Health and wellness is big business these days.

Consumers are actively taking greater control over their wellbeing and their lifestyle like never before, and they’re prepared to back the brands that can meet their needs with effective, sustainable, scientifically proven products or services.

One such brand is Germany-based air up – a groundbreaking start-up retailing refillable bottles that add flavour to plain drinking water through nothing but scent. The technology behind their products is radical and innovative and so, too, is their approach to building and maintaining connections with their audience. Here, we speak with air up’s Head of Customer Engagement Thomas Staudte who describes the story behind the brand’s exponential growth. He dives into the initial challenges he faced when he came into the company, the core elements that underpin his communication strategy, his learnings relative to implementing generative AI, his digital roadmap over the next 12 months, and a whole lot more.

Dig in.

The spotlight shines bright on customer experience right now.

The old adage that contact centres are mere cost centres is making way for an exciting new narrative that they are instead tremendous value centres. Indeed, 63% of customer management leaders from across Europe report that improving their CX strategy is either “high” or “very high” on their C-suite's agenda today, with only 6% saying it represents a “low” priority. CX teams have a compelling mandate to enact change then, and the CCW Europe Summit is the place to go to drive it home.

The three-day event, taking place in Amsterdam this October, has emerged as a vital forum for networking, collaboration, and innovation over recent years, and the 2024 edition is set to be the biggest and best yet. It promises to be a platform for world-class learning and inspiration with a raft of industry thought leaders taking to the stage to share their knowledge and impart the lessons they’ve learnt from all their various CX initiatives.

Ideas always evolve differently, and professional relationships always grow stronger at the CCW Europe Summit, and here members of the CCW Europe Advisory Board tell us why.

Customer-facing generative AI use cases remain few and far between.

For obvious reasons. The risks are huge and the act of introducing such technology comes with tremendous challenges – not least brands need to build-in rigorous protection against bias and hallucinations and establish absolute data security. We’ve all seen what can happen when things go wrong.

These challenges are even more profound for organisations operating in the public sector, where customer engagement needs to be whiter than white.

In this podcast, Sarah Williams – the Chief Customer Experience Officer at Westminster City Council – deconstructs the journey she’s on with customer-facing generative AI. She speaks about overcoming the perception that local governments have low technology ambitions and how Westminster City Council is now setting industry standards when it comes to delivering first-class customer service.

We dive into:

• The strategies she’s adopting to foster deeper connection with Westminster communities
• How she secured the mandate to embark upon an AI transformation
• The work she did to ensure AI was implemented safely and securely
• How to build a bench full of the right talent that can use AI effectively
• How she approached vetting vendors and bringing the right partners on board
• The need to continue scaling the project

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For sponsorship opportunities, reach out to katie.judd@iqpc.co.uk

To register an interest in becoming a guest, get in touch via simon.hall@iqpc.co.uk

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There’s a sea change transpiring within customer support right now owing to ever-increasing customer expectations and complexity around problem-solving.

And the question is: Are you ahead of the curve?

Indeed, consumer behaviours are changing. The landscape is changing. And support dynamics are changing with them. Customer service has evolved into a key business battleground and a critical component in the buying journey against waning consumer loyalty. Queries will arise and issues will surface with products and services – that’s unavoidable; a natural part of business. What’s determinative now is how quickly, comprehensively, and effectively brands deal with them. Suffice it to say, one of the single biggest ingredients of standout customer service today is a company’s ability to resolve problems at the first time of asking – otherwise known as first contact resolution (FCR).

So, how are customer management leaders responding to this imperative?

To find out, CCW Europe and GoTo teamed up to survey the members of the CCW Europe community. The results are laid out in this report alongside some actionable strategies that CX teams can adopt to really propel their FCR rates to new levels.

Key Findings Include:

• Only around one in two brands currently have an FCR rate north of 70%
• 63% of brands have improving FCR either high or very high on their CX agenda
• 63% of brands report that IVR technology is their primary tool when it comes to driving FCR
• 65% of brands have no visual customer support in place whatsoever

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Want to dig deep into how customer management leaders are cultivating memorable customer experiences through FCR? Download the full report now.

The role of Chief of Staff – long established in military and political circles – is finding a new home: In thriving corners of the private sector. It’s a title of great intrigue and mystique – no two people ever take the same road to occupy the position and the range of responsibilities is so broad from company to company. But it’s undoubtedly growing in prominence, particularly at large-scale corporations harbouring complex portfolios and delivering big revenue numbers – senior leaders in these organisations often require support carrying out their duties, executing their purpose, and navigating the disruption that is a constant fixture in the business world right now.

So is the case at global healthcare giant Sanofi, where Joanne Kennedy is Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President of R&D, responsible for leading the Management Office team. Joanne recently spoke with our Industry Analyst Simon Hall about the work she is doing day-to-day and the integral part she is playing in the AI and digital transformation journey Sanofi is pursuing. Our interview with her covered a broad range of topics: how to prevent digital fatigue, how to create psychological safety, the importance of having a north star, quashing imposter syndrome, the benefits of diversity in leadership, and a whole lot more.

It appears the penny has finally dropped.

With 63% of customer management leaders reporting that improving CX strategy is either “high” or “very high” on their C-suite’s agenda, and 67% set to see their CX budgets increase in 2024, the stage is set for this to be a groundbreaking year in the industry. There is growing sentiment among executive leadership that customer management must now take centre stage – the time is now to break free from the shackles of legacy thinking and build the foundations of nimble customer-facing operational architecture (technology, processes, data) that can future-proof business resilience.

In 2023, the greatest technological advancement since the introduction of the smartphone began making massive waves in the customer management space: generative AI. A tool that promises much, and the evolution of which is certainly not one to watch from the metaphorical sidelines. Innovations are springing up at pace and any failure to move with the transformation could be to risk falling behind (or worse).

As the industry teeters on the precipice of unprecedented disruption, how are customer management teams preparing? What are their top priorities as we move through 2024? How is (or will) generative AI fit into their organisational framework? And what challenges are currently top of mind?

A Figurative Lay of the Customer Management Land

To get answers to all these questions (and more), CCW Europe surveyed over 140 customer management thought leaders. All pioneers in their respective domains spanning customer care, support services, customer operations, customer insights, product management, and many more, the respondents collectively came from a range of companies of all sizes plying their trade across all the major industries. The results form the basis of this report.

Key Findings Include:

• “Enabling better CX through technology” will be the number one priority for 40% of customer management leaders over the course of 2024.
• “Implementation and management costs” (31%) are cited as the biggest barrier to adopting AI, closely followed by “concerns around privacy and regulation” (30%).
• Only a fractional 11% of respondents say they are “inactive” in terms of bringing CX-focused AI technology into their roadmaps. Grappling with an “insufficient technology framework” is the predominant challenge for respondents in the context of implementing their desired CX.
• A significant 60% report using more than five data sources to execute their strategies with 5% employing more than 30(!)

Want to dig deep into how customer management leaders are currently primed to navigate the winds of change on the horizon this year? Download the full report today.

The energy market is extremely volatile right now. A perfect storm of massive supply chain disruptions, increased urgency around decarbonisation, and new and more rigorous regulation is forcing energy providers into deep change. The enduring cost of living crisis, that has often seen rising gas and electricity prices form the centrepiece of the issue, is also creating further operational pressures against constant calls to reduce costs.

To combat those challenges and address consumer demands, many companies throughout the industry are investing in new technology and new services – in effect, modernising their legacy infrastructure – to better engage with their customers and create a customer experience that is more in tune with the times. Every brand in this space is at a different stage of digital transformation; some are more advanced than others. For Utilita Energy, their journey started two decades ago as the first energy supplier to install smart metres, and they’ve been on a road of perpetual innovation. Here, we‘re joined by the company’s Chief Customer Officer Louise Walsh who takes us on a whirlwind tour through the work her teams are doing to ensure they’re meeting the needs of their customers head on.

We dive into:

• What it’s like to work in the customer contact space at a company unsettling the status quo
• How Utilita Energy keeps communication fast, flexible, and efficient around the clock
• The tactics and practices they use to deal with vulnerable customers
• How they train their frontline staff to handle and manage difficult, emotive conversations
• The technology focus areas for Utilita Energy in the near future
• The strategies they’re using to drive behaviour change and help customers use less energy
  

The airline industry is ripe for disruption. AI disruption.

Looking at the processes that travellers endure when it comes to searching for trip destinations, booking flights, and purchasing other travel add-ons, it’s clear that AI and generative AI can propel improvements. From analysing user behaviour in more granular detail, to driving enhanced personalisation, to fostering greater loyalty via better post-travel experiences – AI has the power to sharpen and enrich the way airline brands connect and engage with their customer base.

This AI transformation journey is one that Sutherland and Scandinavian Airlines have been on together for a number of years. And in this episode of In Conversation With CCW Europe, Sutherland’s Naveen Mehta and Scandinavian Airlines’ Mattias Helgesson and Andreas Broberg Henning join forces to discuss what they’ve accomplished thus far and what’s in the pipeline. Alongside CCW Europe’s Simon Hall, they map out all the foundational pillars on which they’re building their customer-centric AI strategy.

We dive into:

• The challenges Scandinavian Airlines were facing prior to partnering with Sutherland
• The steps they’ve taken to inspire and deliver digital culture change
• The AI solutions and proofs of concept they currently have in-flight
• The work they’re doing with data to empower improved segmentation and personalisation
• How they ensure every decision points toward their transformation north star
• What they would do differently if they started again
  

Why data and analytics are growing in importance for CX practitioners

Over the last 12 months, the major trends defining CX have been shaped by new technological developments, changing customer demands and the continued digitalization of the modern enterprise. Many practitioners, however, face the same challenges that have plagued CX for decades; how to secure buy-in, train teams and grow the customer base.

According to CX Network members, this is the Global State of CX in 2024.

Brought to you from CX Network in association with Talkdesk, the Global State of CX 2024 is based on insights from 282 CX practitioners, service leaders, experience designers, analysts and consultants from around the world. It paints a comprehensive snapshot of the challenges, opportunities and developments that are influencing CX at present, and features analysis from senior CX practitioners and leaders from CXPA Finland, Dhruva Express, Hastings Direct, John Holland Group, Maven Clinic, PetCo, The NTWK, YLE and Talkdesk.

Now in its eighth year, this edition of CX Networks flagship annual report is also the first in the Global State series to examine the profit and loyalty benefits delivered by disruptor technologies such as generative AI and virtual reality.

Download the Global State of CX 2024 to discover:

• Why data and analytics are growing in importance for CX practitioners.
• What our network members and their customers think about AI.
• How practitioners are working to build recognition of CX as a key business driver.
  
  

Watch this fantastic panel discussion from CCW Europe!

'The loyalty blueprint: How to unify your organisation in implementing effective customer retention strategy.'

Featuring;

• Cathleen Doorenbosch, Vice President, Customer Care at Bumble.
• Màrton Homola, Group Head of Loyalty, Digital Channels & CRM at MOL Group.
• Phil Tomlinson, Vice President, Trust & Safety at TaskUs.
  

Creating and activating a compelling omniexperience was once considered hugely progressive, but in today’s environment, it’s nothing more than table stakes. Seamless, consistent, and personalised experiences across all channels and touchpoints is now just an expectation among consumers, particularly younger generations who don’t even think of a brand experience as having traditional boundaries.

This desire for integrated and real-time interactions has driven the adoption of messaging platforms and they are now playing an increasingly critical role in crafting a truly immersive omniexperience. This guide delves into why these apps have become big business and why your customers expect you to use them.

You’ll learn:

• The impact of messaging platforms on the customer experience
• Best practices for harnessing messaging platforms
• Overcoming challenges in implementing messaging platforms into your strategy
• The future of messaging platforms: emerging opportunities and trends
  

The market for outsourcing contact centre services in Europe is evolving significantly, with momentum expected to accelerate at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.53% through 2026. The trends underpinning this movement are many: managing cost pressures, increasing customer demands around personalisation, getting access to specialised resources, the mounting importance of hybrid and remote work, and the digital transformation imperative impacting businesses everywhere.

But there are challenges as well, not least issues around localisation, language barriers, and cross-country regulation. Here, we provide an overview of the European contact centre landscape before offering some actionable insights designed to help businesses evaluate their outsourcing strategies in the region moving forward.

You’ll learn:

• The operational nuances between Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the Nordics.
• The cost disparities across the continent.
• How outsourcing contact centre services can improve workforce diversity.
• Key roadblocks to growth on the horizon.
  

Customer experience (CX) is heavily discussed in business circles. But how exactly can it be prioritised?

In a world of fast-paced digital transformation and shifting consumer demands, businesses must be ready to pivot at a moment’s notice, offering experiences that are flexible but also personalised.

In order to achieve this, organisations must be ready to innovate, open to disruption, and constantly look to optimise their processes. Operational agility is essential to delivering the CX that consumers are looking for. Providing outstanding CX is crucial for the success of any business and for enhancing brand reputation.

However, when it comes to withstanding disruption and maximising operational agility, the customer management industry is facing challenges in the following areas: Recruitment, utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) without over-automating and maintaining the return on investment (ROI) and value of contact centres. 

Download the report and explore:

- Contact Centre recruitment and engagement

- Creating efficiency with customer service chatbots and automation 

- Maintaining the ROI and value of contact centres

Ramon Delima, the Global Director of Customer Services at TUI Group, is committed to creating an effortless and frictionless experience for both customers and agents. In a recent interview, he shared insights on how TUI is achieving this goal. Ramon's insights offer valuable lessons for any company looking to create an effortless customer journey. By measuring customer satisfaction, implementing strategies to improve customer service, leveraging technology, and using customer feedback, companies can provide a better customer experience and gain a competitive edge. If you're interested in learning more about TUI's approach, Ramon is speaking at the CCW Europe Summit this October. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and network with industry leaders.

Ahead of the upcoming CCW Europe Summit (9-11 October, Amsterdam), we spoke with Vice President of Customer Success at thermondo, Antonius (Tony) Michielsen where we discussed the important of intergenerational cooperation in the workforce.

Within this piece we delve into the key aspects of this topic, highlighting its benefits in terms of skill-building and relationship-building, as Tony outlines how cross-generational collaboration can drive innovation and growth in an organisation.

As well as key discussion points including:

• Tensions between the five generations in the workforce
• Why it’s important to create a workplace where all generations feel included by establishing a culture of diversity and inclusion
• Examine the stereotypes of different generations and describes their positive attributes
• How the strengths of generations can be cultivated to help your business thrive
• Why leaders should create opportunities for cross-generational and cross-functional collaboration
• Using mentorship programs as a means of knowledge sharing and relationship building between generations, with guidelines aligned to organisational and individual goals

Download the piece below to learn how assigning roles and responsibilities based on skills and strengths rather than age and seniority can improve culture and productivity within your business.

Despite the proliferation of business accounts on Facebook and Twitter since the rise of LinkedIn, most businesses still remain on the sidelines when it comes to connecting with their customers on social media.

Best-in-class social media servicing offers a number of benefits to both customers and businesses including, fast and convenient communication, building and maintaining customer relationships, and boosting organic visibility.

In this article, CCW Europe shares three examples of companies using social media well to empower resolution teams, drive positive brand experiences, and increase customer loyalty.

Download your copy of the article to receive:

• Compelling social media statistics and facts to boost your competitive edge in the market.
• Examples of how Dominos, Toyota, and Netflix are using social media to differentiate their service experience.
• Top tips for creating effortless customer experiences on social media.
  

As businesses look to reset their customer approaches post-pandemic, authenticity has never been more important for maintaining a humanised approach in customer management, offering consistent CX, increasing customer lifetime value, reducing customer churn, and improving customer loyalty.

CCW Europe’s exclusive industry report dives into how businesses can create long-lasting customer relationships in an era of radical authenticity by bettering employee engagement, productivity, and wellbeing, customer inclusivity and accessibility, and customer privacy and trust.

Download the report and come away with:

• Lessons in how economic and social instability has changed customer relationships.
• Exclusive industry statistics on the benefits and challenges of authentic customer management.
• Case study examples from Amazon and Workday for improving the customer and employee experience.
• Insights on the future direction of the customer management industry.

Download your free copy >>

Ahead of the 2022 CCW Europe Flagship Summit, this infographic explores the impact of the past 18 months, the challenges, and key initiatives for successfully deploying and scaling intelligent automation (IA), to build industry robustness, agility, and resilience.

Within this piece explore key findings and insights across:

• Priority of Integrating IA
• Impact of Covid-19 On Approaches for Integrating IA
• Strategies For Overcoming The Challenges of Integrating IA
• Predictions For How IA Will Impact The Future Of Operational Excellence
  

With customers having an ever-widening choice of goods and services, improved access to information, and more opportunities to share their experiences, ethical customer service is becoming increasingly important for a business’s survival.

CCW Europe’s digital partner, CCW Europe Digital, sat down with Kayle Rattigan, Head of Customer Service at Sky Betting & Gaming, to get his take on how the betting industry can overcome social stigmas and deliver on its promise of ethical customer service.

Download the interview and come away with lessons in how to:

• Create a safer gambling culture for both customers and employees.
• Equip workforces with the right skills and tools to handle highly complex and emotive customer queries.
• Create a business culture that puts the wellbeing of their customers and employees at the centre.

In today’s fast-paced, swipe-right, instant messaging world, customers expect the efficiency that they’re used to accessing in everyday life to be just as prevalent when communicating with brands, products and services.

We asked four industry experts for their advice on introducing chat bot technology into your service offering. Together, they explore the importance on doing so with purpose as well as how to use this as an opportunity for human agents to provide a more value-adding customer service experience.

Welcome to the Customer Contact Content Hub! Gain exclusive and actionable insight from customer contact leaders hailing from some of Europe's leading organisations. Download now to get access to the following interviews:

• How Audible is Creating a 'Culture of Listening' with insight from Tom Vickers, UK Customer Service Country Manager, Audible
• How Diversity is Helping Businesses Deliver Great Customer Service with insight from Helen Gillett, Managing Director, Affinity for Business and Petra Mengelt, Head of B2B Business Relations, Mash Group Plc
• How Chatbots are Driving Vodafone’s Omni-Channel Customer Experience with insight from Kevin Knowles, Head of Contact Automation, Vodafone Group
  
  

In the lead up to this year’s edition of CCW Europe, we sat down to talk all things customer contact with a few members of the event’s advisory board and esteemed speaker line up. 

Spanning topics from new technology, changing customer demands and the evolving role of the customer service agent, these conversations helped to paint a picture of what CCW Europe’s event attendees can expect to uncover in greater depth between the 5th to 8th of October in Barcelona. 

Here, we explore a few the key points and actionable takeaways gained from the speakers’ exclusive insight

Whether by phone, email, Twitter or WhatsApp, it is becoming increasingly common that customers are able to make contact with businesses via the same channels that they use on an everyday basis. Omni-channel experiences are soon to be there new norm, and here, in an interview with Kevin Knowles, Head of Contact Automation at Vodafone Group we explore how chatbots are helping this leading telecommunications company offer a consistent experience when and wherever their customers need them.

Download this exclusive content piece to uncover:

• How TOBi, Vodafone’s chatbot, serves their customers at numerous touch points
• The greatest challenges and lessons experienced during the rollout of chatbot technology
• How TOBi is impacting the role of Vodafone’s human agents

Onno Hoffmann, heading Special Operations & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom’s Customer Service in Germany and Dominik Bauersch, who is responsible for Digital Business & Transformation, are at the forefront of the company’s mission to offer personal and tailormade services in a digital world. Here, we explore some of the key talk points and achievements of this transformation as well as some actionable tips for making this a reality in your organisation.

In the lead up to Customer Contact Week Europe, we explore how chatbot technology is prompting us to reimagine the future of the customer service agent and, with insight from the CCW Market Study and Dr. Nicola Millard, Head of Customer Insights & Futures at BT, reveal how industry leaders are preparing for the next stage of this digital journey.

Explore how championing a culture of diversity and inclusion can contribute to the creation of exceptionable customer service experiences. 

What does it really mean to listen? In the world of customer contact, never has it been more important to create service experiences that resonate with the customer on a genuine, human level. In conversation with Tom Vickers, UK Customer Service Country Manager for Audible, we explore how the audio entertainment brand is creating a culture that enables its agents to initiate and engage in natural interactions through the art of listening. Download this exclusive content piece to uncover:

• How, as an Amazon company, Audible makes its ‘customer obsession’ a reality
• How Audible’s agents are relearning the rules of  customer interaction in favor of a human-centric approach
• How to bridge the cultural differences that can occur with the use of offshore customer contact centers
• Why traditional KPI’s should be exchanged for more subjective measures of success

The goal, above all, is to make meaningful connections with customers. Customer contact leaders reveal a lingering passion for the human touch. They will leverage new technology to augment human connections, drive agents to become partners and evaluate customers as multi-faceted, emotion-heavy individuals. CCW Digital's Market Study on the Future of Contact Centre explores this research, ultimately revealing that the best way forward is to make sure the heart of customer centricity is not left in the past. Download the report to find out the key findings.

As 2019 arrives it is time to put the customer at the centre of your technology investment strategy. This briefing will help empower the transformation. Download to explore all the bonus case studies from the Market Study.