Recently, I had a chat with Kate Visconti, Managing Director of  Acumen Solutions, USA who takes care of the Sales Acceleration and Change Management Practice. She is also an Adjunct Professor with Santa Clara University, USA. It was an interesting & engaging conversation and here are the highlights of the discussion.

What was interesting to me was the points she made for successful adoption of technology in an enterprise - the importance of business process re-engineeering, change management as much the software or technology selection & upgrade itself and looking at the implementation itself thro' a customer lens.

I have believed for many years that these were the most critical aspects when it comes successful technology adoption & usage and often enough importance & attention is not paid within the organization and the stake holders to this area. Kate brought this out beautifully and reinforced this very well during our conversation.

Here is the summary of our chat:

Swami: How do you approach a technology implementation and what do you believe are key differences that you or your organization focuses on?

Kate: We always start any technology implementation with a first principle approach - how is the enterprise and their stakeholders currently thinking, feeling and doing with their workflow right now. We strongly focus on process innovation and not a run-of-the-mill implementation like other system integrators. We conduct multi-day workshops, build customer personas, enable collaborative  conversations across cross-functional groups to understand current issues and identify opportunities for optimization and automation. For us change management is as much important as the technology implementation itself. That's a key difference we believe we bring to the table & where I have seen successful technology transformation happen. 

Swami: When it comes to selecting or shortlisting technology platforms or software etc. and adopting technology across the organization, which are areas that are normally missed by them in your experience?

Kate: Most of them don't have an 'outside-in' approach and we bring that to play when we work with organizations. When a tech platform or software is selected, there is a lot of discussion on features, benefits etc. but very often during implementation, they don't see the technology from a customer's lens. We do a lot of shadowing to know how the current processes work, do customer research, customer experience benchmarking and often these are areas that are not often not given enough attention or missed most often.

Swami: Enterprises spend millions of dollars on acquiring licenses for tech & software and you have seen many successful technology implementations, adoption and transformation across enterprises, what do you believe is the secret sauce for their success?

Kate: What I have seen in enterprises where there have been successful technology transformation or adoption is that if there is an Engaged Executive Sponsor, the chances of success improve by at least 2 times! An engaged leadership committee which defines the vision & organizational priorities makes the next difference in the success as the technology road map, business outcomes and priorities get defined well. Engaged Stakeholders make the next difference - end-users, managers, executives, customers as they influence adoption and validate user experience across the enterprise. These I believe are the secret sauce to success and where I have seen this happen in organizations, things have been successful most of the time.

Swami: You also emphasize a lot on hand-holding the enterprises which your organization does after you implement the technology or software. That's a very interesting point that you make and in fact what kind of metrices do you track and for how long do you suggest one must do this?

Kate: I normally suggest we do this for 60-90 days ramp cycle depending on the scale and complexity of the project and implementation. We track a lot of metrices post implementation like:

1. Project Success - Both by way of budget and time
2. Adoption -  Quality of inputs that go into using the software or technology within the enterprise after roll-out - Timeliness, Completeness of the information, Not just no. of log-ins but demonstration of new user benefits and referrals etc.
3. Business before vs Business After - Benchmarking and looking at % increase in agreed business metrics, % decrease in, say, sales cycle or service cycle reduction etc.

These are some of the sample key metrices one should look at.

Swami: There is often an underestimation of the services costs which enterprises need to spend to make the technology transformation successful. There is a lot of focus on licenses fees, infra needed, maintenance & renewal fees etc. but much less attention is paid to services & costs associated with it. Right?

Kate: I totally agree with you, Swami. In my estimate, these may vary by project scope, complexity and these are directional just to give you a perspective that enterprises need to factor these services cost for a successful technology transformation - up to 30-40% factor for change management, engaged leadership, customer research, building alignment workshops, post implementation program adoption costs etc. These are over and above license fees and customization costs they would incur during the course of a 3-4 year project or program.

Swami: I saw that right at the start of our chat, you mentioned don't treat it like an IT project. What did you mean by that? 

Kate: I often quote from the point made by Forrester Research Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Colony made on technology projects, that in this age it is transforming from IT projects to Business Technology projects thinking. This is a key difference to successful technology selection, implementation, adoption and usage. I also say - Don't treat it like an IT project but treat it like a customer project!

These three - Deep Learning, Personalization and Privacy are indeed oxymorons.  The fact that when they come together for contextualization, relevance and differentiated customer experience - privacy takes a back seat!  When Privacy takes centre stage, then Deep Learning & personalization take a backseat! The real question, is from a customer point of view, can they work in harmony? How do companies use them effectively?

What deep learning can do is well documented. When you listen to this talk by Jeff Dean on Large scale deep learning at Google, you will realize the power of its capability. The most important difference you will see is how Google has embedded that in its products and services.This then brings the issue of privacy to the center of the debate, as this is the data of the customer that Google analyzes & monetizes. However, when it comes to the synergy between Deep learning and personalization, all the data that is used to understand this customer, effectively means personalization can be done like never before. So, the next time you walk-in to your favorite store, or your bank, or your online store, or your health care provider - the personalization possibilities thro' virtual assistants can create a phenomenal experience to the customer. Hence, if deep learning helps customers make their life simpler, then what's the problem with privacy? I think if this is done with the permission of the customer, then puts to rest the debate.

However, this has a lot of learning for the other industries - as the customer pays and owns their products, unlike Google where products are sometimes used for free. Take for example an automotive brand - the applications of deep learning, personalization is phenomenal. With most cars fitted now with navigation systems and telematics devices, the data this can throw about the customer, their driving habits into their automotive platform is phenomenal. The driving habits, the engine data, travel data, innovative use of public data all represent great deep learning application opportunities for the automotive brands to drive personalization & differentiation. Here, privacy is something of little consequence or debate as any assisted customer service will only enhance the customer experience. The same goes with banks - where the usage of the mobile app, online banking, payment apps, shopping data  thro' credit cards, public financial data etc. will only create opportunities for deep learning applications and personalization for enabling personalized financial solutions.

The question really is not will they but they will have to do it soon.

We live in a complex world today where customers reach or talk or share their views about companies or the products they like, own or use or their experiences thro' a multitude of ways. The touch points, the IT systems and channels are quite fragmented. Each day there is a new one that comes-up and there are more new ones that will emerge too. And to provide expert solutions there will be many specialists who will there. Specialists by terminology, means they specialize in one thing and they may not know enough about the others. This creates "information islands" in companies & acts as a huge barrier to solve a customer's problem. Customers too are left confused or dissatisfied as disparate touch points complicate their interaction with companies, waste their time due to repeated or failed interactions & therefore delayed resolution of their problems.

But to configure an optimum solution, it needs "integrativeness" in individuals who bring this diverse set of data & knowledge together. It needs integrativeness in understanding, thinking and connecting the dots intelligently to identify patterns and solve the problem. No amount of technology or analytical insights or process can solve this problem.

For the sake of analogy, let's take status of healthcare today - There are hundreds of specialists like oncologists, gynecologists, cardiologists etc. The patient however wants to be diagnosed and cured. Period. The hospital provides an umbrella for the generalists and specialists to work together for a successful outcome - curing the patient- they want the best healthcare experience. The integrativeness is provided within the boundaries of the hospital where these expert doctors practice & thrive.

Integrativeness is increasingly going to become a source of competitive advantage for businesses & professionals to manage superior customer experience. Today, APIs-for example, are integrators between diverse systems, integrating internal data & external data is becoming the norm for superior analytical insights, real time business decisions & technology integration is becoming a reality.

The question people must ask themselves -"Do I practice integrativeness in the way I think & work?". They might not know enough about everything deeply but they must have integrativeness in their work flow thinking, accessibility & process to quickly connect diverse sets of only relevant data or resident knowledge in companies to quickly comprehend, develop insights and solve customers' problems.

Integrativeness can change the way customers are managed by companies and how solutions are effectively delivered for them. Integrativeness in individuals is about quickly identifying "match keys" for every problem and having a set of APIs in their brains to connect available knowledge assets within companies, accessing this across departments or specialist functions, succinctly creating powerful insights to deliver superior customer experience or solve a customer's problem like never before.

Because, they may not be experts in everything that they do, Integrativeness is the new normal around how people will need to learn & adapt at work. Else customers can see and feel the difference!

There is a very lovely article by Vala Afshar in Huffington Post on the current state, business impact, currency and value of customer experience.

What I liked about this article is that there are really some lovely perspectives on how companies should look at & evaluate customer experience.

Here are some of the things that I liked:

• Customer experience is ..."a sum total of conscious events and coordinated interactions...". I loved the point on conscious events - this is a brilliant point and the impact of making it happen is quite compelling, deep & important in an organization, as the understanding and level of consciousness needed by different stakeholders when they deal with customers, must be of a very high order. The difference is having it in everybody's DNA rather a broad brushstroke of policy & direction!

• The differentiation between company-centric values and customer-centric values is quite vivid and well articulated.

• To deliver authentic customer experience, the point made on infrastructure that must be flexible, scalable, adaptive and intelligent is key. Most often, rigid rules and inflexible tech investments make it hard for the transformation to happen. The need for point solutions that are best-in-class for each touch point but must have the ability to fuse together with other potential interaction experiences is something enough thought process is not given by most companies.

• The need to look at Internet of Things( IOT) in the context of customer experience is a very aspect that is most often missed. Imagine the number of digital apps and APIs that are becoming available or used by customers today. How one extracts information out of them and creates a reverse-feed for understanding and actions, will make a big difference to CX.

There is a need to take a holistic view and break down organization silos if companies want to make customer experience count.

I was reading this very interesting article by Peter Sena on how some of the new age companies like Uber and the like are rewiring customers' brains.

I think the perspective he was bringing-in was that  every company across the world needs to put customer experience at the centre of what they do. Also, the fact that the way customers purchase different categories are undergoing a fundamental shift but in a incredible manner never seen before.

What the new technologies and platforms are doing is that customers are now fusing "impulse" & "convenience"  in the digital world. Imagine many decades ago, fragmented markets were brought under one location thro' convenience stores, hypermarkets etc. Customers had to walk-in to these convenience stores to buy and impulse at the store played a huge role in brands getting into the shopping bag. How brands were placed in shopping aisles, shopping display, shopper promotions played an important role. Location played a huge role in that era.

I believe this is however undergoing a different shift in the digital world.

• 'Search' is being replaced by customers 'Seeking' information. In the offline world, customers would "arrive", "search", "compare" and "buy". In the digital world, customers will increasingly "seek" and "buy".
• 'Content, Context & Customer Intelligence' is replacing the 'Location' lever in the digital world for brands & companies. Imagine you were reading an article on health & fitness online, the next thing you do is to find where you can buy your "Fitbit" band. Or some information that you are looking for your dry skin, some regular tips and then you want to know how you can buy a brand NOW.
• Supply chains need to undergo a fundamental transformation. It is no more important for companies to optimize their own supply chain but they need to learn how they can help optimize their distribution channel's supply chain. Imagine you are an auto brand, then you will have to reimagine you current dealerships as digital dealerships and products can be made available in a central hub for delivery!
• The customer side demand also will need to be optimized by companies and this is something they have never been used to. They cannot simply sell and forget. The need to offer services that they have never done before. They need to look at investments customers have made in their products and add value to them. Emerging markets like India will drive these innovations with frugal engineering and adoption on Mobile. Take for example trucksumo a commercial vehicle service of TATA Ace in India - where they connect unused capacity of customers to latent demand for goods movement!  Or the Amazon Dash button - where you can order Tide when it runs out!

So, I think companies need to reimagine, restructure, reengineer their thinking & plans to the demands of the rewired customers' brains! It is not just the companies and their processes but the people who drive these businesses whose minds & brains need to be rewired too!

Companies will therefore need to focus on people, process and technology to deliver new kinds of customer experiences.

Driving Supply Chain Excellence: Understanding Improvement and Performance

Enhance your customer's experience with good communication

The Future Of The Customer Experience Is The Experience

Here's a lovely article by Jessica on how customer experience is set to become the cornerstone for successful companies of tomorrow. According to me, the actionable items - going beyond lofty beliefs and intention, that need to be taken have been summarized very well in this article. The questions companies need to ask themselves are simple and easy to get answers for, in terms of how well they do on these parameters.

The key point is companies need to answer these questions from a customers' point of view rather than from their point of view:

1. Did the interactions meet your needs?
2. How easy is the company to work with?
3. How enjoyable are these firms to work with?

Key strategies( according to Bruce Temkin,  vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research), for building long lasting customer experience are:

• Obsess about customer needs, not product features: Adding this gadget or that widget may look cool, but if the "innovation" confuses the customer, the entire purpose is lost. Temkin encouraged the audience to engage in a "LIRM"-ing process: listen, interpret, react, and monitor. These elements, he said, are critical to developing a program to capture the Voice of the Customer.
• Reinforce the brand with every interaction, not just communication: Every employee in the company needs to understand the brand message and the brand promise. Every interaction should be based on this promise, a promise that must be insulated from damage when times get tough and cuts need to be made.
• Treat customer experience as a competence, not a function: Customer service is everyone's priority, not just that of the contact center. Call it "customer experience," "customer advocacy," "customer insight—anything, Temkin pleaded, that avoids dumping it into a siloed department. "The customer experience team cannot be another ‘function,' " Temkin said. "The group has to remain as a support to other parts of the organization." The leader of this group, he added, can be anyone — the CIO, the CMO, the COO — but the person cannot be more than two levels under the CEO. More important, whoever leads the group must possess enthusiasm about the cause — and be a champion for it.

To truly evaluate where your company's initiatives stand today, here's a scale to measure and improve your customer experience plans:

• Level 1: Interested (19 percent) - customer experience is important, but funding and upper-level support is minimal.
• Level 2:Invested (22 percent) - customer experience is important and initial programs are being put in place -- but the effort is still not connected with profitability for the organization.
• Level 3: Committed (11 percent) - customer experience is critical to the company and executives understand how it's connected to fundamental results: It's not customer experience for customer experience's sake.
• Level 4: Engaged (8 percent) - customer experience is a core part of the company's strategy and objectives.
• Level 5: Embedded (4 percent) - it's in the company's DNA, the essence of everything and anything the company does.

Walmart has come-up with an innovative worker shift system. Shifts will be based on customer flows and employees will know it  3 weeks before!

I think this is an interesting evolution where shoppers, customer service and optimization of costs are at the central focus of this decision. As we move from a "mass manufacturing" era to "mass customization" era, new management principles and methods have to be invented for the companies of the future. We are yet to see some innovations in this area. If Alfred Sloan changed the auto manufacturing thinking for GM or if Henry Ford brought-in the mass manufacturing methods during early 1920s, the new service economy will have to dump the old economy rules and transition to new ones. Because, 24x7 businesses need to find innovative ways of developing superior customer service while balancing it with fair HR policies.

MSNBC reports:

Wal-Mart said the new system ensures that stores are fully staffed at peak shopping times and it takes into account the hours employees prefer to work.

“It is much friendlier and more predictable than the previous system in that it actually asks for our associates preferences of when they prefer to work,” Clark said.

She said under the old system, store managers drew up schedules based on the level of sales in a store. Now, increased staffing will coincide with times when customer traffic surges, she said.

Toyota has come with an interesting design concept to stop drunken driving.According to news reports:

Toyota Motor Corp. is developing a fail-safe system for cars that detects drunken drivers and automatically shuts the vehicle down if sensors pick up signs of excessive alcohol consumption.

Cars fitted with the detection system will not start if sweat sensors in the driving wheel detect high levels of alcohol in the driver's bloodstream, according to a report carried by the mass-circulation daily, Asahi Shimbun.

The system could also kick in if the sensors detect abnormal steering, or if a special camera shows that the driver's pupils are not in focus. The car is then slowed to a halt, the report said.

The world's No. 2 automaker hopes to fit cars with the system by the end of 2009, according to the report.