CV-19 highlights the importance of digital transformation
By Matt Baker - April 28, 2020
Digital transformation, customer experience, customer obsessed organisation, omni-channel engagement strategy. We’ve all heard the terms, we’ve all read the white papers about how organisations must become agile and focus on digital channels. For some, these concepts have become the focal point of their change management programmes, some just naturally grew into this space. For others, the idea of digital transformation and customer experience has been more difficult to get to grips with.
“Does this mean we change our business?”
“Does this mean we force customers to change the way they interact with us?”
“Why should we change something that already works and our customers are happy, right?”
Covid-19 has shown on a global scale why digital channels are so important to any organisation. CV-19 is, one would hope, a major but rare incident and as such perhaps should not be used as a reason alone to build a digital market place for your business. However, it clearly highlights those organisations that have realised that a multi-channel offering is better for both them and their customers. One exception would be Primark, as reported by the BBC in their article “Coronavirus: Primark sells nothing as retailers struggle”, Sales reportedly fell from £650m per month to zero as their retail outlets closed but their digital services did not allow consumers to shop online.
It’s clear some retailers view digital commerce as a competitor and not complimentary to their high street offerings, which often means they are only viewing digital platforms as a selling tool and not a customer experience tool. Selling is a very important component, but helping customers post sale is just as important. What if there are issues with the purchase, how are returns arranged, how can customers be notified of product recalls, how do organisations ultimately build a connection with customers when they are not in store? Websites, but more importantly, mobile apps provide organisations with a 24×7 access to their customers and vice versa. The explosive success of Amazon, a perhaps cliched analogy, can be boiled down, in part, to the fact that it provides easy access to its services via a mobile application.
Equally, we should not just look at high street retailers such as Primark as examples of poor digital experience, many other industries such as new home builders could also improve their customer experience. Purchasing a home is a significant investment and requires careful thought. Once the commitment to move is made it can be a challenging and drawn out process. Even in these times customers are looking to make a start on this process, knowing that by the time lock-down ends they want to be in a position to move.
Most new home buying experiences start with a visit to a show home and discussion with a sales agent. The drive is to bring customers into sales centres and take them around the various show homes to identify which would be most suitable. In many cases, homes are not even available to view as new homes are often sold off plan. This begs the question, why does the sales process begin with showing a physical product that may or may not exist?
A digital platform can improve CX and complement the physical and often more expensive components of the process. Video tours of house models, 3d interactive site maps and house plans, live chat and video calls available to customers wishing to speak to sales agents. Combine this with online payment portals and conveyancing services and there is a great deal of the sales process that can be engaged with while a customer is comfortably sat on their sofa.
Fast forward 12 weeks and while the sofa has moved to a new home, customer experience should still be top priority. Snagging is a key challenge for new home owners, how do I report issues, how do I provide photos and information, when will someone come to look at this leaky pipe? Once again, digital transformation of this process can be key to 100% customer satisfaction. Provide customers with a mobile application to report issues, upload photos and manage communications and view status transforms the experience from a chore to a quick 5 minute task that can be done day or night.
The Salesforce platform provides organisations with a very quick way to accelerate their digital platform delivery. All the components such as Commerce Cloud, Sales, Service Cloud, Communities and Marketing Cloud enable high quality multi-channel engagement. Most importantly the Salesforce platform provides out of the box integration between the components enabling a seamless customer experience without the need to embark upon a large, expensive and time consuming platform integration programme.
This post was originally posted on LinkedIn.
-fm-converted.png)
Matt Baker
Matt Baker, Director, Customertimes UK, is a highly experienced and versatile CRM/Customer Experience specialist with more than 20 years of experience in CRM technology and consulting. Matt works with national and international organizations, helping them implement CRM technology and develop a vision and strategy for using it to compete in the ever-changing, challenging global business environment. Matt’s expertise includes financial services, engineering, media, and more, and he’s recognized for his ability to design and build high-quality enterprise-class cloud CRM platforms.
-fm-converted.png)
Integration Insight from CT's MuleSoft Expert
-fm-converted.png)
AppExchange Mavericks: Customertimes Solutions
-fm-converted.png)
Discovery First: Ensuring a Seamless MuleSoft Integration
-fm-converted.png)
Alimera Sciences Boosts Productivity with CT Mobile
-fm-converted.png)
Brian Borack Joins Customertimes as Chief Operating Officer
-fm-converted.png)
Xactly & Customertimes Improve Sales Performance Management
-fm-converted.png)
Meet the Women of Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
Orkla Automates Territory Alignment with CT Mobile & CT CPG
-fm-converted.png)
Meet the Women of Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
ISG Names Customertimes a Salesforce Ecosystem Leader
-fm-converted.png)
Propel Goes Global with PDO and Managed Services
-fm-converted.png)
Meet the Women of Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
Choosing the Ideal PDO Partner
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Launches The Give Back to Ukraine Fund
-fm-converted.png)
CT Software Announces New Consumer Health Projects
-fm-converted.png)
The Top 5 QA Testing Metrics
-fm-converted.png)
UMMC Uses Salesforce Health Cloud to Improve Pediatric Psychiatric Care
-fm-converted.png)
Minimizing the Impact of Log4j and Other Java Vulnerabilities
-fm-converted.png)
DFG152 is Live on Salesforce AppExchange
-fm-converted.png)
A Year of Giving
-fm-converted.png)
Leverage the power of Salesforce automation with CT Orders
-fm-converted.png)
New Product Idea? 5 Things to Look for in a Salesforce PDO
-fm-converted.png)
A Sharp USA Customer Success Story
-fm-converted.png)
Organic Growth: Building an Agile, Scalable Salesforce Team
-fm-converted.png)
Open to Hire? 5 Ways to Deal with a Staffing Shortage
-fm-converted.png)
The Transformation Guidebook
-fm-converted.png)
CT Vision is now live on Salesforce AppExchange
-fm-converted.png)
Unlock Customer-Centric Growth with the World's #1 CRM
-fm-converted.png)
[On-Demand] Growing a Profitable Salesforce Practice
-fm-converted.png)
Launch Excellence in a Post-Pandemic World
-fm-converted.png)
A Sirenum Customer Story
-fm-converted.png)
Making a Switch: 5 Things to Consider When Switching Salesforce Partners
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Announces Expanded Salesforce Industries Practice
-fm-converted.png)
Use case of CT Mobile for Consumer Packaged Goods - Beiersdorf
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes How To: Uniting Sales Cloud and Service Cloud
-fm-converted.png)
Bench Strength, and Other Introductions
-fm-converted.png)
Meet Alexis: Introducing Our PepUp Tech Intern
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes How To: Building Better Salesforce Reports
-fm-converted.png)
Stand Out: Overcoming Digital Fatigue in a Crowded Marketplace
-fm-converted.png)
Connecting Image Recognition Technlogies to the Salesforce Ecosystem with CT Vision
-fm-converted.png)
[On Demand] Launch Excellence in a Post-Pandemic World: The right Life Sciences ...
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Announces Strategic Partnership with Blue Consulting
-fm-converted.png)
Expanding Our Reach, Building Our Communities
-fm-converted.png)
Discover CT: Anna Andreieva
-fm-converted.png)
Discover CT: Sergey Selivanov
-fm-converted.png)
CT Orders Whitepaper
-fm-converted.png)
Giving Back Is in Our DNA
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes is Awarded Three Best in Class Distinctions in POIs 2021 Retail Sa...
-fm-converted.png)
Discover CT: Dmitry Selkov
-fm-converted.png)
Discover CT: Denny Gracey
-fm-converted.png)
Automating Order Management with CT Orders
-fm-converted.png)
ISG Names Customertimes a Rising Star
-fm-converted.png)
Bitcoin Is Just the Beginning: How Blockchain Will Revolutionize Data Collection...
-fm-converted.png)
Two Major Challenges of AI Adoption for Enterprises
-fm-converted.png)
Commercial Launch Enablement for Emerging Life Sciences Companies
-fm-converted.png)
The Holy Grail of Customer Engagement: A True 360° View
-fm-converted.png)
CRM: It's a Journey not a Event
-fm-converted.png)
Strategies to Maximize Your CRM/CX Investments
-fm-converted.png)
Women in Tech: Angel Di Legge Kokoszka
-fm-converted.png)
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness: Getting the Right Things Done
-fm-converted.png)
Women in Tech: Svetlana Makhlysheva
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes and PepUp Tech announce support for the Pennsylvania Innocence Pro...
-fm-converted.png)
Improve the Human Element of Your CX for More Emotional Connections
-fm-converted.png)
James Goldfinger Joins the PepUp Tech Board
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes and Competera Announce Strategic Partnership
-fm-converted.png)
Women in Tech: Maria Karandin
-fm-converted.png)
Back to the Future – Dusting Off the Old Playbook for Salesforce in Healthcare
-fm-converted.png)
Bringing a Product to Market: An Interview with Park Capital’s Alex Lopatine
-fm-converted.png)
Women in Tech: Tahuana Cirati
-fm-converted.png)
DevOps Strategy: A Journey to Efficiency
-fm-converted.png)
Megatrends in Customer Experience Webinar | Customertimes, Edify, Verint, eGain
-fm-converted.png)
Introducing Women in Tech: Meet the Inspiring Women of Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
CT Orders - Sales automation with easy order taking
-fm-converted.png)
Sharp and Customertimes | A Salesforce Implementation Story
-fm-converted.png)
A Look at Marketing's Biggest Data Challenges of the 2020s
-fm-converted.png)
What makes a successful CRM Journey
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Partners with PepUp Tech to Train a New Generation of Salesforce P...
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes welcomes Sergey Zinin as Global VP of Verticals and Business Consu...
-fm-converted.png)
PepUp Tech Announces New Partnership with Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
How do you build a high-performing, cost-effective CRM technology team?
-fm-converted.png)
Сustomertimes Achieves Salesforce Master Navigator Status for Delivering Experti...
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes and Propel Announce Global Strategic Partnership
-fm-converted.png)
Is It Time to Revise Your Business Continuity Plan?
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Achieves Salesforce Master Navigator Status for Delivering Experti...
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Continues to Expand
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes achieves Salesforce Master Navigator status for delivering experti...
-fm-converted.png)
Choosing a Software Product Development Partner: Why Strategy, Customisation, an...
-fm-converted.png)
The power of CRM's and post COVID-19 technology adoption | Jim Goldfinger
-fm-converted.png)
Let Data Be Your Guide: Adapt to Become Digital First
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Cares: Making Strides to Help Our Communities in Eastern Europe
-fm-converted.png)
Salesforce and Tableau – the perfect combination for these challenging times
-fm-converted.png)
Rethinking HCP Interaction in the Midst of the New Normal
-fm-converted.png)
Improving marketing engagement using actionable intelligence
-fm-converted.png)
My 2019 Trailblazer Story
-fm-converted.png)
CV-19 highlights the importance of digital transformation
-fm-converted.png)
The Evolution from Systems of Engagement to Systems of Agility
-fm-converted.png)
The Next Normal for Life Sciences Sales Calls
-fm-converted.png)
Never a Better Time to Give Back and to Put Life in Perspective
-fm-converted.png)
CT partners with Salesforce in a time of need for Health Care providers
-fm-converted.png)
Data is the New Oil
-fm-converted.png)
Lessons learned from my years as the CEO of Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
Why do you love working with Customertimes?
-fm-converted.png)
Where is the real value in CRM?
-fm-converted.png)
What makes Customertimes different?
-fm-converted.png)
Salesforce World Tour 2019
-fm-converted.png)
Lightforce : sharing experience Salesforce / Customertimes
-fm-converted.png)
Wella
-fm-converted.png)
PDI - CT Mobile
-fm-converted.png)
CT Pharma / CT Mobile - May 2018
-fm-converted.png)
CT Mobile Use Case for Luxury Goods - Cartier
-fm-converted.png)
Rethinking Your Open Banking Journey with MuleSoft
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes Solution for Life Sciences
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes is recognized by Promotion Optimization Institute in the Vendor Pa...
-fm-converted.png)
Customertimes at MEDICA/COMPAMED 2014 – Düsseldorf
-fm-converted.png)
CT Mobile - Full Featured Sales force Offline
-fm-converted.png)
CT Mobile - Salesforce Based CLM Solution for Your Business
-fm-converted.png)