CX Pulse Podcast | Insights on Customer Experience, AI, WFM, Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction & Contact Centers

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often seen as the future of customer service. This shift is primarily driven by advancements in natural language processing and machine learning. As AI evolves, so does its ability to help businesses improve the customer experience. With the rapid growth of these technologies, contact centers need to start preparing themselves for a future where AI plays an even bigger role in customer experience.

In this episode, Amelia is once again joined by Donna Fluss, Founder and President of DMG Consulting, to discuss AI in action. As an expert in AI in contact centers, Donna will cover the most practical applications of AI for customer experience, how AI has been implemented in the industry, and what advice she can offer organizations just getting started with AI.

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Maps are essential for getting from point A to point B. They provide a visual representation of the route one needs to take as well as how to navigate along the way. Similarly, journey maps help business stakeholders define exactly what customers want and what the customer journey actually looks like. When done correctly, they can help businesses achieve their goals by revealing opportunities for improvement and optimization.

In today’s episode, our guest, Jeannie Walters talks about journey mapping, what key elements are needed to map a digital first customer experience, and what business data are most beneficial to understanding the customer experience.

Jeannie Walters is the CEO & Founder at Experience Investigator, a global customer experience consulting firm helping companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience. Jeannie has 20 years of experience helping companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience.

Jeannie was named one of the Huffington Post’s “Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros on Twitter," Tenfold’s “Top 40 Customer Success Influencers,” one of “The Top 5 Women Customer Experience Influencers” by CloudCherry. Her mission is “To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™.”

Self-service is nothing new, but the ways in which data and technology are being used to power it are changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence (AI) provides businesses with new opportunities for customer experience, driving the expansion of self-service. Today, customers have more options for engaging with businesses and their favorite brands. At the same time, businesses can provide a more personalized experience as well as predict what customers might want in the future.

In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Dan Miller about whether or not chatbots can improve customer experience. Dan will also discuss how data and technology are redefining self-service, how CX leaders are now improving their digital CX, and the four pillars of maximizing the conversational cloud.

Dan Miller is the Lead Analyst and Founder at Opus Research, a diversified advisory and analysis firm providing critical insight on software and services that supports digital transformation.

In his role, Dan conducts research, writes reports, provides consulting services and administers conferences specializing in Intelligent Assistance and Intelligent Authentication. He coined the term "Conversational Commerce" to describe applications and services that improve person-to-person, person-to-machine and machine-to-machine interactions.

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Nowadays, the business world is buzzing with words like "great resignation" and "digital transformation". While such changes profoundly affect people’s lives and careers, contact center agents are far from being threatened. The human element still plays a crucial role in contact center management. How can businesses empower their people to deliver top-notch service in an ever-changing and complex environment?

In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Omer Minkara about why the great resignation is relevant to contact centers, how the transformation between the digital and human elements works, and in what ways contact centers are solving the challenge of agent attrition.

Omer Minkara is the Vice President & Principal Analyst at Aberdeen, a leading global provider of behavioral-based marketing solutions, from intent-targeted media to demand gen programs and independent industry research. In his role, Omer is tracking and reporting the key trends and best practices in customer experience management, contact center, and e-commerce fields. Through a combination of prior experience, skills in financial and data analysis as well as passion, Omer helps organizations build and maintain profitable customer relationships and reduce unnecessary costs.

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Robotics Process Automation (RPA) is changing the way businesses operate. It can work independently or alongside people to streamline business processes. As RPA becomes more widely adopted, an increasing number of businesses are turning to automation to improve efficiency and accuracy, reduce operating costs, minimize the risk of human error, and will likely play a bigger role in the future of organizations.

In today’s episode, Amalia talks with Amardeep Modi, a Vice President at Everest Group, about what RPA is and why it matters for organizations, what enterprises expect from an enterprise-grade attended RPA solutions, and how to make the most of attended RPA deployments.

Amardeep is a seasoned advisor and leader with more than nine years of consulting and research experience. At Everest Group, Amardeep leads the service optimization technologies research and advisory practice globally. The majority of his work is focused on leading industry-defining research on intelligent automation technologies, such as attended RPA, unattended RPA, process mining, intelligent document processing, process orchestration, and conversational AI.

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Artificial intelligence has been making waves in the contact center industry for a few years now, and for good reason. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are changing customer service for the better, from how customers communicate with businesses to how businesses manage their workforces. As these technologies continue to evolve, do contact center agents need to be educated on them?

In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Sheila McGee-Smith, President & Principal Analyst at McGee-Smith Analytics, about whether or not contact center agents should be educated about AI. They will also discuss the value AI can bring to the contact center space, what lessons contact center agents can learn from top CX performers, and how AI can help them interact with customers.

Sheila McGee-Smith is a leading communications industry analyst and strategic consultant with a proven track record in new product development, competitive assessment, market research, and sales strategies for communications solutions and services. She founded McGee-Smith Analytics to offer enterprises and solution providers an expert and reliable source for information and analysis related to the contact center and customer experience markets. Her expertise has helped enterprises and solution providers develop strategies to meet the escalating demands of today’s consumer and business customers.

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Contact center companies are always on the lookout for new and better ways to improve their customer service. This often comes in the form of new technologies, such as chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI). With many companies turning to AI to optimize their business processes, contact center executives are also becoming more aware of just how important contact center agents are to their overall success, increasing their focus and appreciation of their agents.

In today’s episode, Amelia talks with Donna Fluss, Founder and President of DMG Consulting, about the findings of the DMG report, Customer Experience, Contact Center and Servicing Priorities and Investment Plans for 2022. They will also discuss the top contact center and servicing goals for enterprises in 2022, what technologies contact centers intend to invest this year, and where employees are likely to work in the future.

With over 30 years of hands-on experience helping organizations build world-class call centers and assisting vendors to deliver differentiated solutions, Donna is leading global contact centers, analytics and back-office industry analysts and consultants to deliver outstanding customer experiences. A recognized visionary author and speaker, Donna drives strategic transformation and innovation throughout the service industry and provides strategic and practical counsel for enterprises, solution providers, and the investment community.

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Culture is often seen as something that is intangible and hard to measure. However, it is one of the most important aspects of any organization. In fact, culture plays a key role in employee engagement, and the employee experience drives the customer experience. What are ten critical principles that form the foundation of creating a culture?

In this episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Annette Franz talks about the top three basics that many companies still overlook, why culture is so important in an organization, and what the ten critical principles are that form the foundation of building a culture.

Annette Franz is the Founder and CEO at CX Journey Inc., a global customer experience strategy consulting firm that specializes in laying the groundwork required to establish a CX roadmap and strategy that drive culture transformation efforts. She is an internationally recognized customer experience thought leader, coach, consultant, and keynote speaker. Annette is also an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council.

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Customers' purchasing habits, needs, and preferences evolve over time. One thing that will never change, however, is their need for support and service. A great customer experience goes beyond just meeting expectations, but also taking it a step further to succeed. At its core, great customer service results in greater customer loyalty and more repeat business.

In today’s episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Shep Hyken talks about what amazing customer service looks like, why customers terminate a business relationship, and how companies can still create emotional connections with little or no person-to- person contact.

Shep Hyken is the CAO (Chief Amazement Officer) of Shepard Presentations. As a customer service and experience expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling author, Shep works with companies that want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His focus is on delivering amazing customer service, customer engagement, managing the customer experience and creating customer loyalty. Shep is a hall of fame speaker (National Speakers Association) and a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

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Artificial intelligence has been around for a long time, but it has exploded in popularity in recent years. This is especially true in the contact center space, where businesses are looking for new and innovative ways to improve customer service. Artificial intelligence has already proven itself to be a valuable tool in many industries. Why should contact centers be on board with embracing AI?

In today’s episode of the CX Pulse Podcast, our guest, Keith Dawson talks about why artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining popularity in the contact center space, the impact of AI on contact center agents, and the many ways AI can be used in the future of the contact center industry.

Keith Dawson is the Vice President & Research Director, Customer Experience at Ventana Research. He leads the expertise in Customer Experience technologies (CX), covering systems that facilitate engagement and allow businesses to influence and optimize their customer-facing operation. Keith is focused on how businesses can break down technology and operational silos to provide more efficient processes for two-way engagement with customers.

Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. They provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance – to become not only more efficient but more effective. Using a combination of primary market research, rigorous market coverage, and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers, Ventana Research delivers business and technology education and expertise to clients and the marketplace.

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