Author: Mark Atterby

A new report from Boston Retail Group in the US claims that retail customers want highly personalised experiences whether that’s online, via their mobile phone or in the physical outlet. To deliver these experiences the retail sector is planning to make extensive us of IoT (Internet of Things) and AR (Augmented Reality). The report found that customers are willing to try new technology if it improves their overall experience and adds value. The report also found: 32% of consumers are like to choose a shop offering an AR experience over on that doesn’t29% would like a VR (Virtual Reality) experience…

Research from Forrester shows that most CX initiatives were stalled in 2018. The outlook for 2019 maybe worse. Organisations are faltering in terms of improving CX quality. Forrester predicts in 2019 up to 20% of companies across the globe will give up trying to differentiate on the basis of CX. In a survey conducted by Hotjar, only 12% of 2000 CX Professionals believed their organisations were fully mature in terms of customer experience. Most brands are not doing enough to make the necessary changes to improve CX quality in relation to the changing expectations of their customers. The few that…

Essential Energy is one of Australia’s largest electricity distribution networks, supplying power to 95 per cent of New South Wales (NSW) and parts of Southern Queensland. In the past, it was an engineering-based organisation with a focus on compliance. A few years ago, they decided to also become an organisation devoted to engaging and empowering its customers. Roger Marshall, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, comments, “Every five years we submit a regulatory proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator, highlighting our plans for building, operating and maintaining the electricity network. In preparing the 2019-2024 proposal, we established a comprehensive customer engagement and…

You might have the right CX strategy, the right products and services, the right technology and infrastructure yet without the right people your future will be uncertain at best. Organisations need to adapt their ‘customer experience’ strategies in line with sweeping changes to the talent marketplace. Their future may depend on it. Different generations have different expectations The baby boomers are retiring, generation X are entering the later part of their careers, while generation Y and the millennials are entering the workforce in ever increasing numbers. Research from McCrindle highlights that baby boomers currently make up 34% of the total…

Matchboard is an innovative online platform that connects businesses with the most appropriate suppliers for their needs. Reducing the need to undertake extensive research and evaluation of numerous tenders and proposals, Matchboard provides a shortlist of the most suitable providers. We talk to Sharon Melamed Matchboard founder and Suncorp innovator of the Year 2018. Melamed explains how she developed the vision for Matchboard, “it was the concept of online dating that inspired me to bring a ‘find your match’ service to the B2B market.  The vision was to make it fast and easy for buyers and suppliers to find each…

Most enterprises understand what they need to do in terms of CX and their digital strategy. They appreciate the need to be agile, innovative, and to engage employees as well as customers with the brand. Their challenge lies however, in deciding what resources to allocate to innovation and new strategies vs Business as Usual (BAU) activities required to keep the existing business ticking over. This challenge was raised in numerous discussions and presentations at the latest Chief Customer Officer event held in Sydney last week. Not only is finding and allocating resources a challenge, but deciding in what order to…

Vollie is an online volunteering platform, allowing not-for-profits and charities to connect with qualified professionals and students for skills based volunteering. Founded in 2016 and launched in 2017, Vollie has so far delivered 7000 hours of volunteer work worth over $370,000. Their success has been built on adopting a ‘customer experience’ approach to engaging millennials at the start of their careers. Matthew Boyd, co-founder and CEO, was inspired to establish Vollie due the low rate of volunteering among young Australians (aged 25 – 35) compared to other age groups. Boyd comments, “We started Vollie because the rate of volunteering among…

Chief Customer Officers (or roles with similar titles and responsibilities) are being appointed in ever increasing numbers to boards across Australia and overseas. This reflects the increased effort and importance organisations place on improving the customer experience. So how does one become a Chief Customer Officer (CCO)? What skills, experience and aptitude are required? What are the challenges? Ten years ago it would have been very difficult to find a Chief Customer Officer anywhere in Australia. Shipley observes, “When we started running events in the customer experience space a few years ago there were only 20 odd CCO or CXO’s…

In the pursuit of Google rankings the customer experience is often neglected. Most people are aware that certain SEO practices will do more harm than good. However, even legitimate SEO practices may hurt your brand. SEO campaigns that focus primarily on keyword rankings and visitor traffic may come at the expense of relevancy and the customer experience. Too much focus on keyword rankings and traffic Most SEO projects start with keyword research. Traditionally, keyword research for SEO is focused on the amount of traffic and the level of competition for a particular search term that relates to a particular product,…

Employees and management, from their experiences as consumers, are expecting greater service and easy access to information within their organisation. It’s about viewing the HR department as a service provider and that the organisation’s managers and employees are its customers. Gone are the days of stable workforces, where HR worked in isolation from the rest of the business, processing pay and managing benefits. It needs to play a more strategic role to ensure the success of the organisation and managing the expectations of its workforce. The HR function within an organisation is evolving from being a clearly defined, stand-alone function…