CX Technology

Published 2Q 2023

Guide
Avoiding Common
Pitfalls with
CX Design and
Implementation

CONTENTS
3 Avoiding Common Pitfalls with CX Design and Implementation

8 CX Technology Pitfalls in Retail

14 CX Technology Pitfalls in Telecommunications

19 CX Technology Pitfalls in Financial Services

22 CX Technology Pitfalls in Travel & Hospitality

26 General Best Practices for CX Technology Success

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 1

INTRODUCTION
CX Technology Guide: Avoiding Common Pitfalls with CX
Design and Implementation
The second edition of The Futurum Group’s CX Technology Guide has been designed
to serve Customer Experience practitioners around the world, providing them with a
comprehensive overview and technology roadmap for the CX software and services
landscape.

The primary objective of the 2023 CX Technology Guide is to provide experienced CX

practitioners and leaders with a comprehensive overview of the common pitfalls that KEITH KIRKPATRICK
can occur with CX design, integration, and implementation, and offer specific strategies Research Director,
for avoiding or remedying these issues via specific tactics and techniques. The Futurum Group

The 2023 CX Technology Guide also puts the spotlight on four key industries (retail,
telecommunications, financial services, and travel & hospitality), detailing the specific
scenarios and approaches within each vertical that can negatively impact the delivery
of good CX. Real-world case studies that illustrate success stories from end customers
and their vendors are also included, along with detailed tactics and success metrics
from their client engagements.

The Futurum Group is grateful to our sponsor organizations, listed below, for making
the CX Technology Guide possible and enabling its distribution to a global audience of
CX professionals. CLINT WHEELOCK
Chief Research Officer,
We hope you find the guide useful and informative, and we would welcome your
The Futurum Group
feedback, questions, and ideas on how The Futurum Group and our partners can
further support your success in designing world-class CX programs.

Keith Kirkpatrick
Research Director, The Futurum Group

Clint Wheelock
Chief Research Officer, The Futurum Group

Our Supporters

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 2

Avoiding Common Pitfalls with
CX Design and Implementation
Providing a good customer experience (CX) is largely driven by the intersection of several interdependent
operational pillars: alignment around a core set of CX principles, policies, and procedures; the adherence to strong
governance strategies; the efficient utilization of an empowered and well-trained staff; and the judicious use of
technology platforms and data tools. The final pillar can present many hurdles and pitfalls, given the large number
of feature sets, capabilities, and deployment scenarios involved with implementing a new customer relationship
management (CRM) system, call center application, customer data platform (CDP), or underlying functional
technology, such as generative AI models.

When done properly, technology platforms and tools can enable a wide range of use cases that enable greater
efficiency, reduce friction involved with interactions, and, in many cases, lead to increased revenue and profitability.
That said, the purchase and integration of technology can be complicated, given the large number of stakeholders
involved, the challenges involved with integrating existing technology, and the ever-increasing breadth and volume
of data that must be incorporated into any new application. This guide will discuss many of the pitfalls encountered
when purchasing and implementing new technology, with the goal of reducing the time spent and amount of
frustration exhausted tackling problems that others have already experienced.

The drivers for delivering good CX reside in five distinct domains: people, processes, policies, governance, and
technology. Each of these functional areas can drastically impact how CX is delivered via a traditional live-agent
service model, the use of automation and AI, and, most commonly, via a hybrid approach that incorporates a
strategic mix of real-world and digital labor, assets, and procedures.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 3

The functional areas that are critical for delivering an excellent CX are detailed below.

People: Everyone within your organization and its ecosystem, from customer-facing reps to back-office
administration staff (as well as external partners that provide ancillary services to your customers) must buy into the
value of always providing top-notch CX.

Processes: Interactions and engagements between customers and other organizations, between employees, and
between the company and outside partners should be friction-free, intuitive, and efficient.

Policies: By clearly outlining policies governing people and processes, as well as defining situations that call for
deviation from those policies, employees will have the appropriate tools for providing a clear and consistent CX
across all interactions.

Governance: Regulatory minefields abound for organizations that fail to take customer and company data privacy,
security, and use seriously, especially in the age of AI.

Technology: Technology must be tailored to your organization’s specific needs, while maintaining a consistent and
reliable framework for managing regular activities and interactions, and should support each functional area above
in delivering good CX.

Designing a CX Initiative

GOALS DATA METRICS ALIGN ASSESS VENDORS

Identify Goals and Capture and Identify Key KPIs Align Policies & Assess Tech Work With Vendors
Objectives Classify Relevant and Metrics Procedures with Software & Tools to Integrate
Data CX Goals CX Software

Source: Futurum Research

Initial CX Initiative Planning Steps

CX is not only about a single customer engagement; it is the total experience with a brand, product, or service over
time. That is why these five components often meld into one another, and cannot be considered in a vacuum. That
said, technology is often a key lever that impacts how other components are designed and managed, and it should
be a component of a comprehensive CX initiative encompassing the following elements:

• Identify the key goals objectives for your CX initiatives, which can include improving feedback mechanisms,
strengthening omnichannel engagement, and driving deeper customer engagement levels.

• Ensure the right data on your customers, their transactions, and their interactions with the company are
being captured and classified in a way that all stakeholders can access and utilize it.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 4

 • Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics most important to CX goals, and make sure
technology and procedural levers are put into place to make changes when necessary.

• Be sure that any policies and procedures that employees are expected to uphold are aligned with your CX
goals and objectives.

• Assess the technology software and tools that can be implemented to help the organization achieve these
objectives.

Even if an organization has built a robust strategy designed to accomplish its goals, there are still several challenges
or pitfalls that can derail a CX strategy. Regardless of the type of organization, these pitfalls can hinder the
organization’s ability to create a comprehensive, company-wide approach for delivering CX, as well as stifle
individual components of that strategy.

Siloing CX efforts, rather than executing them broadly, across the organization
Providing a great customer experience requires all departments and team members to be aligned and
engaged together. Each part of the organization needs to understand the strategy, its role, and the
dependencies across the organization to enable the delivery of a comprehensive CX strategy.

Failing to define CX metrics and implications

From an overall organizational perspective down to individual roles and employees, it is paramount to
understand the metrics used to define CX success, the tactics to achieve these metrics, and implications
of failing to do so. If staff does not know what to do, and how it will be measured, delivery of good CX
will become a secondary concern, taking a back seat to other metrics-driven initiatives, such as revenue
generation.

Taking a leaderless approach to CX

Failing to assign a CX leader to ensure socialization and adoption of CX principles, strategy, and execution
is a recipe for failure. The ability to orchestrate and influence CX across an organization requires executive-
level CX leadership to set priorities, hold departments accountable, and ensure that all CX efforts are
coordinated to support overarching company goals.

Failure to open dialogues with dissatisfied customers

Customers often share their challenges, frustrations, and issues about their interactions with a company on
public forums, including third-party reviews sites such as OpenTable, Yelp, or Google reviews. Companies
can minimize the damage of negative experiences by utilizing CX technologies that can address and resolve
negative feedback and complaints. Failing to open up a dialogue with disgruntled customers represents
a missed opportunity to turn these customers into advocates. Research indicates that 70% of the time, a
person will become a repeat customer when a complaint is resolved in the customer’s favor.

Collecting feedback and then failing to act upon it

Many organizations collect feedback immediately following a sale or interaction with a company. But those
that do not put that feedback to work, in terms of adjusting products, processes, or policies, are likely to
repeat the same CX mistakes.

Some industries are clearly investing in CX initiatives; typically, these are in areas marked by a significant
competition for business, a copious amount of customer data, and the working capital available to invest in
the people, processes, and technology required to shape a CX strategy. Within each industry group, there
are certain pitfalls that should be avoided at all costs.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 5

 Failing to update outdated assets
A key point of frustration often occurs when customers are told to visit an FAQ on a company’s website
or social page, only to find out the information is incorrect or out of date. Customers will then be forced
to re-engage with a customer representative, negating the value of putting up an FAQ. Moreover, failing
to update company assets creates the impression that the company is not focused on ensuring the best
experience for its customers.

Refusing to innovate
All customer-facing organizations must be willing to quickly innovate to stay ahead of the curve in an
increasingly complex landscape. The rapid advances in technology – not to mention unexpected global events
like the COVID-19 pandemic – have illustrated the need to remain nimble and agile, in terms of products and
services, the collection of feedback, and even policies and procedures. Organizations that fail to keep an eye
on innovation are often unable to maintain a competitive position in the marketplace, as customers will flock
to companies that make it easier, more efficient, and more convenient with which to engage.

Evolving Support to Grow with Customers

Introduction: From chat and email to SMS and bots, the customer journey has become increasingly digital (and
on-demand), forcing brands to reconsider how and where they’re engaging with customers.

Challenge: This worldwide manufacturer of baby products was experiencing a lack of support from their
outsourced customer communications vendor, struggling with a generic CRM that was not fit for their purpose,
and dealing with a messaging solution that was approaching its end of life. All of this was making it increasingly
difficult to serve its customers in today’s digital marketplace.

When it came time to seek a replacement, the client was meticulous about engaging with a partner— not just a
supplier—and that’s what brought them to Concentrix. The conversation began with CRM and messaging tools,
but the commitment of our leadership team to their goals and objectives led to the client choosing to engage
Concentrix as a one-stop shop for both technology and advisors.

Solution: The client had researched the different CRM tools available and knew precisely what kind of
functionality it wanted, so that’s where Concentrix began. We developed a custom CRM solution that met all the
client’s needs and enhanced it to support video, stock management, and e-commerce, aligning our solution with
the client’s three-year technical journey.

Concentrix assembled a team of data scientists, user experience designers, technology integration professionals,
and application developers to tailor a solution designed to achieve the client’s strategic vision, incorporating both
advisors and technology, and drove it all with regular innovation sessions.

As part of our initial solution, we proactively integrated a third-party address finder to improve data integrity,
while our compliance team worked to ensure the solution would comply with pending GDPR legislation in
the European Union. As we moved forward, to ensure customers were getting an immediate response, we
implemented bot-assisted messaging that managed simple queries to completion while transferring complex
issues to an advisor, eliminating the need for customers to contact multiple channels.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 6

Outcomes: With technology and advisor recommendations feeding the client’s digital transformation, we
celebrated key milestones together, including:

70 percent reduction in abandonment rate.

64 percent reduction in time to first response rate.

62 percent decrease in average wait time.

41 percent reduction in average handle time.

17 percent increase in net promoter score (including 29 percent on Voice).

9 percent improvement in customer satisfaction (including 14 percent on Voice).

8 percent reduction in customer effort (including 16 percent on Voice).

7 percent improvement in service level.

Looking forward, advanced IVR routing, QA automation, and a video chat pilot are just some of the innovations
being discussed with the client, who was “delighted with the effort by all departments and looking forward to the
next phase.” To learn how Concentrix can help design, build, and run your digital CX transformation, please
visit www.concentrix.com.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 7

CX Pitfalls in Retail
Creating a great customer experience for retail organizations revolves around the principle of reducing friction.
From the initial marketing contact, throughout the buying process, and during after-sales support interactions, the
overriding goal is to ensure that the customer can get the information they need or complete a task when they
want, and through the channel they prefer, efficiently and easily.

The shift to online purchasing and delivery of products has created expectations that all transactions should be as
friction-free as browsing a website, clicking on the item desired, and then clicking again to pay for it. Retailers are
faced with significant challenges, in terms of matching that degree of efficiency.

While it will never be as easy to purchase items in a physical retailer, technology can be a conduit to enabling
smoother processes and interactions. However, even well-meaning organizations and vendors can often miss the
mark by falling into the following traps:

Creating unconnected phygital experiences

As digital interaction tools such as webchat, SMS, and mobile applications become commonplace, the next
step in the evolution of customer engagement is through so-called “phygital” connections, which are defined as
experiences that meld the best elements of digital experiences (immediacy, convenience, and personalization) with
the best elements of the physical world (immersion, interaction, and experience).

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 8


SAME-DAY DELIVERY
Buyer purchases online,
DESCRIPTION arranges for same-day
delivery
Allows retailer to compete
BENEFIT
against fully digital sellers
Synchronized order
TECH management, CRM, and
REQUIRED fulfillment systems, with purchases are recorded and
real-time tracking
Implementing same-day Lack of integration between back-
POTENTIAL
services without ample
PITFALLS
labor resources
AUGMENTED REALITY
Overlays additional Creates virtual environments
information or images that simulate physical
onto real-world objects or
DESCRIPTION
environments to enhance
the experience of the user
via contextual information
Allows retailer to compete
against fully digital sellers
BENEFIT
that offer AR functions on
their website
TECH AR-enabled mobile app or
REQUIRED physical viewing device
If technology is not updated
POTENTIAL frequently, customers may
PITFALLS view AR as a poorly planned
gimmick
Source Futurum Research
SCAN-AND-GO
Allows buyers to quickly select
and purchase items without
requiring them to wait in a queue
to check out
Increases customer efficiency Improves convenience and
and reduces purchase friction
Wireless IoT system, cameras,
bar-code system to ensure
accounted for
Network interruptions or
downtime can render the system
useless and make the store
vulnerable
VIRTUAL REALITY
establishments permitting users video feeds. Examples include
to experience a real-world place
from an in-store station or a exercise-focused Mirror screens,
mobile device
Allows users to fully experience
a real-world event within the
comfort of a store location store experience tailored to each
(e.g. virtual rock climbing or
skydiving)
VR screens or goggles, enclosed
space to allow for total
immersion
Stores without systems for
efficiently managing customer Potential data privacy/security Potential data privacy/security
access may have issues
with queues
TRANSACTION/FULFILLMENT
CHOICES
Allows customers to
handle the transaction details of that are installed within stores
purchasing, shipping, or returning
an item online, while choosing
how to interact with the physical
item
reduces friction
Integrated order management
system, logistics system, and CRM
end systems can result in errors,
delays, and customer frustration
DIGITAL SCREENS
Large displays that allow a
more immersive experience by
overlaying images with real-time serve a variety of functions,
virtual clothing fitting rooms or via transactions, surveys, product
which let users interact back and
forth with a live trainer
Provides a guided, enhanced in-
specific customer
Internet connection, large display,
cameras, link to back-end product
information
issues if not properly monitored
CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE
BEACONS AND QR CODES
Beacons are Bluetooth devices
and send information to mobile
devices or suppport navigation,
while QR codes store data
encoded as links
In both cases the objective is to
provide additional information,
guidance, or data they can use
to enhance their shopping or
physical experience
IoT network, Bluetooth beacons,
coordination with Knowledge
Base and inventory systems
Potential privacy issues
KIOSKS
Standalone terminals that can
including information, ordering,
video demonstrations, and price-
checking/stock checking
Provides detailed information
or faster and more efficient
interactions with a store, without
the time and resource demands of
human workers
Internet connection, link to
product / transaction system
(for kiosks that feature payment
functionality)
issues if not properly monitored
2Q 2023 9
 Executive Summary: A
regional division of a leading
athletic apparel retailer
with over 500 stores globally and $4B in revenue
wanted to further increase growth by delivering
seamless omnichannel experiences to customers that
would strengthen engagement and further market
expansion. To fuel this growth, the team needed a
customer data platform (CDP) that could scale to
support customer data and use case growth while
meeting global security requirements.
Why Treasure Data: As a rapidly growing global
company with a fast-moving, entrepreneurial
culture, the retailer is hyper-focused on using
marketing to increase market expansion and ensure
customers have a seamless experience no matter
the touchpoint—in-app, website, in-store, or on a
wearable device.
Treasure Data Customer Cloud enabled the brand
to meet these goals by having the capabilities to:
• Consolidate customer data from various sources
and different countries and regions to create a
unified customer view
• Manage marketing campaigns throughout
the customer lifecycle through various digital
channels
• Increase CLTV and marketing ROI through
audience segmentation, propensity modeling,
scoring, and more
• Support continued growth with a secure and
scalable platform
Rich Customer Profiles Strengthen Personalization
Capabilities
By deploying Treasure Data Customer Cloud Data to
unify marketing data from siloed data sources across
different departments, the retailer can now manage
all their customers and audience segments to:
• Increase new customers and known profiles
• Increase email engagement with personalization,
including upsell, cross-sell, and next-best
product recommendations
• Launch successful abandoned browse and cart
campaigns
• Increase conversion rates and average order size
by utilizing real-time engagement signals to
update product recommendations
• Reactivate customers and reduce churn
• Grow mobile affinity by tailoring first-time
mobile visitor experiences based on the
interests they express in real time
• Allow the retailer to continue to scale its
customer data and use cases on a secure
platform
The retailer plans to continue to augment third-party
data and collect more detailed customer preferences
to better identify customer affinities and build models
within Treasure Data Customer Data Cloud that allow
them to serve up even more seamless omnichannel
experiences at scale.
The Results
• Marketing ROI: 760% per email revenue
increase
• Average order value: 15% increase in overall
basket size
• Marketing efficiency: 10% conversions-to-click
rates increase
• Revenue growth: 8% incremental revenue
increase per year
To learn more about how Treasure Data can help you
use all of your customer data to improve campaign
performance, achieve operational efficiency, and drive
business value with connected customer experiences,
visit www.treasuredata.com.
Challenges
• Find a better way to manage customers and market
more efficiently
• Gather deeper insights to improve how and when to
engage with customers
• Decrease rates of abandoned browse and abandoned
carts
Use Cases
• Digital cross-channel personalization
• Suppression and retargeting
• Marketing analytics
• Segmentation, propensity modeling, and scoring
CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 10
A common pitfall is creating a phygital experience without making it convenient, engaging, or relevant to customers.
For example, during the pandemic, a local wine shop implemented an online ordering system that allowed users to
select wines, add them to a cart, and pick up the wine at the store. However, the system was plagued with delays, and
many orders were not filled within the timeframe presented by the system. This created additional customer friction
because customers could not rely on the delivery fulfillment estimate. Moreover, the lack of a real-time order status
system meant that customers could not track their order and make alternate plans in case of a delayed order.

Further, phygital use cases that do not underscore the key messaging and brand promises of the organization may
not resonate with customers, and result in poor uptake and ROI. Retailers that have long focused on providing a
personalized, human touch to interactions may see resistance to the implementation of an in-store kiosk if it does
not provide a similar level of personalization or hand holding.

Failing to create enhanced and compelling in-store experiences via technology

One only needs to look at the names of the once-huge chains that have fallen: Circuit City. Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Tower Records. Although the presence of internet shopping was not the sole cause for the demise of these once-
household names, it is clear that none of them created compelling customer experiences that enticed customers to
consistently shop in a physical store, amid the explosion of internet shopping, digital commerce, and near real-time
home delivery services.

Myriad technology options exist for retailers that want to enhance their in-store experience. For example,
touchscreen smart mirrors in fitting rooms automatically recognize the products and sizes of RFID-tagged apparel
that customers have already picked out. An additional tap of a smart mirror will complete the purchase via a link to
the store’s back end point of sale (POS) and inventory systems, and alert store associates to go to the fitting room,
where they can see if the customer needs any additional assistance, or simply bag up the merchandise so it is ready
to go. This level of automation reduces the need to stand in line at a register, a huge point of customer friction,
while also freeing up workers to provide personalized customer service instead of focusing on manually completing
transactions.

Other technologies, including in-store augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality experiences (VR) can help retailers
overcome the hurdles that prevent customers from making purchases. For example, home improvement retailer
Lowe’s has implemented in-store augmented reality and virtual reality design tools to help their customers visualize
products in their home and give them the confidence needed to take on home improvement projects.

Relying on post-transaction surveys as the sole source of customer feedback

Most retailers have perfected the art of sending a post-transaction survey to ascertain customer satisfaction, or
whether the customer’s overall experience was positive or negative. But retailers often fall into the trap of failing to
collect feedback at other parts of the customer journey, while the experience is fresh in the customer’s mind.

CX practitioners collect a variety of metrics, including Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT),
Customer Effort Score (CES), and Secure Customer Index (SCI). NPS is the metric most frequently touted,
for better or worse, as the gold standard in CX measurement. Recently, there has been a lot of debate on the
importance of NPS and the fear among some that companies are focusing too much on this metric, to the
detriment of other customer relationship factors. However, no one seems to be vanquishing NPS to the archives
of CX measurement quite yet.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 11

However, for customers that have enabled an app, real-time questions can be sent as customers browse, to ensure
they are finding what they need, or can be used to ask if they need assistance from a salesperson. By using beacon
technology, a salesperson can be sent directly to the department where the customer is located. Retailers also use
surveys via the app or at in-store kiosks to ask specific questions about the store’s layout, cleanliness, checkout
process, and employees to measure high-level metrics, such as NPS. This intelligence can be especially valuable,
particularly if the retailer has set up real-time alerts to its on-duty manager when certain thresholds or triggers are
activated, such as unusually long checkout wait times, the absence of available store associates within a specific
department, or other condition that warrants an immediate response.

Stores that do not collect this feedback in real time are missing an opportunity to improve their customers’
experiences while they are still in the store, which can result in them failing to make a return visit.

Failing to invest in new customer data sources

With the demise of third-party cookies, organizations need to identify new ways to entice customers to opt in
to share their data to view site content, or receive premium benefits. The use of zero-party data, or data that a
customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand, increasingly is becoming an important personalization
tool being leveraged by marketers. By providing a unique login to customers in exchange for specific benefits, it will
be easier to track users’ behavior, both online and offline.

Organizations also will need to shift toward other contextual targeting, content-based targeting, and call to action/
direct response techniques to support targeting without the use of third-party cookies. CX platforms that utilize
analytics and AI to track and target actions and behavior, rather than individual customer activity, will be well-suited
to providing a personalized, context-based experience that does not run afoul of either data regulation or customer
sentiment against being tracked.

Retailers should also increase the use of first party provided data via partnerships with publishers, or via walled
gardens, such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook, which have a significant amount of first-party data that marketers
can tap into without the disclosure of individuals’ private and personal information.

Exist solely as a transaction center, rather than an education center

Customers seek out information about products and services on the web, but a retailer should also be positioned
as a trusted partner for education on how to best use the products and services that are sold. For example, record
stores have traditionally been a key source where music lovers can get trusted information about new releases,
compilations, and news about artists. Even in the age of downloadable music, the ability to connect with customers
on a more human, personalized basis can be a great opportunity to engender more loyalty.

For other types of retailers, the ability to provide hands-on instruction about how to use a product can be valuable.
For example, home improvement and hardware stores can leverage their relationships with suppliers to offer
tutorials, skills calls, and other information to drive customer success. As such, it is critical to train staff to ensure
they fully understand the products that are sold, and how they can be best utilized. Further, the use of in-store
tools, such as informational kiosks, VR-based demos, and videos can also be leveraged to position the store as an
educational resource center, rather than just a sales center.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 12

 Counter Culture Coffee grows across the country with Zoho One
Counter Culture Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster based in Durham, North Carolina.
They cultivate relationships with coffee growers and partners to ensure an ethical and
sustainable supply chain, from seed to shelf.

The challenge: When looking for a software solution to bring together their work processes, they had found
in using Salesforce that it came along with too many features and too steep of a learning curve for what they
needed. Counter Culture needed something that would provide visibility, accountability, and a smooth on-
boarding process. “Our business was very reactive, which doesn’t work since in our industry, the decisions we
make now impact our business eighteen months from now,” said Bryan Duggan, Wholesale Operations Manager.

The solution: With Zoho, every department is using the same software and processes, streamlining the
company’s overall work process. Counter Culture is running on Zoho One, heavily using CRM, Desk, Campaigns,
and Forms. Counter Culture initially moved their account management from Salesforce onto Zoho CRM, pairing
it with Zoho Forms as a replacement for Typeform. In 2020, the company expanded into Zoho One to cover
more of their business needs, and integrates with other solutions.

Zoho Desk, Zoho’s ticket management solution, replaced their support email system. Financial and operational
processes are handled in Netsuite, which integrates with Zoho One to maintain a cohesive system and give
overarching analytics and reports across the company. The company used Zoho’s integrations with Google’s
office suite and Slack to enable workflow and provide more data centralization.

Benefits and ROI: Since adopting Zoho, the communication experience has become better for both customers
and employees. Duggan emphasized that the intuitive nature of Zoho One was key to adoption. He said, “what
made it so easy is how they were able to get in and have it set up with a little training. The staff felt like they
quickly understood it and it was intuitive.”

In general, the account management process has seen a drastic improvement in productivity. By using Forms to
feed into their CRM, Counter Culture has cut down on data entry and automated parts of their process that used
to be handled individually. “Productivity has improved 10-15%, and we hope to move that closer to 20% by the
end of the year,” said Duggan.

By becoming more proactive, Counter Culture can spend more time improving their business and now have the
overarching data to drive improvement exactly where it’s needed. This has not only made things easier for their
employees, but Duggan says that since implementing Zoho One, Counter Culture has also been able to double
customer satisfaction. Zoho One has made proactive decision-making a reality by centralizing data and giving
Counter Culture time back to deepen relationships with customers and suppliers.

Looking forward: Counter Culture continues to deepen the connection between their various teams, and next
they are looking to integrate Zoho with more of their vertical-specific software. Bringing the marketing teams’
system, based on Caladio, into conversation with Counter Culture’s Zoho-based processes will let them take their
proactive approach even farther. Zoho Social, SalesIQ, Invoice, and Projects are all also in the process of being
evaluated to see if they will fit into Counter Culture’s process.

As Counter Culture continues to refine and streamline its business process on Zoho One, we are excited to see
how their sustainability and ethical practices push the industry further into a green future.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 13

CX Technology Pitfalls in
Telecommunications
CX has emerged as the primary competitive differentiator among telecommunications providers. Despite
technological claims focused on the availability of superior feature sets, data speeds, or pricing structures,
customers have realized that most providers’ offerings within a market or segment are largely equivalent, resulting in
CX becoming the key reason a customer churns or renews.

Telecommunications providers should seek to avoid these pitfalls when designing a CX strategy:

Using analytics and AI solely to focus on revenue generation

Data-led insights powered by advanced analytics and AI have been used successfully to support upselling, cross-
selling, and customer retention. However, significant CX value is being left unrealized by not using these tools
to focus on holistic CX improvement, including issues with core service delivery, customer service, and support
functions, which rely on linking CRM platforms with back-end operational platforms.

With advanced analytics and AI, operators can anticipate impending service and account problems and intervene
and address problems remotely before the customer has noticed, and can communicate this information using
the quickest, most efficient channel. These interventions can be implemented for service issues (e.g., a customer’s
upload speeds are slow, and a message could be sent to the customer to reset their router), or an account issue
(e.g., a message could be sent indicating a customer is approaching their mobile data limit). Proactive experiences
like these can demonstrate that the customer is not only valued as a revenue opportunity, and can increase the
likelihood that the customer renews at the end of the contract term.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 14

Focusing only on customer-facing frontend optimization
Telcos commonly focus CX efforts on optimizing a customer-friendly front end, as it is the most visible component
of a CX strategy. However, without also modernizing and streamlining the back-end processes used to enable
efficiency, these front-end investments will be wasted. A telco that deploys a slick, AI-driven virtual assistant may
wow their customers in terms of reducing the amount of time it takes to interact with the support team. But if the
front-end interface is not linked to an efficient, well-organized back end, which consists of back-office provisioning,
account management, support, and inventory management systems, customers ultimately will be frustrated.

As an example, a customer that speeds through the process of changing his or her service package via the help of a
virtual agent ultimately will be frustrated and angry if the order is not fulfilled properly or on a timely basis, due to
issues linking the front-end, customer-facing systems with the operational back-end infrastructure.

Failing to leverage technology to service customers

Telecommunications products and services are becoming more powerful and feature-rich every year. However,
the continuous improvements introduce several CX issues: some customers may find the influx of new features
overwhelming and complex, and others may simply not be aware of the new features.

That is where telecommunications providers should utilize new technology to provide education, user training,
and support to their customers. Live video support can often be used to provide more efficient and personalized
customer service, which is often a critical component of overall CX. Via 5G-enabled video, CX reps will be able to
troubleshoot highly technical challenges through screensharing and video chat, potentially reducing the number of
product returns or in-person technical support visits. This should result in a more personalized experience during
support interactions, as well as expedited customer support times.

More advanced technologies, such as VR and AR should also be in the pipeline, which can be used to help
customers “try out” products virtually (such as allowing a customer to see if a desired smartphone will fit in a
particular running armband), as well as allowing a live service agent to virtually walk-through the connection of a
specific piece of equipment using a wireless mobile device connection, camera, and AR application.

Limiting outreach to periods just prior to contract renewals

If the only communication or engagement with customers occurs around the contract renewal date, there are
significant missed opportunities for creating a better CX, while capturing feedback on products and services.
Reaching out to customers periodically to ask for feedback can not only help assess issues with a particular product
or service, but can also be useful in assessing the everyday pain points, positive attributes of the product or service,
and key decision criteria used by customers, all of which can be fed back to the relevant departments for service
improvement.
It is also important to consider reaching out to non-account owners, who typically include other users of the
service. In many cases, these “influencers” often have a greater amount of interaction with the service, and their
opinions may ultimately drive purchasing decisions.

By consistently checking in with customers – which can be accomplished via automation through the customers
channel of choice – the customer-provider relationship is strengthened, without sullying the interaction by focusing
solely on upsell or cross-sell opportunities.

Not providing automated authentication services

Customers crave and demand efficiency with experiences, and nothing kills efficiency like having to repeatedly
provide customer authentication information, which often occurs when a customer is handed off between different
representatives.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 15

Typically, a telephone-based agent will ask a caller to verify specific information, including account numbers, the
last four digits of their Social Security number, and, depending upon the organization and the sensitivity level of the
account, some additional “challenge” questions that ostensibly only the owner of the account knows.

This creates additional friction, for several reasons. For one, answering these questions can take additional time,
and for customers that are trying to get a problem or issue addressed, it can exacerbate their frustration. Further,
due to the large number of accounts a person may have, it can be difficult to remember challenge questions and
their answers, particularly if the customer set up the account months or years prior to the interaction. Some senior
citizens may struggle with this type of authentication. Most frustrating, to improve security often these same
authentication questions are asked each time a customer is transferred to a new agent.

That is where moving to more advanced and secure processes for authenticating genuine users can reduce friction
and provide greater security. One of the easiest ways to provide additional security is to employ multifactor
authentication. In this case, once a user provides their authenticating information, such as a username, password,
and answer to a challenge question, a text message with a one-time PIN will be sent to the mobile device number
on file, which will then need to be provided to the agent to continue with the transaction. While this does not stop
in-household users or bad actors who may have access to the mobile device, it does prevent fraudsters without the
authenticating device to access the account.

Another more complex and robust solution is the use of voice biometrics to secure an account. Biometric
authentication uses unique biological characteristics to verify an individual’s identity, and it is generally harder to
spoof and more convenient for users, since they do not need to remember passwords, or carry a physical token
than can be stolen or lost.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 16

 Removing Scam and Spam Labels’ Impact to Call Delivery
Despite the growing use of non-traditional, digital communication channels such as
email or social media, many businesses still rely on voice calls to reach and respond
to customers or partners. When a party is called, they have just a few seconds to
decide whether to answer. The appearance of a Spam, Scam, or Fraud label drastically diminishes the likelihood
of a live pick-up, and call blocking (due to the same negative reputation that causes call labeling) further reduces
that likelihood down to 0%.

Based on Numeracle’s analysis of outbound phone numbers in use across multiple industries, we’ve identified
that an average of 25% of a business’s phone numbers are typically at risk for improper call labeling, resulting in
lost business, productivity, and customer satisfaction equal to a financial loss of millions. If negative labels, such
as Spam, Scam, or Fraud, appear on a business’s phone numbers, the only way to fix it is through a validated
remediation process to correct the number’s reputation across the wireless carrier ecosystem, with the result
being the removal of the label.

KPIs Measured:

• Yearly remediation rates & growth of need

• % of remediations conducted relative to phone numbers registered
• Success rate of labeling remediation
• Average days-to-resolve Scam/Spam labeling
• Impact to contact rates
Approach: Analyze monthly and yearly status reports on phone numbers registered across the wireless
ecosystem via our Entity Identity Management Platform and the number of successful remediations conducted
for the 2021 and 2022 years for comparison to contact rates before and after improving number reputation with
our remediation services. Ongoing remediation helps maintain healthy number reputation, can increase contact
rates, improve your overall call delivery and brand reputation, and provide you with the necessary insight to
structure successful calling campaigns.

Impact to KPIs: Report

Across 434,459 numbers vetted and registered to
450 businesses in 2022, a total of 61,111 numbers
were identified as Spam, Scam, or Fraud that were
successfully remediated at a 97% average success
rate with 1.4 days to resolve the improper
labels on average.
The 61,111 remediations completed in 2022 account
for 69% of Numeracle’s all-time remediation total
of 88,453 negative labels removed over the past 4
years of the study.
Once Spam, Scam, or Fraud labels were identified
and remediated, most businesses recorded
improvements to contact rates in the average range
of 1 - 5%, with outliers experiencing upwards of
20 - 30% increases post-remediation, significantly
impacting positive ROI.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 17

Remediation’s Impact to Outbound Calling KPI

• Establishes trust in your calling identity, improving brand reputation

• Improves your number reputation across all the top wireless carriers and analytics providers to get your
calls delivered
• Ability to stay in control of call presentation, fix negative labeling, and go beyond simple monitor or
perpetual number rotation solutions
To get started preventing and remediating mislabeling across the big 3 U.S. cell networks today,
visit www.numeracle.com/contact-us.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 18

CX Technology Pitfalls in
Financial Services
Large financial services companies are faced with significant CX challenges. While customers provide massive
amounts of personal and financial data, companies often do not have the infrastructure, staff, or resources to treat
each customer as an individual in the personalized manner that a small, local bank or credit union once did. And
while CX software vendors have introduced a wide range of software platforms and tools to make this personalized
engagement possible, many financial institutions run into problems by trying to deploy technology without
considering the level of friction incurred by customers.

Further, banks rarely talk with their customers and lack data-driven banking insights on what makes them happy or
unhappy with the bank. They also often rely on a one-size-fits-all approach, regardless of the individual customer’s
financial situation or personality.

Failing to provide adequate product and service education and resources

Banks provide a wide range of products and services. However, they rarely provide the education and one-to-one
positioning that demonstrates which products are right for a particular customer. Financial products can be quite
complex, and financial institutions that do not provide details on the product, how it benefits a customer, and,
perhaps most important, how it could fit with other products a customer has, are missing a huge opportunity.

Financial institutions can deploy basic text FAQs, or to be even more customer centric, can enable bots that utilize
generative AI or large language models (LLMs) to allow customers to ask questions, and then have them answered
in a more customer-friendly manner. Due to the relatively unpredictable nature of generative AI, the system should
only be allowed to access information that has been vetted by the company.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 19

Providing inadequate self-service tools
Self-service capabilities offered by many financial institutions do not efficiently resolve the customer’s or member’s
inquiries. While an institution may offer digital-first, self-service technology, like a chatbot, it may not fully guide
a customer through all the steps necessary to find a resolution without the need for human interaction. This can
result from an inconsistency in the information the company uses to power the chatbot, difficulty locating needed
information, or through the presentation of conflicting answers from different channels.

Another issue can arise when multiple touchpoints and applications are unable to interact with each other, such as
when banks enable digital by adding multiple systems for different products such as lending and deposits. While
both the channels are digital, the customer’s experience is broken and inconsistent when they want to opt for both
products. Moreover, cross-selling becomes difficult with siloed applications targeting different products.

Relying on virtual agents for personal or complex transactions

For very personal or complex financial transactions or processes, having trained agents that have experience
handling these situations likely will be the key to delivering an excellent customer experience. Expecting that these
customers will be satisfied and well-served by chatbots is a recipe for disaster, and will do little to demonstrate that
these customers are valued.

That said, workers can be further supported by software platforms that can do more behind the scenes, such as
serving up relevant customer and product information in real-time, to help guide customer conversations and
ensure that they are receiving the most current information possible.

Not deploying process automation after each interaction

Organizations are missing important opportunities to derive significant value from customer interactions by failing
to implement process automation after each call. The use of process automation, which can be initiated and carried
out by intelligent robotic process automation (iRPA) platforms and tools, can enable accurate and efficient capture of
interaction feedback, automatic setting of follow-up appointments or check-ins, and connecting with other relevant
departments or organizations.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 20

 Central Bank Cuts Call Volume in Half
Central Bank was previously a holding company for 13 community bank charters, and after
combining into a single charter and name, its customer service center now fields 3,000+ calls
per day and handles all customer support for its 13 markets and 140 locations. It also provides
the main switchboard for all markets, including all inbound calls that are routed to up to 3,500 employees.

Upon the combination into a single entity, it did not want to lose the community bank feel nor the close bank-
employee/customer relationships, especially when introducing natural language processing (NLP) and artificial
intelligence (AI) into its processes. “Five9 has enabled us to customize the way we use our IVA in order to meet
this goal,” said Jeff DeBourge, head of NLP and AI at Central Bank’s customer service center. “We always want
customers to be able to reach a live agent if they choose.”

Achieving High NLP Success Rates

DeBourge collaborates with a Five9 engineer and teams of AI Challenges
degree-seeking interns from a local university to train and tune
• Needed to reduce call volume with self-service
their NLP processing daily. They track fail rates and data that
indicates real customer intent vs. expected customer intent. They • Experienced limited staffing
also evaluate successes, which currently boasts an ~80% success • Wanted to use AI for NLP
rate with their NLP, which means their fail rate hovers around Benefits
20%.
• 80% success rate in matching customer intent
with NLP routing
DeBourge and his team use dispositions differently as well. They
have dozens of different dispositions that track across three core • 50%+ reduction in call volume to agents
divisions of the bank and use disposition data for training their • 20% fail rate for AI self-service — among the
NLP. With the flexibility of the Five9 Intelligent CX Platform, they industry’s lowest
were able to utilize Five9 dashboards to provide the information Five9 Solutions
that feeds into Salesforce as their CRM solution.
• Technical Account Manager
Central Bank is in the process of moving from its legacy DTMF • Intelligent Virtual Agent
telephone banking self-service to a natural language-based • Digital Engagement Chat and Email
one and looking at automating employee helpdesk menus. The
• Workforce Management
bank currently uses Five9 Workforce Optimization to automate
employee file transfers as part of its employee recognition • Adapter for Salesforce
program and plans to expand the scope of that automation over
time to improve employee experiences, which can impact CX.

Before using Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA), operators handled around 3,000 calls per day. After
implementing a DTMF with five choices, that number was cut in half. When they rolled out NLP with Five9, the
numbers dropped to around 1,200 calls per day. “It’s a significant improvement for us and we continue to work to
lower those numbers,” said Gillum.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 21

CX Technology Pitfalls in
Travel & Hospitality
Travel and hospitality companies are responding to unprecedented change on a global scale. During 2020 and
2021, everything from how trips were booked to the countries that were open for travel, was turned upside down.
Further, labor shortages led to staffing issues and reduced service across the entire travel and hospitality sector, and
as a result, customer satisfaction and trust dwindled.

As the industry starts to rebound, travel and hospitality customers must be wary of taking shortcuts, or
assuming travelers will simply come back to their brand or service because they were customers in the past.
Organizations should take a close look at their policies, procedures, and priorities. CX leaders should be aware
of the following pitfalls:

Failing to invest in technologies to support positive employee experiences

Companies often invest in customer-facing technologies to smooth interactions, and create more convenience
for customers. While this is an essential exercise, companies that fail to also invest in processes and technologies
that support positive employee experience (EX) for those already employed in the sector, and entice those who
are considering employment may not fully reap the rewards of those customer-facing investments. Happy and
empowered employees are a key to delivering positive customer experiences, and there are many technologies that
can be leveraged in the travel and hospitality sector.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 22

The following tools can be used to support better employee experiences:
CATEGORY DESCRIPTION

Feedback, Listening,
Survey and feedback tools, Voice-of-Employee programs, and employee analytics tools
Insights, and Action

Gamification, mobile apps, platform modules or intranet add-ons that provide a way for
Rewards and Recognition
recognition to occur between and among all levels in an organization, and for rewards to be given

Employee Wellness, Wellness tools, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Community, and Culture (DEI), and volunteering programs and tools

Performance
Software to manage performance on an ongoing basis, provide coachable moments, and support
Management, Coaching,
employee development.
Training and Development

Digital EX and Technologies that help monitor, automate, and smooth out technology interactions for customer/
Supporting Tech employee interactions

Source: Futurum Research

When employees have access to equivalent, aligned, and optimized technology solutions across all channels, the
whole company can operate more effectively.

Not Empowering Agents

Employees who are satisfied and engaged have higher levels of performance and efficiency. They also communicate
better with customers and show more care and empathy. Hospitality businesses must consider how they can
empower their employees to provide a high level of service and customer satisfaction. In addition to providing
effective training and onboarding for employees, giving them the right tools and technology is essential.

Agent tasks can be supported by manual back end task automation and AI. This helps free up time so agents can
focus more on complex tasks and be more efficient and effective when communicating with customers. According
to the Uniphore, 60% of agents say they need better tools to handle the rise in complex customer interactions,
which means this is an area that needs to be seriously considered by hospitality companies.

Callbacks can help smooth out spikes in demand for live agents, reduce abandoned inbound calls, and from a CX
perspective, improve satisfaction by giving customers back their time instead of having them wait in a queue for
hours or minutes. However, callback systems are just one tool airlines can use.

Reverting to pre-pandemic patterns of engagement

While the COVID-19 pandemic emergency has officially been declared over, travel and hospitality companies cannot
afford to return to pre-pandemic patterns of engagement. Today’s customers have become accustomed to certain
aspects of travel that not only promote health and safety, but also convenience and customer centricity.

For example, customers have become accustomed to self-service check-ins, as well as contactless food delivery.
They also expect that the tools used to engage with a hotel and its staff that were deployed during the pandemic,
such as more personalized marketing and sales outreach, will remain in place, allowing them to better connect a
property’s amenities with their specific needs. Perhaps most important, customers expect hotels, airlines, and other
travel companies to be available via an omnichannel engagement platform, enabling them to connect and interact
with the provider seamlessly across channels, with a near-immediate response time.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 23

Failing to connect multiple customer feedback systems
Whether it is an airline company, hotel chain, or resort, travel and tourism customers generally use a variety of
websites to leave reviews and feedback. To get a holistic view of their customer data for actionable insights,
organizations need to assess each database, website, and all other possible sources. Therefore, their CX technology
needs to be capable of compiling data from all these places. In addition, their chosen technology needs to be able
to analyze each of these channels and data types. Failing to do so not only will cause the company to miss out
on collecting valuable feedback, but it will also be hard to connect individual customers with feedback left across
multiple platforms. This can make it difficult to spot patterns of complaints or satisfaction with individual customers
that could be acted upon, to either engender more loyalty, or ensure that the customer gets extra special attention.

Failing to proactively communicate problems or show empathy about disruptions

With the amount of friction points travelers are now experiencing with flight cancellations (due to weather issues,
staffing issues, or congestion), compounded with the crush of communications surrounding rebooking, refunds, and
credits, organizations need to be transparent about the problems, and the realistic timeframe for solutions to be
found.

Obfuscating or providing limited information will only frustrate customers more, and generate negative sentiment
about the company and brand, even if the issues are unavoidable. Instead, smart companies will utilize an
omnichannel strategy of reaching out proactively to customers, explaining the situation, offer alternatives or
suggestions, and, most important, display empathy. This strategy can also reduce the inbound demand on call
centers, allowing human workers to focus on solving issues, rather than simply communicating information.

Failure to take a proactive approach likely will result in significant declines in customer satisfaction, and, in some
cases, may cause customers to refuse to ever do business with the organization again.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 24


About the company: Thales provides a wide range
of transportation solutions that support 85 million
passenger journeys each day.
Overview: Thales InFlyt Experience technology
keeps passengers entertained as they fly from one
part of the world to the other, and provides an edge
over other systems to collect customer satisfaction
data close to the point of experience. Airlines
leverage their customers’ feedback to improve their
experience and drive customer loyalty.
Thales’ CX challenges
The need for an expert survey solution provider to:
• Tackle the huge challenge of collecting
customer feedback from different points of the
customer journey.
• Build a solution on top of the existing In-Flight
Entertainment (IFE) architecture, built around
Android Services on a Linux platform.
• Enable real-time data collection.
• Focus on the core business and leave software
development to experts.
• Find an economically viable customer
experience data collection and management
platform.
What did QuestionPro bring to the table?
QuestionPro worked with Thales technical team to
ensure that the solution and integration architecture
correlated with multiple touchpoints to get deep
insights into CX. This was achieved by:
• Developing a solution for managing the surveys
and moving data from the airplanes to the
cloud.
• Integrating the survey software with the IFE
architecture while complying with US/Europe
data security & privacy laws including GDPR.
• Enabling Thales to find a relationship
between customer experience and employee
engagement.
• Analyzing customer journeys for different
segments and classes.
Industry: Travel & Hospitality - Airlines
Region: US
Company Size: Large
Business Type: B2B Supporting Airline Travel
What did Thales gain from partnering with
QuestionPro?
• Thales became a valuable part of a critical
decision chain.
• A custom solution based on a licensing model at
one-third of capital costs.
• An advanced technical solution flow to meet
business goals, strategy and guidelines.
• A complete customer feedback and data
collection system to efficiently measure
customer experience.
Empowering Thales
QuestionPro helped Thales gather customer
experience data for its airline customers and enabled
them to distinguish promoters and detractors with an
NPS survey.
The solution that helped 80+ airlines like Emirates,
Qatar Airways and American Airlines with:
• A feedback model to make real-time changes to
service delivery.
• Responding quickly to the needs and closing
the loop with passengers before they hit social
media.
• Identification of promoters, passives and
detractors based on NPS.
• Discovery of hidden bottlenecks in providing
the best CX.
• Aggregation of CX data for detailed analytics on
the cloud.
CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 25
General Best Practices for CX
Technology Success
The pitfalls mentioned previously can help organizations avoid the mistakes that could negatively impact customer
experience, success, and satisfaction. While each organization has its own unique customer base, products, policies,
and procedures, the general principles of reducing friction, demonstrating empathy, and generally partnering with,
rather than simply selling to customers, can help avoid many of these issues.

The following diagram of the CX technology stack illustrates the layers of technology that are required to deploy a
modern CX strategy. While each layer is important, the most important consideration is to make sure that data can
freely flow between all departments, and that the system can enable a single source of truth for all data elements.

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 26

 Technology Stack
CONTACT THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPATHY
CENTER

Providing a good customer experience is

often dependent upon the ability of an
PERSONALIZATION &
OPTIMIZATION

organization and its representatives to

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK provide efficient, timely, and personalized
service to customers during each
CUSTOMER ANALYTICS
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE interaction. However, the ability to
display empathy for customers and their
situations has become as important
or more important, particularly when
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT

customers encounter pain points, friction,

CUSTOMER DATA PLATFORM or frustration.

Empathy is defined as the ability to

CUSTOMER
DATA
PRODUCT
DATA
TRANSACTION
DATA
MARKETING
DATA
INTERACTION
DATA
SUPPORT
DATA
FULFILLMENT
DATA
recognize and acknowledge the emotions
of others, thereby putting oneself into the
position or situation of another to better
Source: Futurum Research understand what they are encountering
or going through. Unlike sympathy,
Regardless of the specific approaches, a good CX strategy will include the which is feeling sorry for what someone
following technology elements: else is experiencing, empathy allows
an individual to better connect with
• The ability to support multiple communication channels, including web, the core reason why another is feeling
mobile app, chat, social media, and voice. a certain way. From a CX perspective,
demonstrating empathy with a customer
and their situation can often reduce
• The ability to support real-time handoffs between channels with
or eliminate friction and enmity in an
no loss of continuity, and no need to reauthenticate customers or interaction, and lead to better overall
reacquire information. customer satisfaction and experiences,
regardless of the industry.
• The ability to access and retrieve relevant customer information, There are generally three types of
regardless of its location within the organization. empathy an individual can experience,
according to Daniel Goleman, a
• The ability to quickly escalate/transfer communications to the psychologist and author of the book
appropriate support or sales teams, based on the nature of the inquiry, Emotional Intelligence.
even if it changes during the interaction, and switch between digital Cognitive empathy refers to when a
and human channels. person can understand what another
person might be feeling or thinking, based
• The ability to incorporate AI and analytics techniques (including on a situation or action. This type of
empathy helps a customer representative
generative AI and LLMs) to provide targeted insights, knowledge, and
to “put themselves in the shoes of the
answers to agents, and, with proper oversight, customers. customer” when they are interacting.

Emotional empathy describes when

• The ability to establish a single source of truth for customer and
someone can share another person’s
interaction data, so that new interaction data are updated in real time feelings, which helps them develop an
and are synchronized across all systems. emotional connection with that person.
Emotional empathy can be displayed in a
• The ability to support virtual agents, chatbots, and self-service CX situation by a customer representative
technologies that allow customers to interact with the company on verbalizing that they truly understand
why a customer feels frustrated, such
their terms, through their preferred channels.
as “I can see why you are angry; I’d be
angry too if I was charged for a $1,200
• The ability to share information and processes with other applications prescription without the company
and systems, cleanly and robustly, through trusted APIs. notifying me.”

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 27

Company Profiles

We’re Concentrix (Nasdaq: CNXC), a leading global provider of customer experience

(CX) solutions and technology. We Reimagine everything CX to improve business
performance for some of the world’s best brands, and the ones that are changing the world as we know it. Every
day, we Design, Build and Run CX for over 130 Fortune Global 500 and 125 new economy clients. Whether it’s
a specific solution or the whole end-to-end journey, we’ve got it covered. We’re the strategic thinkers who design
brand-defining experiences. The tech geeks who build smarter solutions. And the operational experts who run it
all and make it work seamlessly. Across 40 countries and 6 continents, we provide services across key industry
verticals: technology & consumer electronics; retail, travel & ecommerce; banking, financial services & insurance;
healthcare; communications & media; automotive; and energy & public sector. Location: Virtually Everywhere. Visit
www.concentrix.com to learn more.

Additional Resources:

Design, Build, and Run End-to-End Customer Experiences

Delivering the Future of CX

Case Study: Reimagining the Staff Experience for a Fortune 500 Energy Provider

Case Study: Creating a Major League Member Experience

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 28

 The Five9 Intelligent CX Platform provides a comprehensive suite of solutions for
orchestrating fluid customer experiences and empowering agents. Our cloud-native,
multi-tenant, scalable, reliable and secure platform includes contact center; omni-channel
engagement; Workforce Engagement Management; extensibility through more than
1,000 partners; and innovative, practical AI, automation and journey analytics that are
embedded as part of the platform. Five9 brings the power of people, partners and technology to more than 2,500
organizations worldwide. Through this combination, Five9 supports customer needs from Day 1 to forever and
delivers on our customer commitment: “We keep our CX promise, so you can keep yours.” For more information,
visit www.five9.com.

Here are some related links:

https://www.five9.com/solutions/why-five9
https://www.five9.com/products/capabilities/intelligent-virtual-agent
https://www.five9.com/products/capabilities/digital-engagement
https://www.five9.com/products/capabilities/contact-center-workforce-management
https://www.five9.com/customers

Offering a single point of visibility and control in the calling ecosystem through
our Entity Identity ManagementTM Platform, Numeracle supplies actionable solutions
for call originators who seek to verify their status as a legal caller, monitor and correct
the improper blocking and labeling of their calls across all major wireless networks, and deliver a branded presence
by adding caller name and logo via Smart BrandedTM calling campaigns.

With STIR/SHAKEN rolled out, Numeracle provides Know Your Customer-based local policy solutions for service
and platform providers to properly vet entities and elevate enterprise calls to higher attestation levels to ensure calls
are delivered without interruption.

Additional Resources:

Phone Number Reputation Resource Hub

Branded Communications Resource Hub
Contact Center Industry Podcast: Tuesday Talks

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 29

 Founded in 2006, QuestionPro is a global provider of online surveys, research
services, and enterprise feedback management that help companies make better
decisions through data. Developed continuously and closely in line with the requirements of our customers in
the areas of experience management and market research for two decades, we have serviced more than 4 million
customers in over 100 countries. Fortune 100 companies rely on us to help unlock insights about customers,
employees and the marketplace. With offices in the US, Mexico, Canada, Japan, UK, Germany, South Africa, the
United Arab Emirates and India, we offer customers 24/7 access to highly trained support specialists and engineers.
Visit www.questionpro.com to learn more.

Additional Resources:
NISA: Collecting feedback through NPS+ surveys to boost fan experience
LegalShield: Use of in-app surveys to collect customer feedback
Dubai Airports: Access to real-time data analysis for efficient and faster decision making
QuestionPro CX
SuiteCX by QuestionPro - Customer Journey Mapping Software

Treasure Data was built to radically simplify customer data management and
help brands use all of their customer data to improve campaign performance,
achieve operational efficiency, and drive business value with connected
customer experiences. Customer Data Cloud, our award-winning suite of
customer data platform solutions, integrates customer data, connects identities in unified customer profiles,
applies privacy, and makes insights and predictions available for Marketing, Service, Sales, and Operations to drive
personalized engagement and improve customer acquisition, sales, and retention. The flexible, scalable, and secure
platform has a comprehensive connector network that evolves with your existing technology stack to future-proof
all customer data initiatives.

Additional Resources:
Shiseido applies Treasure Data to make up beautiful marketing
Muji grows in-store revenue with digital savvy
At Subaru, data puts marketing in the driver’s seat

CX TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2Q 2023 30

 We believe that software is the ultimate product of the hands and the mind. And we take
pride in creating products and solutions that help solve business problems, anticipate needs,
and discover opportunities to help you grow.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve brought more than 50 products to the market. But, the R&D edge that drives this
innovation isn’t simple luck, it’s the result of careful choice. We prefer to build things ourselves instead of growing
our platform through acquisition. We invest more in customer support and product development than in sales and
marketing. All that because we believe that’s the best way to deliver choice and value to our customers. This kind of
thinking isn’t innovative. But in today’s business climate, it is increasingly rare.

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