Meet Jennifer Belissent, customer-facing, data-driven strategy professional with vertical industry and technology domain knowledge, currently Principal Data Strategist at Snowflake. As our guest in this episode of the Data Driven CX podcast series, she will put a spotlight on what data means within Telco companies and beyond. She will share some fascinating examples of how Telcos have contributed to consumer or citizen experiences by sharing data with other organizations. From a business perspective she will highlight how data can be leveraged internally or monetized as ‘data products’, ultimately contributing to better customer experience. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Telcos - with their extensive subscriber data, call data, network traffic data - can support and accelerate digital transformation not only within their own organizations but also in other industries and public sector
• How broad based transformation requires everyone to understand data, the value of data, and how it can be used across the organization
• A great story of Telco providers joining forces to support young people in getting a credit score 
• How the best ‘data products’ are the ones that are bringing together multiple sources – adding that value and giving that insight you would not otherwise have

Some resources to learn more:

Infographic: 5 Ways Data Supercharges Telecoms Transformation

E-book: Redefining modern master data management in the cloud for Telecommunications

Customer story: Leading Telco focuses on customers and becoming one of Australia’s most-loved service brands

Informatica Telco Solutions 
Informatica and Snowflake

Connect with Jennifer on Linkedin

Knowing your customer is a hygiene factor these days. Next you need to deliver on your promises and the expectations of your customer, whether it is the promise of your brand, something very concrete like the delivery time, or being able to infer customer needs and predict the next best offer. 

The pandemic and other macro forces are only accelerating the trends we were already seeing in retail; growth of online sales, the need to create intuitive experiences, and increased competition. 

This episode explores: 

·      
How data informs customer experience as well as other key business processes 

·      
Using data and AI to address key challenges such as availability  

·      
The importance of making data available to everyone and build a culture of curiosity  

·      
How data teams, with the backing of executives, can truly help the business leverage data, rather than monopolizing data 

Some resources to learn more: 

Blog:
Announcing
 the Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud for Retail 

E-book:
Rethink
 Retail with Seamless, Data-Driven Customer Experiences 

Customer story e-book:
Unleashing
 the Power of Data

Informatica
 Retail Solutions  

Informatica and Google

Connect
 with Chris on Linkedin 

Meet returning guest Trevor Hodges, who will build upon the CX Data Strategy topic from episode two. The conversation will look at Data Driven CX at a strategic, tactical, and operational level. How do you organize at each of these levels, what are some keys to driving change, and does your team play defense or offense?

Data Driven CX is no different from other initiatives in terms of needing:

• Strategy – the destination
• Tactics – how to get to the destination, what to do
• Operations – the execution of the tactics

This episode explores the roles involved in the above layers of data driven cx and the so important change management and effective communication between the teams and stakeholders involved.

Trevor also expands on the various levels of maturity and the impact on data needs. He comments on how to get started regardless of your current maturity level and how to get some quick wins to show value and build champions.

Some resources to learn more:

Workbook: CX Data Strategy: The Ultimate Framework for Better Customer Experience

Episode two of this podcast

Infographic: 5 Ways Your Customer Strategy Gets a Boost with a Data-Centric Approach

Blog Driving Data Strategy in the Digital Age - a Framework for Agility

Blog Change Management - a Critical Component for Sustainable Enterprise Data Strategy

Connect with Trevor on Linkedin

In this episode you will meet Jennifer McGinn, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Informatica. The conversation centres around some commonly asked questions when it comes to data driven CX:

• I’m focusing on the customer. Why should I care about data?
• We have so many applications and so much data. How to prioritize?
• CX is fast changing, in part due to COVID-19. How can a data strategy enable me to pivot faster?
• In transforming from a product or process centric organization to a customer centric one, where does data come into play?
• How can I be hyper personalized without being creepy?
• We need to sell more, and ‘next best action’, ‘next best offer’ analytics is key, but we are struggling. How can I improve the underlying customer data?

You will hear some inspiring real life examples and great insights from a data perspective of CX.

Some resources to learn more:

Webinar: The Future of Banking and CX: Creating & Expanding the Customer-First Mindset With Data & Technology featuring Union Bank of the Philippines

Blog: Recognizing Excellence in Customer Centricity

Blog: How to Create and Execute a Customer-Centricity Strategy

Success stories showcasing data-driven innovation for a 360-degree view of business e-book

Redefining Modern Master Data Management in the Cloud e-book

Customer Success Story Jardine Motors Group

Connect with Jennifer on Linkedin

Our guest in this episode of the Data Driven CX podcast series is Theo van der Steen, CEO at Underlined and Guest Lecturer at the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science.

Theo outlines three trends in CX:

1. The customer contact center is changing and voice data can increasingly be used to gain insights, in addition to traditional data sources
2. Digital transformation is not only about web clicks, there are interactions and person-to-person conversations on multiple digital platforms
3. Virtual reality or augmented reality is starting to appear in a brand context

Nienke and Theo also discuss the metrics. NPS alone is not enough anymore. Other business metrics are increasingly important to the CX professional and can require new data sources that have not been brought together before. 

A more holistic view on CX allows those new metrics to be tracked, and brings it all together for the customer, supporting the customer journey and the whole customer lifecycle (in a previous episode we talk about the ‘business of experience’ going wider than traditional CX). 

But it’s not only about the data. It needs to be coupled with qualitative research and the art of understanding CX and how it can best be deployed in an organization. 

In this episode, you will also get some very practical advice such as an insight framework, and you will hear some real-life examples from e.g. Schiphol airport.

Some resources to learn more:

Intersection of data, AI and CX video

Informatica CX solutions web page

Informatica Customer Data Platform (CDP) web page

Redefining Modern Master Data Management in the Cloud e-book

Customer Success Story Jardine Motors Group

Connect with Theo on Linkedin

Underlined website

This episode features part two of a conversation with Gene Cornfield at Accenture. Here, we will dive into the five dimensions of ‘Purpose led Transformation’. What does it mean to be customer obsessed or experience driven? We will also address how to achieve short term results while driving a long-term full transformation, and close with some advice for our listeners – the data driven CX leaders.

There are five dimensions to the concept of ‘Purpose led Transformation’. 

1. Purpose led
2. Customer obsessed
3. Experience driven
4. Data and AI enabled
5. Technology scaled

The first three are about changing mind set, dimensions 3-5 are about skill sets and tool sets. When it all converges in the middle layer of Experience it becomes truly transformational. 

Hear Gene Cornfield, Managing Director and Experience Transformation Lead at Accenture Interactive, explain how a dialogue is the back and forth of questions and content, how the digital dialogue needs to be informed by data, and how the innate expectation is that an ongoing dialogue will always just be picked up where we left it.

Finally, he will give some advice on where to start and call out four things to think about as a data driven CX leader aspiring to drive transformation.

Some resources to learn more:

Accenture Interactive: Business of Experience web page

Accenture Interactive: Business of Experience Report

Harvard Business Review article: The Most Important Metrics You’re Not Tracking (Yet) by Gene Cornfield

Digital CX: Expert Insights ebook by CX Networks, Informatica and Accenture

Redefining Modern Master Data Management in the Cloud, ebook by Informatica

Connect with Gene on Linkedin

This episode features part one of a conversation with Gene Cornfield at Accenture. We will get an introduction to the concept of business of experience and how this relates to customer experience, and we will discuss transition versus transformation. Gene will challenge our thinking on customer journeys and explain CPIs – Customer Performance Indicators. 

Huge investments are being made into digital transformation including CX, however, CEOs do not see significant value. They are looking for growth and only one thing drives growth: customers. So why would investments in CX not drive value? The answer, explains Gene Cornfield, Managing Director and Experience Transformation Lead at Accenture Interactive, in this episode of Data Driven CX, lies in the lack of attention to mind set.

We are applying new tool sets, and we develop new skill sets in our organizations. But if we are not shifting our mind set, we will only achieve transition, not real transformation of the kind that can hugely impact our revenues and growth. 

We need to rewire how we think and operate, use data and AI to tailor experiences, use technology to do it at scale, and truly become customer obsessed at scale.

A key question is: How do your customers react and feel when trying to achieve a purpose that is important to them? Business of experience is about optimizing your customers ability to achieve their purpose. It is larger than optimizing customer touchpoints to sell products or services. 

Finally, Gene and Nienke challenge the way some companies define their ‘customer journeys’ and provide a point of view on what is important when designing these.

Some resources to learn more:

Accenture Interactive: Business of Experience web page

Accenture Interactive: Business of Experience Report

Harvard Business Review article: The Most Important Metrics You’re Not Tracking (Yet) by Gene Cornfield

Digital CX: Expert Insights ebook by CX Networks, Informatica and Accenture

Connect with Gene on Linkedin

In this episode we shine a spotlight on CX in the Financial Services and Insurance industry. We meet Peter Ku, Industry Strategist at Informatica, as he discusses digitalization in FSI, common data issues, and what you can do to make sure your data becomes fit for use and can drive the right customer experiences. 

The pandemic has accelerated digitalization in the Financial Services and Insurance industry. As organizations invest in digital experience including replacing and modernizing core systems, data issues come to the surface. And when customer experience is critical to remaining competitive and creating customer loyalty, data challenges can prevent organizations from achieving these key business outcomes. 

Informatica has a long history of working with customers in the FSI sector and in this episode of the Data Driven CX podcast series Peter Ku, Industry Strategist, gives examples of how Informatica’s solutions address key data requirements and challenges. 

Questions to consider are for example:

• Is the data available to the people who need it?
• Is it clean and trustworthy?
• Is it complete enough to be actionable?
• Is it protected and secured?

It is about creating a customer centric view of the business, not a policy centric or an account centric one. Great customer experiences require a view of the customer even across different lines of business. 

We end this episode by giving some very practical advice on the actions you can take today to make sure you will have data that is fit for use in your business and for your customer experience.

Some resources to learn more:

Blog Great CX in Financial Services starts with fit for use data

Digital Banking report: Using Data to Drive an Improved Customer Experience

Webinar: Driving Great Customer Experience Across Financial Services with Great Data 

Digital CX: Expert Insights ebook by CX Networks, Informatica and Accenture

Data Leadership Assessment

Connect with Peter on Linkedin

In this second episode of the Data Driven CX podcast, we discuss CX Data Strategy. CX is very much at the heart of Digital Transformation and almost every initiative will be driven by, or dependent on, data. To have a data strategy is to think about data as a strategic asset and make sure you maximize data leverage. 

How then do you build your data strategy in support of CX? Trevor Hodges introduces a data strategy framework that can help structure your thinking and promote consistency. The framework has been designed based on hundreds of customer engagements in the history of Informatica, which has allowed us to capture best practices and understand core elements to ensure successful outcomes. Using a framework such as this will decrease risk, support collaboration, and serve as a communication tool. 

The framework consists of five building blocks:

1. The “CX Data Strategy” building block sets the stage for the overall data strategy, it defines your business drivers, needs, and enablers.
2. “Data Capabilities” defines the set of capabilities needed to support your wider business and digital strategy, leading to higher-level business outcomes. 
3. The “Program Management” building block defines the ownership, governance, planning and execution.
4. The “Change Management” building block ensures attention to cultural aspects, skills, roles, training, and enablement. 
5. And transcending all the layers is the building block of “Measure and Monitor” - the measures you require to assess the effectiveness of your program.

Trevor shares a customer example, then provides some advice on how to pick the right projects to get things started. This involves taking both a bottom-up and a top-down perspective. 

We end this episode by touching on Informatica’s own focus on customer experience and customer success. 

Some resources to learn more:

Blog Driving Data Strategy in the Digital Age - a Framework for Agility 

Blog Change Management - a Critical Component for Sustainable Enterprise Data Strategy 

Informatica e-book Intelligent Disruptors: Meet the Experts Behind Customer 360 Initiatives

Digital CX: Expert Insights ebook by CX Networks, Informatica and Accenture

Webinar with CX thought leader Blake Morgan: 12 Steps to Digital Transformation

Connect with Trevor on Linkedin

In this very first episode of the Data Driven CX podcast series we’ll meet Sarah Hillman, Global Head of CRM and Data at The Travel Corporation (TTC). Sarah shares how TTC was able to prioritize customer experiences when the pandemic hit and explains how customer behaviour has changed. 

In the business that TTC is in, customers don’t only want choice and ease-of-use. Travel is experience driven by its definition and customers want those experiences mirrored in all channels. It becomes very important to humanise customers’ digital interactions and make sure that what TTC stands for, such as authentic experiences and family values, is reflected in the online world. 

Sarah expands on the role of data: the excellent service that staff can give when they truly know their customers is difficult to replicate online and is not very scalable. Data became the focus to scale bespoke service to all customers in all channels. Data needs to inform the customer interaction, and support what TTC calls Tiny Noticeable Touches. Data is also key in automating some work, allowing staff to focus on key aspects of customer experience. 

A holistic single view of the customer is the basis for many customer experience applications. In fact, it is easy to say that you need a single view of the customer and that you need to remove data siloes. Yet in practice there are many pitfalls. We discuss learnings and success factors.

Inevitably, Nienke and Sarah also dive into what ‘Data Driven CX’ really is. Sarah feels this is the most interesting part of her role – the alignment of people and technology, humans and data. 

Often, there is a focus on analytics, but this misses the broader picture. Analysing data to better understand customers and gain insights is important. Then to use these insights to drive innovation and decide where to focus. Equally important, is to make sure data enables the actual experiences. This is the use of data at micro scale, woven into the customer journey.

Digital transformation is often understood as data / analytics transformation; however, it needs to be just business transformation. That is probably why we see a trend towards having a Chief Data Officer or a similar role in companies – to make data-driven business a boardroom conversation not a niche topic.

Some resources to learn more:

Customer Success Story The Travel Corporation

Customer Success Story Jardine Motors Group

Webinar: An Executive Guide for Creating a Customer 360 Strategy

Digital CX: Expert Insights ebook by CX Networks, Informatica and Accenture

A Marketer’s Guide to Customer Experience: Using Modern Data to Bring Your Customer into Focus, Informatica ebook

Connect with Sarah on Linkedin