Invest in long-term CX stability without missing out on innovation

The birth – and now gradual maturing – of generative AI has demonstrated just how disruptive new technologies can be. CEOs across nearly every industry are pushing an AI agenda. One study even found that CEOs are adopting generative AI faster than workers are comfortable. The fear is that they must innovate or be left behind. 

Every day, we hear the same type of concerns from our clients and prospects. If they don’t jump on the next big innovation, their competition will get ahead. At the same time, they recognize the need to maintain a long-term, sustainable customer experience (CX) strategy and technology stack. So how do you balance what seem like competing priorities – innovation agility and long-term stability? 

The truth is that innovation and stability are compatible with the right partner. A strong CX consulting partner will be able to keep steering you toward your CX North Star while expertly navigating and integrating new technologies. When it comes to technology, there will always be disruptions, the key is finding a partner who will help you capitalize on those disruptions while maintaining a consistently positive customer experience. In this article, I’ll share some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a CX consulting partner. 

It’s not enough to be just a contact center CX expert

As the lines between technologies become increasingly blurred, we’ve entered an era in which the customer experience lives at the intersection of contact center, CRM, and AI and analytics. What does that look like? Here’s a breakdown:

Underpinned with engineering, customer experience (CX) strategy, and human-centered design, these three components create a flywheel for effortless customer experiences. Each element is equally important, which means it’s not enough for a partner to know one area really well and ignore the rest. Even if you think you’re just evaluating contact center providers, you truly need a partner who is versed in every important area of customer experience.

Tip: Ask potential partners for references of clients who deployed two or more years ago. Ask those clients how the partner is helping them innovate across contact center, CRM, and AI/analytics, or how they are working with other CX technology partners to accomplish this.  Ask yourself how ready your organization is to continuously experiment and test a roadmap for innovation. 

A partner who can connect the dots

As I mentioned above, every component in the tech ecosystem needs to work in harmony. A great example that illustrates this point is the work we did with Nationwide. 

While Nationwide was able to realize a smooth migration from an on-premises Genesys contact center to Genesys Cloud, reintegrating its system of contact center tools into a cloud ecosystem presented a challenge – specifically with their workforce management system (WFM). In short, their new cloud contact center didn’t connect with their WFM.

Kelly Manne, a software engineer specialist at Nationwide, described the problem best: “We were kind of dead in the water when we realized we couldn’t bring our contact center data into WFM. So, we were faced with finding a solution that could quickly and comprehensively do this for us or settle for tackling spreadsheets by hand to accommodate our complex skill-based reporting rules.”

Because we understand the importance of connecting all contact center technologies, TTEC Digital already had a WFM adapter that Nationwide could use out of the box. We then built new capabilities into the adapter to provide the ability to quickly configure thousands of reporting combinations spanning a variety of different skills, queues, and media types within minutes.

Tip: Ask potential partners how their platform connects to your existing solutions, like your WFM, CRM and analytics tools and do they have experience building solutions to address identified gaps. 

End of life is just the beginning

At TTEC Digital, we often get called in to migrate contact centers to the cloud once an on-premises system has reached end of life. But the work doesn’t end once you migrate to the cloud. Ongoing support is crucial to keep CX optimized for both you and your customers. Traditional managed services focus on break/fix support and “keeping the lights on.” By moving to the cloud, this maintenance-style approach becomes a thing of the past; it’s less about maintaining, and more about innovating. 

Software vendors innovate often – sometimes releasing hundreds of new features every month. As just one example, AWS releases five to 25 new features a week. As a client how do you know which of those features are important to you and your business? How do you think about the adoption sequence? And how do you deploy features safely and effectively? In short, how do you keep up?

Organizations embarking on a cloud migration need a partner dedicating their time, energy, and resources to staying current with the latest technology innovations. That same partner also needs to understand how those innovations match your business goals so they can recommend and deploy the features that will best meet your needs. Essentially, a partner needs to demonstrate that they can provide ongoing managed innovation services. 

With SurroundCX™ Managed Services, TTEC Digital goes beyond traditional support to help clients amplify their entire CX ecosystem with proactive monitoring and support, optimization, and innovation services. Clients get a dedicated client success manager to maximize their CX technology investments and a 24/7 global support team to ensure optimal operations. Clients can also choose their ideal level of coverage. 

Tip: Ask potential partners to explain their offerings regarding ongoing support and specifically how they will help you keep up with new and emerging technologies. 

Take potential partners for a test drive

Most CX consulting partners will share demos of their solutions. Demos are designed to run flawlessly or built with wireframe automation that works as long as the script is followed to the letter. That rarely happens when the technology is deployed in a live environment. That’s why some partners will go beyond demos and give potential clients a “sandbox” in which to play with the tool. But as my colleague, Tom Lewis, shared with Forbes:

“When exploring a new technology or evaluating a new vendor, the best way to ensure you get exactly what you want is by taking that vendor out for a test drive.” – Tom Lewis, SVP, Consulting, TTEC Digital

At TTEC Digital, we offer select potential and current clients the opportunity to test drive technology commitment-free with personalized SandcastleCX™. Clients can explore technology in detail and try out the features and functions with their own real-world use cases that are most relevant to them. This free testing environment helps mitigate migration risks by allowing clients to test their use cases and see how a given solution can help achieve their CX goals. 

Tip: Don’t settle for generic demos. Ask potential partners if you can test drive their technology and experiment with your own use cases while receiving support when you need it. 

Final thoughts

Typically, partners fall into one of two categories – global systems integrators (GSIs) or implementers. GSIs vary widely on their depth of knowledge on how to configure various technology solutions, often enlisting external sub-contractors for true product know-how. On the other hand, implementers will have the internal technology expertise, but often lack the core consulting and strategy skills of a GSI. The key is finding a hybrid – a partner with both the technical and strategic expertise to truly elevate your CX. With this type of partner, you’ll strike the balance between technical innovation and long-term CX stability.