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Read the 4-step process for incorporating automation into business processes to improve customer experience and boost operational efficiency.
It is fair to say that UK retailers have been on a tumultuous journey over the last year or so, having had to face a variation of market pressure, challenging e-commerce rivals, not to mention rising rents and tricky trading conditions. It’s become the norm for retailers to be fighting for their survival. However, a way to stop retailers from vanishing off the high street is to keep up to date with the latest technological trends and apply them to their business.
Will the British Airways GDPR fine have a bigger impact than the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
The current conditions for UK high street retailers are far from favourable. Not only are they battling market pressure and challenges from ecommerce competitors, but also increasing rents and tough trading conditions. To ensure survival, retailers today must keep their finger on the pulse of all the latest technological advancements.
It is no secret that the UK high street is facing a perfect storm of market pressure, from changes driven by the rise of ecommerce, escalating rents to unfavourable trading conditions. The key to battling this storm is for retailers to rapidly innovate and stay at the forefront of technological change.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR), the friendly voice that we as consumers have all had a relationship with, often simple, sometimes ugly, but always with little patience. There are many misconceptions about IVR, and the lack of patience from consumers is making the benefits that they are receiving obsolete.
In the year leading up to the 25th May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to consumers, was best known as a continuous series of arduous rapid-fire, opt-in/opt-out privacy notices from organisations. For businesses, it was the cause of tension, confusion a rush to ensuring compliance for fear of a maximum fine of 4 per cent of global annual turnover, amounting to €20 million.
Seamless customer experiences that balance technology with human touch. As organisations increasingly take a multi-channel approach to customer experience, examining how people interact with them digitally and by phone, this Caledonian Sleeper example is a timely reminder of how neglecting face-face interactions can be very damaging.
Technology truly has the power to move society forward—and we’re seeing it being adopted for good across the world. When it comes to healthcare, for example, AI is being used to process medical research in a way we’ve never seen before. In recent weeks, we’ve seen reports from UCLA that a new AI system can detect prostate cancer with the same levels of accuracy as experienced radiologists.
The chatbot has come a long way since ELIZA was developed in 1966. Improvements in NLP (natural language processing) and automation mean that they are now able to engage in meaningful, flowing conversations with customers in real-time, delivering human-like interactions without the waiting times associated with contacting a call centre. As a result, all kinds of businesses are looking into how they can use chatbots to improve customer experience. But advances in technology does not guarantee success.
We’re more used to automation than ever before. There may have been some grumbling about the self-service checkouts that have become the norm in many supermarkets, but it turns out many people are happy to scan their own shopping in return for the speed that these kiosks offer. Inside the home, it’s a similar story—despite scare stories about always-on surveillance by tech giants like Amazon and Google, people are using Alexa and Google Home every day to adjust their heating and play music
Engage Hub, the data-driven customer engagement company announced the latest release of its NextGen Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution. The new features of the AI-driven technology enable a fully-personalised experience for customers and full cross-channel integration.
Engage Hub announced the latest release of its Next-Gen Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution. The new features of the AI-driven technology enable a fully-personalised experience for customers and full cross-channel integration. The solution, part of the Engage Hub platform, gives IT and contact centre managers the ability to add voice to their systems and provide automation while still offering the best customer experience.
Engage Hub today announced the latest release of its Next-Gen Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution. The new features of the AI-driven technology enable a fully-personalised experience for customers and full cross-channel integration.
In this piece, Simon Brennan, VP sales, Engage Hub, outlines for RetailTechNews the current state of self-service within customer experience. It’s fair to say that self-service in the retail industry has taken huge strides in recent years. Once a gimmicky and unpopular form of customer interaction, chatbots powered by highly advanced AI and machine learning technologies have delivered self-service that is seamless and fast.
When GDPR was finally put into motion earlier last year, and the reems of emails associated with it from online retailers finally stopped, many hoped that for EU citizens a new era of improved personal data security was around the corner. The regulation was very much a watershed moment in the overall debate that has been dominated by increased worries around data misuse and breaches in recent years.
What is best practice when it comes to UX? Unfortunately, a lot of advice out there on ‘user experience’ (UX) directly contradicts other advice. Some of this bad advice is simply out of date, but some is simply wrong – always was, always will be.
How do these myths take hold? Sometimes what makes for good advice is sector-dependent and not universally applicable, other times it’s because of “truthiness”: “Don’t make users click more than three times” sounds like it should be true, even if it isn’t.
For financial services providers, the needs of their customers must be at the heart of their digital transformation. This is true for both fintechs looking to steal business from established players, and those established players looking to protect their market share.
The study, put together alongside Sapio Research and which polled 100 UK-based customer engagement decision makers, argued organisations see customer experience as more important than even profit and revenue growth going forward. 36% of those polled said CX was the top business objective, compared with 34% for net profit and revenue growth, followed by 24% for staff development and 23% for cost reduction.
Customer experience is now more important than even profit and revenue growth for most businesses, but successful implementation is being hampered by siloed systems and people.
You’d be surprised to remember it’s early November, the festive lights have started to go up in Carnaby street, our favourite selection tubs are on the shelves, and the mystery has been lifted to what seasonal flavours we can expect from Starbucks and Costa! Readers, this can only mean one thing; the Christmas period is here!
The big tech companies – predominantly Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (GAFA) – have taken the western world by storm in the 21st century. But none of these companies have officially entered the banking industry in the UK, although the door could be open in the future.
In order to drive customer satisfaction, organisations need to successfully embrace digital transformation – and success boils down to defining measurable goals and then rolling out the technologies, skills and processes needed to achieve them.
Transform or die: Why failing to digitally transform your business will end in disaster
Telecoms.com periodically invites expert third parties to share their views on the industry’s most pressing issues. In this piece Freelance Technology Journalist Kate O’Flaherty explores how technologies are creating opportunities for Mobile Virtual Network Operators. AI customer service, 5G and virtualisation are among the key technologies helping to transform the MVNO market
How can a chatbot improve your customers’ experience? And, if you are going to make an investment, what steps should you take to ensure implementation runs smoothly? Here, Chris Crombie finds out.
The implementation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is just around the corner, and it is about to usher in an age of improved customer experiences.
Increasingly demanding consumers are redefining the standards for online and mobile banking. Digital savvy customers now use mobile apps on a daily basis to assist with both their routine banking and with longer-term savings, investments and financial planning.
When considering the imminent implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is understandable that many organisations may see the application of stringent privacy laws and the ability to personalise the customer experience as opposing ideals. But with the deadline just a month away, it’s time to have a swift rethink.
We’ve all heard much moaning and groaning around the upcoming GDPR. The work! The fines! The cost! But with just three months to go until the much-maligned new rules become a reality, we wanted to paint a more positive picture, with some success stories of those making GDPR work for them and, dare we say, even using it as a chance for disruption.
How Gordon’s used location-based targeting for selling G&T to 20,000 delayed commuters.
A couple of weeks ago, I travelled out to New Delhi, India as part of a trade delegation visiting the India-UK Tech Summit, along with Prime Minister Theresa May, and the great and the good of the UK’s tech industry
Every year, customer-centric professionals are bombarded with research and studies.
So we’ve compiled a list of some of the statistics that have been of most interest to us and our audience over the last 12 months. Some make for interesting reading. While others are very concerning!
This week has seen another wave of appointments and departures at brands, media owners and agencies. The Drum has rounded up the key moves from the EMEA, APAC and North America regions below.
The exponential rise in digital data over the past decade has changed the way the public and organisations of all kinds engage.
Now every bank, local charity, hospital or public authority, each holds personal data about every customer, patient, client or constituent it comes in contact with.
The way consumers interact with brands through their devices is changing in “the age of voice”.
The latest phase affecting the customer experience is voice interaction. Consumers now have the option to interact with a business without even picking up the phone or talking to a real person. In this age, when time is a luxury for consumers, being able to interact with a business as quickly as possible is the most appealing thing for a customer.
Amazon’s AI-driven personal assistant, Alexa is becoming a more familiar part of many households, with more than 11 million devices sold across the US, UK and German markets before January 2017.
It’s been a difficult 2017 so far for the retail sector: Jaeger collapsed into administration, Rue 21 closed stores, and Debenhams is closing stores to focus on a more digital approach. Many retailers are failing to meet consumer expectations by realigning their approach to a more digitally focused marketing strategy that ensures the retention and growth of their customer base. Digital has revolutionised where and how we can connect with our consumers.
It’s official – poorly targeted and overly frequent digital communications from retailers are turning consumers off. Statistics show a staggering amount of people unsubscribe or simply ignore messages that are so often littering their inboxes, the recipients deciding they are email overkill . . . spam. What’s to be done?
When our attention span can be as short as eight seconds, capturing consumers’ attention is no easy feat. It doesn’t help that in the world of marketing communications, campaigns have traditionally centred on product news whereby a new product is introduced, or an existing product is updated, with the hope that customers will start purchasing it.
We can’t promise it’ll be too cheerful, but hey, the sun’s been out this week. You can’t have it all.
The roundup includes news about ad fraud, online delivery, and digital ads. For even more, head on over to the trusty Internet Statistics Compendium.
A lack of communication from delivery companies is the main reason UK consumers miss scheduled deliveries, with nearly one in four British consumers (23%) saying poor communication has caused them to miss a delivery in the past 12 months, according to new research from Engage Hub.
Consumers have the apps they need and are not looking to add to their collections. Xavier discusses why consumers may block beacon marketing from mass adoption.
Research commissioned by Engage Hub, the data-driven customer engagement solutions company, reveals that a lack of communication from delivery companies is the main reason UK consumers miss scheduled deliveries, with nearly one in four British consumers (23 per cent) saying poor communication has caused them to miss a delivery in the past 12 months.
How often do you visit your bank branch? I’m going to guess it’s a lot less frequently than you used to, say, five years ago. And you wouldn’t be alone – figures show that daily visits to branches have fallen by 32% since 2011 and the number of times people visit a branch is set to almost halve by 2020 as more people favour their smartphones to manage their finances.
Despite all the buzz around beacon technology as the new and exciting frontier of customer engagement, are marketing messages and promotions sent as part of a pre-existing transactional conversation still more effective and less intrusive?
With significant regulatory changes coming into force over the next couple of years, it is clear that key governing bodies want to intensify competition in the financial services industry. The Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2), for example, will completely change banking as we know it.
Christmas is a time to shine and be remembered by customers for efficient, great service so how can retailers ensure they really do deliver, asks Simon Brennan, vice president of sales Europe at Engage Hub.