ENABLING the 2025 DIGITAL EXPERIENCE Table of Contents

ENABLING THE 2025 DIGITAL EXPERIENCE Table of Contents

01 Executive Summary

02 Defining the 2025 Digital Business

02 Digital Business Ecosystem

03 Key imperatives of customer advocacy and customer experience

03 Customer Advocacy and Customer Experience Management

03 Omni-channel engagement – retail, online, self-service, commerce and more

05 The future of the contact center

06 Retail store experience

07 Leveraging big data to drive customer experience management

08 Summary 1

Executive Summary While brand experience and brand affinity used to be Digital business, according to Gartner*, “is the creation of new the domain of marketing, the speed and lower cost of business designs by blurring the digital and physical worlds. innovation and the digital capabilities needed to craft these Digital business promises to usher in an unprecedented personalized experiences make them the next necessary convergence of people, business, and things that disrupts focus of the entire business. Every touch point with the brand, existing business models even those born of the Internet and digital or otherwise, and every journey through the customer e-business eras.” lifecycle, is an opportunity to have a meaningful engagement with the customer. And if the business doesn’t have the To capitalize on this, one needs to understand how this customer understanding, organizational agility, innovation convergence can be used to drive brand affinity and business drive, and technical capabilities to deliver, someone else growth. Brand affinity is not just the provision of an amazing does and will. In short, relying on yesteryear’s business model customer experience that resonates and exceeds customer no longer works, the time to transform is now. expectations, but one that connects on a deeper level and allows the digital business’ brand to be an extension and To look at it through the lens of the customer, the focus is enabler of the customer’s own personal brand. Generation C. The customer of this generation isn’t part of a specific age group; in fact they span multiple age groups, Uber, for example, is one of the world’s leading digital brands connected by lifestyle, by how they consume and create and has completely disrupted the way we travel. But Uber connect, how they believe in community and curate data from didn’t revolutionize the taxi business because of a great various sources. Members of this generation prioritize digital mobile application; instead it took on a highly regulated and expect their experience with their service providers to industry which demanded permits, exams and passing other capture the world of digital immediacy, and they want this entry gates before one could become a taxi driver. Now, with experience now. Uber, all a person needs is a driving license and a car to be part of their enterprise. The fact that Uber looked at what was Through the course of this whitepaper we will share some the best way to address market needs without being boxed of the attributes vital for the creation of a successful digital in by historical paradigms made people connect to it. The business and the evolution in certain key areas around fact that the mobile application was clean, convenient and customer advocacy and customer experience to address the user friendly just helped make Uber’s impact a lot stronger. needs and expectations of Generation C. This means of making a meaningful connection, addressing customer needs and requirements from an outside-in perspective is critical to achieve real brand differentiation in an overwhelming and increasingly noisy digital market place.

*http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/digital-business 2

Defining the 2025 Digital Business The next step is to design meaningful and tailored A successful digital business is more than just the sum of its customer journeys across all touch points, and not just digital channels and products. A digital business understands digital channels. Every interaction with the organization’s the need for a truly integrated experience in order to brand must be meaningful and deliver the experience and meaningfully engage employees and customers in different result the customer expects. It must reinforce the brand digital dimensions. It recognizes the need for business agility experience to build brand affinity. These experiences across and the importance of having a strong partner ecosystem the different touch points need to be connected to provide a to continually launch and innovate with new products seamless and personalized experience instead of a series of and services. It recognizes the need for collaboration and disconnected interactions. innovation to break down organizational silos. And, it requires In order to deliver such experiences, an organization needs a tangible strategy for the business, customer, partner, and to create foundational business and technology capabilities technology engagement models. for cross-functional collaboration and enablement. This Digital Business Ecosystem involves implementing new technologies, working with new partners within a new partner ecosystem, and redesigning When defining a digital strategy and corresponding digital the organization, incentive models, and existing business business ecosystem, Gartner* indicates that the key question processes to support the new experience. to answer is how the business should evolve to survive and thrive in an increasingly digital world. And from a supporting The next step is to not just to implement this experience IT strategy perspective, the key question is how IT will help once, but to continually inspire and innovate this the business to win. transformation across the business, including employees, customers and partners. Leveraging new advancements in Our diagram here visualizes the elements of the digital technology and new insights from customer interactions, business. To undergo a true digital transformation, service responses and behavior, these experiences will need to providers need first to start with gaining a deep customer continually be revisited and calibrated to have the desired understanding through qualitative and ethnographic studies effect and impact. to empower truly outside-in customer engagement and brand affinity by understanding the customer’s cultural drivers, and The digital organization also needs to have agile business tailoring the go to market strategies, customer experience, models in place to quickly implement these innovations. branding and even the organization’s internal culture to The business and other internal organizations should be the customer’s culture. This is imperative when merging or designed to be faster, leaner and more empowered to acquiring existing businesses and understanding the existing drive effective change within the business, rapidly release brand experience, and designing what the new brand(s) new products, services and experiences to the market, experience(s) should be. and continually update and assess customer feedback as the demands change.

And even when an organization has fully adopted the principles of being a digital business, the cycle never ends. The need to continually assess customer understanding, and redefine the brand, experience and offerings so as to match ever-changing customer expectations will never stop, and the pace will only continue to accelerate.

*http://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/cio/pdf/cio_agenda_insights2015.pdf 3

Key imperatives of customer Customer Advocacy and Customer advocacy and customer experience Experience Management Customer advocacy and customer experiences are critical in Customer-centricity is key to service providers’ evolution the digital age. Everybody has a digital voice, and everyone’s into becoming a digital provider. Focusing on enabling the listening. People are no longer just looking to advertising customer experience and transforming how customers companies or mass-market messages and commercials to engage is therefore of major importance. For the operator, decide how they want to spend their money. They want to we see omni-channel as the key enabler for customer hear from people they directly relate to, and interact with, engagement and in this section we’ll outline the strategies in order to understand how a product or service will impact around enabling the digital customer experience. their lives. They’re looking to their social groups, personal and professional groups, peers, friends and family as trusted Omni-channel engagement – retail, online, sources of information. self-service, commerce and more Today approximately 70% of purchase journeys and 90% In such a world, digital businesses must ensure their digital of service journeys go across two or more channels. While voice truly reflects their brand. One bad experience is most customers’ preferred interaction channel is digital, retail broadcast instantly to would-be consumers and one poorly interactions and getting help at the right time with a live agent handled complaint is viewed by thousands. By building still remain an important means of customer engagement. customer advocates who interact within those trusted social The vision of a service provider’s omni-channel strategy must networks, businesses can build a positive brand image, as be to provide a seamless service and shopping experience long they ensure every customer experience delivers upon the across assisted or unassisted channels, whether the brand’s promise, every single time. customer is online, on a mobile application, on a social media site, in a retail store or speaking to a contact center Engaging the customer through their preferred means of agent. This omni-channel experience, characterized by communication and providing a personalized customer the “build once, deploy many” philosophy, is shown in the experience is a vitally important element in building customer diagram below. advocacy. Managing this experience and making sure it is applicable and aligned with the needs of the Generation C customer will help define and shape the digital business of the future. Critical to the customer experience are the omni- channel engagements, the evolution of the contact center, the retail store experience and how we leverage big data to personalize the experience. 4

But today, most service providers are offering a mainly multi- 2. Decouple front-end logic to channel experience, which is quite disconnected. This is due back-end systems to the high proliferation of digital channels combined with To ensure a digital omni-channel experience, it is imperative siloed IT architectures that rely on having a large amount of that the business logic of the experience is kept decoupled the business logic on the front end. To deliver a seamless, from the back-end IT systems. This allows the front-end omni-channel experience service providers need to commit to applications to focus on consuming information from the three main principles: back-end systems and delivering the right user interface, 1. Commit to a single source of truth content and experience to the consumer and/or the agent. While service providers have always spoken about the notion However, business rules and validation of order data etc. are of having a system of record for every data set and attribute, often replicated in the channels, which causes order fallout it is not often realized. Moreover, as business requirements and inconsistent data capture. And this replication and tight increase, applications spring up in the IT landscape with coupling of the channel applications to the back-end systems duplicate sets of data repository, often leading to lines blurring also implies that the process of building them needs to be as to which IT application masters which data. defined every time a new channel needs to be served by the operator. Service providers need to define an architecture It is imperative that operators define experiences targeted where the capability can be built once and deployed across to the individual; experiences that are truly personalized and multiple channels and only the experience is managed within designed to cater to the one customer who is interacting with the channel. their brand, To deliver a consistent, contextual and such a personalized experience it is imperative that every channel 3. Improve with constant innovation application – both assisted and unassisted – leverages the The omni-channel world is continuously evolving. Service same back-end system as the system of record for that providers have to create a business and organizational model specific data and business rule. Service providers need to which seamlessly embraces emerging opportunities in order ensure that information such as promotion and products, to engage better with their customers. The technology should customer profile information, recommendations and next ensure agility, flexibility and scalability, which can be tailored best action and other key functions, data sets and customer to new customer journeys. And embracing social is a critical documentation are consolidated in a single application which part of evolution, leveraging social as not just a care channel, is standardized across the organization. but also as a sales and marketing channel.

The Evolution Towards Omni-Channel

Single-Channel Multi-Channel Cross-Channel Omni-Channel

Customers experience Multiple touch-points Multiple touch-points as Customers experience a single type of acting independently. part of same Brand. a Brand NOT a channel touch-point. within a brand. Operator’s channels Operator has a single Operator has a single functions and operations view of the Customer Operator leverage type of touch-point. exists in multiple silos. but operates in their single view of the functional silos. customer in coordinated and strategic. 5

The future of the contact center Some key trends in the evolution of the contact center Although digital interactions and engagements are on the include: rise, the role of the contact center has not diminished, it has • Using web chat and social media for engagement: just evolved. Customers might prefer unassisted channels Service providers need to embrace social media as a way as their first means of interaction, however when it fails or is to respond to customers, if not resolve issues. Using unavailable, they require live help. In the next decade while it chat as a medium for interaction is on the rise with digital is unlikely that there will be a central physical center anymore, savvy customers (like Generation C) and can be further the Contact Center channel itself must evolve to meet increased by offering it proactively at the right time in the customer’s expectations. customer journey. In their battle against over-the-top (OTT) players, the main • Routing incoming calls and interactions with capabilities differentiator for service providers continues to be based such as experience-based routing: This ensures that not on customer service, and the contact center will be at the just the customer information from CTI is available, but the forefront of this strategy. However, service providers need to right agent is allocated for the call and has the requisite evolve their contact center into a relationship hub rather than skills and experience in handling the customer request. just a service channel. Instead of using it as a means to deal with immediate problems, agents need to be alerted when • Virtual and distributed contact center agents: While there something isn’t working and empowered to provide resolution are certain technical and security challenges to overcome to the customers and feedback into the service provider’s in moving to a virtual and distributed model, where agents business. The contact center as a relationship hub is about can serve customers remotely from their homes or without providing a personal and strong connection with the end being in a physical office space, the benefits of lower-cost customer that can be more personalized and more effective models, high productivity and improved security can lead to than other channels. better ways of engagement with customers by empowered agents. By distributing the interactions and having virtual agents spread out across an operator’s market geography, service providers can have agents in each sub-region provide a more personalized experience.

• Personalized agent learning: Agents are the service provider’s touch point with the customer. Training agents to create the right customer experience consistently is a complex task. This process can be simplified and effective by providing personalized training, using insights across all agents trained and leveraging the agent’s own personal training results.

Retail store experience Digital engagement trends are infusing into the experience of the retail store. Customer journeys such as buy online collect in store, buy in store collect at home, or collect at home and return in store are the key journeys targeted by operators. Capabilities such as making appointments in store, leveraging digital signage, using self-service kiosks for simple customer interactions, and BLE technology are also gaining service provider interest.

Customer satisfaction however is much higher on the digital channels than in retail today. While service providers are trying to learn from the Apple store experience and deliver it within their model, they need to overcome a number of challenges to ensure a future model of engagement. For example, the service provider’s brick and mortar stores have been targeted towards supporting mainly sales transactions. While this is an important journey, a high percentage of customers entering the stores have a service-related interaction which isn’t the core retail journey that is targeted. The store agents are often also compensated purely on sales which doesn’t encourage the engagement either.

To build a high degree of customer engagement, service providers need to focus on using their retail presence in letting customers experience their brand. Some service providers are evolving their retail stores into three formats:

• Minimal stores: Targeted on proximity, quick and simple interaction and engagement e.g. pop-up stores or small stores in malls

• Premium sales and service stores: Focused on longer customer journeys for service, support and sales in a premium environment

• Concept stores: Designed to demonstrate the brand experience using interactive wall displays, gesture technologies and immersive experiences

Leveraging big data to drive customer This data also provides a compelling differentiator for an experience management operator in comparison to other OTT or service providers in One of the key ways to understand Generation C behavior – ̶ the market and should be used to their advantage. and that of other customers – is to use data for insight and Let’s go back to the example of Uber, and their creation of deep customer understanding. Based on customer usage the concept of surged pricing. Purely based on demand patterns, on top of the customer information and service and supply patterns, Uber sets a higher than normal price history service providers also hold, operators can devise a for travel in times of high traffic and demand. However, the much better view of what kind of services their customers average pricing is also set high enough to make it worthwhile might be interested in and in what ways they can provide for drivers to stay on the road but not so high that it better value to the customer. dissuades customers from using the service. While Uber does If a prepaid customer, for example, ends up spending more have its competitors, none of them has the advantage of this money in top ups with limited usage for the subscribed data and algorithm to better service their customers while still services, it might be more valuable for the subscriber to move satisfying their employees or drivers. to a postpaid plan while spending less. As a customer, you We believe that the digital operator of the future will master would truly appreciate a relationship in which your service these elements of customer engagement – with a superior provider values your customer loyalty more than just your omni-channel experience that is personalized through big invoice. As a service provider, although you might lose some data insights, a contact center of the future that serves as immediate revenue from the customer, having turned them a relationship hub, and a variety of retail experiences that into a postpaid subscriber you not only increase stickiness give customers what they are looking for and rivals the but also improve customer advocacy by providing value. experiences they get today from non-traditional providers. Service providers already have access to this type of information, what they need to do is leverage this data-driven insight to provide highly customized and personalized plans, and then deliver it in an omni-channel way across all touch points. Engagements such as this, the experience of one, truly personalized and designed to the singular customer engaging with the service provider, at the core of what Generation C customers seek.

Service provider Online information behaviour

Demographic Products Eligibility and and Personal and Services Compatibility

Social

Financial Usage Network and Patterns Patterns Location Online Information 8

Summary Our industry is changing at an accelerated pace. Customer According to the most recent American Customer Satisfaction behaviors and business models which were unthinkable Index, customer satisfaction with their service providers is at 10 years ago are commonplace today, while technology the lowest level for seven years, and lower than most other innovations are being adopted at unprecedented scale and industries. This drop reflects Generation C’s demand for more speed. Service providers need to deliver a great customer from their service providers, and a desire to see operators experience today, or their customers will find someone who transform their business along the lines of leading brands in does, because today, they expect immediacy. other industries, ranging from banking to OTT players, retail For service providers there’s no time to waste, they must act and insurance companies. now and meet the needs of Generation C by delivering what For brands who have adopted the key principles of digital we at Amdocs term the experience of one. transformation, customers have responded in turn by embracing the move to enhanced digital experiences. They About the Author are taking control of their interactions and, increasingly, we are seeing organizations survive and thrive by investing in digital capabilities that enable them to transparently and Rohit Batra intelligently interact with their customers. Amdocs Revenue and Customer Management Division

We believe that now is the time for service providers to also make this transformation and capture the world of Rohit is responsible for Amdocs’ omni-channel and digital digital immediacy. solutions. Prior to joining Amdocs in 2015, Rohit was part of the Industry Solutions Group at Oracle, where he led A study by MIT Center for Digital Business, in conjunction the cross-channel customer experience solution for the with Cap Gemini Research found that businesses that communications industry. Rohit also led TM Forum projects embrace digital benefit more than their counterparts, with for the omni-channel and customer experience lifecycle model 26% higher profitability than their average industry competitor. as part of the TMF CEM program. Earlier in his career, Rohit Moreover, they had a 12% higher market valuation and saw was a product manager, program manager and delivery lead a 9% increase in revenue by employing efficiencies to extract for Comverse, managing and delivering BSS implementations more out of their existing physical capacity. for Tier 1 and 2 telecom operators globally. Amdocs believes that service providers that effectively manage the evolution to digital will experience greater success through delivering better customer experiences and engagement, enjoying streamlined operations and having the ability to support new lines of business.

Engaging in a digital transformation is the approach that will finally allow service providers to deliver the true integrated customer experience. This requires operating in digital dimensions to engage customers with personalized, omni-channel experiences, from digital self-service to a combination of call-center assisted and retail-store provided services, as well as enabling the digital business with different business processes. ABOUT AMDOCS

Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience software solutions and services for the world’s largest communications, entertainment and media service providers. For more than 30 years, Amdocs solutions, which include BSS, OSS, network control, optimization and network functions virtualization, coupled with professional and managed services, have accelerated business value for its customers by simplifying business complexity, reducing costs and delivering a world- class customer experience.

The Amdocs portfolio enables service providers to capture the world of digital immediacy by operating across digital dimensions to engage customers with personalized, omni-channel experiences; creating a diversified business to capture new revenue streams; becoming data empowered to make business and operational decisions based on insight-based and predictive analytics; and achieving service agility to accelerate the fast rollout of new technologies and hybrid network services.

Amdocs and its more than 24,000 employees serve customers in over 90 countries. Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Amdocs had revenue of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2015.