of NPS (“I’m so engaged, don’t spoil my fun please Mr Customer!”).

Moira spoke of the how high retaining organisations make sure the work climate focusses on the right common enemy – the competition, not each other.

As our focus moved towards Internal Communications…

Marketing Consultant Debbie-Bennett Jackson of Citibank showed us how she is helping get 34,000 people in EMEA engaged around a client first strategy by focusing on striking the right balance between having a culture of innovation with the need for ethical decisionmaking. Breaking down silos, cultivating a growth mindset, using World Café’s, Ideas Jams, bite-size learning, storytelling and pulling initiatives together around the #BeMore theme – wellbeing, work as a team, clientcentered, empathic etc.

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ENGAGE CUSTOMER

Iselin values authenticity and vulnerability as well as having the courage to say when you don’t have all the answers – as a way on inspiring people to step up themselves. Unpacking the end-to-end customer journey with her people, agreeing what really needs tracking, plus the odd bento box of great sushi and jelly babies all come into the leadership mix with Iseline.

Chris McGrath of M&S showed us how Natural Language Processing has transformed the way calls are handled – taking the operation from a switchboard service to an automated NLP approach and all the benefits this has revealed the business.

Final session was Cross Sector Customer and Employee Engagement…

At M&S, Retail and Finance Ops Manager John Heatherington is helping 374 stores across 35 markets use dynamic customer feedback as a rich diet to inspire their performance improvement efforts. By using digital technology, John has helped the business get much closer to what customers are really thinking to drive up CX performance as well as inspire a raft of marketing programmes both through their wholly-owned businesses as well as their franchise partners. Speeding up the development process by stimulating focus and dialogue as well as using local language to help people feel fully involved and part of the process. A key theme here is MEMS – Make Every Moment Special.

Peter Cronie, General Manager Energie Fitness, shared a great story about the difference between what leaders think and report is being done, and what employees are actually doing, or not doing – but not letting their leaders know! He showed how uncovering the absence of a simple process that employees saw as something “we don’t have time” for made £800,000 extra revenue in a year. Peter spoke about how customers as people are each driven by emotion rather than facts and how we need to understand them to develop a customer experience plan to win their loyalty. After all, why do we buy things and do things that may not be good for us?

Moving on to Artificial Intelligence and Robotics…

Eliska Dockalova of Kiwi.com spoke about making travel better, affordable, easier and safer through applying technology such as ‘virtual interlining’ and ‘interactive voice assistants’ to get a number of key transactions automated – her virtual assistants are only seeing 0.002% complaints – but, having quick response action to ‘transfer to the floor’ anything that needs a human touch from a real person – missed connections, Kiwi.com guarantee cases etc.

Martin Taylor of Content Guru spoke about how technology can help in getting a consistent omnichannel customer experience and reducing agent churn

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by using chatbots, data analysis, keyword recognition, and natural language processing. Some of the attainable benefits of adopting these technologies are reducing agent workload, as well as helping upgrade customer experiences to meet the increasing expectations of modern customers. Research suggests that in just 2-3 years up to 85% of our CX interactions will not be with a human – where the complexity of the call demands it.

With contact centre staff turnover running at 73% and the most common reason for leaving being workload, these new technologies may support a much better future says Martin.

Simon Foot of CX Company spoke about the emerging role of chatbots as 72% of people surveyed believe that chatbots will increase customer ease. Other opportunities include reduced non-value contact, overall volume, better CX, reduced costs, better contact centre efficiency and enhanced data insights. To achieve these benefits however, Simon spoke of the need to get past customer aversion, make sure information is accurate and achieve transparency when dealing with people to ensure their buy-in.

Our final session of Day One focused on Training, Learning & Development. Adrienne Gault, of the Food Standards Agency spoke about the company’s introduction of OWOW – Our Ways of Working. The programme was designed at helping people fit their work around their lives – not the other way round.

Adrienne shared initiatives around physical spaces, ways of connecting, type of work contracts, that had helped transform working life for many employees and drive up engagement scores.

Day Two in Hall 4 opened up after coffee with a session on Engagement in Retail.

Iselin Lovold of Just Eat shared with us how important it is to make people feel cared for and engender a sense of belonging – as pivotal in a high-performance environment – high challenge + high care. As a leader,

Sean McMahon of Belron International explored the whole idea of 100% selfservice at Autoglass, where customers’ only in-person contact would be with the technician. By mapping the end-to-end customer experience by recording events as they happen, a record of a ‘whole customer conversation’ can be established. The ultimate vision of this work would seem to be a world where as a customer, the business knows me so well, it can’t help but get things 100% right every time.

Tom Cleaver of Policy Expert spoke about the big challenge of retaining online customers – giving people a reason to come back year after year to the same provider. Staff driven customer charter, sharing positive feedback, focusing on engagement, mining customer feedback, monthly review meetings, benchmarking… have all helped the business get 95% of customers recommending them with average scores of 4.6/5.

Wrapping up and excellent two days, was Tata Consultancy Services with Ramkumar Chandrasekaran. With a global workforce of 400,000+ and close to $20billion revenue, the challenge of radically transforming the skills and capabilities of his team to handle all the transformations in service provision that go with digital meant comprehensive strategy was needed. The use of a social media collaborative platform (Knome) to help build a new narrative for change – where a sudden increase in transparency of how people were feeling about pay rises and other issues, as well as digital classrooms, assessment, nano courses, iClasses (online instructor with 1000’s of students), videos, internal accreditations, chatbots, gamification – all combined to drive a learning organisation to meet the strategic challenges it faced.

A great two days, a terrific diet of possibilities to digest…

DECEMBER 2018

EBM Live Events DIGITAL WORKPLACE DIRECTORS FORUM

FUTURE OF THE CONTACT CENTRE CONFERENCE

30 JANUARY 2019 I WATERLOO PARK PLAZA, LONDON

13 FEBRUARY 2019 I VICTORIA PARK PLAZA, LONDON

Our Digital Workplace Directors Forum will examine in detail how the needs of our people are changing and how and where we can equip them to cater for this workplace revolution. Failure to do this is not an option.

With the contact centre space providing a significant, growing opportunity for customer experience, it is these touch points that provide a powerful tool to transform the success of a brand in today’s digital world where customers expect responses 24x7x365.

ENGAGE FOCUS GROUPS

CUSTOMER ROBOTICS AND AI DIRECTORS FORUM

22 MARCH 2019 I HILTON LONDON, HEATHROW

04APRIL 2019 I WATERLOO PARK PLAZA, LONDON

Our exclusive Engage Focus groups allow senior individuals working in customer and employee engagement to come together and voice their thoughts and share experiences across a wide range of topics in a structured professional environment.

The use of new technologies is having a profound impact on how we interact with our customers and nowhere is this change more marked than developments in the world of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2019

CX MARKETING SUMMIT 2019

10 MAY 2019 I VICTORIA PARK PLAZA, LONDON

13 JUNE 2019 I VICTORIA PARK PLAZA, LONDON

The Summit is the premier event of its kind in Europe and is back and bigger than ever for 2019, being held on 10th May in Central London. With research showing that organisations are facing a radically shifting context for the workforce, the workplace, and the world of work, the employee engagement team are faced with a number of converging issues.

Our case study and high level networking driven CX Marketing Summit will examine in detail the key issues, challenges and opportunities facing the marketing community against a background of rapid advances in technologies – from Advanced Analytics and Biometrics through to Virtual and Augmented Reality, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT TRANSFORMATION CONFERENCE

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE

11 JULY 2019 I RIVERBANK PARK PLAZA, LONDON

17 SEPTEMBER 2019 I VICTORIA PARK PLAZA, LONDON

With the digital revolution in full swing, it’s imperative that organisations start to consider their customers’ needs in order to meet changing expectations. Customer demands are increasing rapidly, and the technology available to improve customer experience is advancing in front of our eyes.

This Conference will take an in depth look at the fast changing world of internal communications and how it is increasingly taking on the critical employee engagement role that has too often been neglected by those in HR.

ENGAGE FOCUS GROUPS

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2019

26 SEPTEMBER 2019 I HILTON LONDON, HEATHROW

11 & 12 NOV 2019 I WESTMINSTER PARK PLAZA, LONDON

Our exclusive Engage Focus groups allow senior individuals working in customer and employee engagement to come together and voice their thoughts and share experiences across a wide range of topics in a structured professional environment.

Our flagship Customer Engagement Summit is back, and is now firmly established as a 2 day event. Delegates will hear from 90+ speakers during the course of the two days, and we’ll be covering the latest, hottest topics in the industry.

For more information please contact us at: tickets@ebm.media or 01932 EngageCustomer.com

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