The communications and customer experience (CX) landscape has been changing for a number of years. Most notably, the influx of automation and AI technologies has revolutionised how businesses interact with their customers, facilitating faster response times, more personalised interactions and a seamless customer journey over multiple channels.

Many organisations have also felt challenges in hiring support agents, with 95 per cent of contact centre leaders having staff churn stay the same or increase in the last year. The bar for CX has been raised, and customers now demand the ability to use their preferred communication channels and engage with tailored content. As a result, businesses are putting more focus on their customer experiences, and the demand for agents has grown. However, this has not been met with an increase in applicants. The lack of a clear career path, poor hiring practices and a shortage of experienced employees in the workforce have meant this gap in supply and demand has not shrunk.

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Nevertheless, establishing clear and effective outbound communications has become vital to maintaining customer engagement, trust and loyalty in 2024. To help them do this, many businesses have employed a Customer Communications Management (CCM) platform. These unified systems provide centralised management of all communications, allowing personnel to quickly create, approve and deliver the personalised omnichannel messaging that customers have come to expect.

For industries with stringent regulatory requirements, such as insurance or financial services, compliance personnel can efficiently manage communications, ensuring that content adheres to the necessary standards. Content blocks can also be locked down to meet these requirements, mitigating compliance risks. Other industries, like healthcare and utilities, can benefit from CCM, too, through improved coordination of communications with clients, employers and customers.

With standardised communication templates and content management, businesses using CCM can ensure that every communication aligns with their brand identity. The speed and ease with which these templates can be updated at scale with the system also facilitates a better employee experience. With support agents able to deliver consistent and personalised interactions, they will feel their performance improve and pressure to hit KPIs lessen, ultimately contributing to a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

CCM platforms are designed to integrate easily with existing IT infrastructure, enabling businesses to swiftly adapt to the evolving communication landscape. They also eliminate the need for multiple siloed teams, empowering business users to make content changes and significantly reducing the strain on IT resources. Faster review and approval processes contribute to a more agile communication infrastructure.

CCM is often confused with Marketing Automation Platforms (MAPs), which can also be a valuable communications tool. But, while MAPs can automate the simple communications that nurture the customer through the buying phase of their journey, they are less valuable after the sale is made. At that stage, communications shift from generalised marketing messages to targeted and tailored content, which is where CCM shines due to complex variable data.

Best-in-class CCM software has not shied away from the AI boom, choosing instead to incorporate it. AI provides the systems with a greater understanding of content through, for example, improved sentiment analysis, allowing companies to discern nuanced emotions within customer interactions and tailor responses with greater empathy. AI can also get a better grasp of reviewing content readability and brand compliance.

AI-augmented understanding of content allows CCM platforms to suggest more useful improvements. This could manifest as summaries, translations, or even complete rewrites that are more accurate than before.

With customer and employee experiences so integral to today’s business operations, it is crucial to have tools available to create a comprehensive and efficient communications strategy. Tech Wire Asia takes a closer look at three leading pieces of software to consider adding to your CX toolbox: Quadient Inspire for personalised communication management, OpenText for enterprise information management, and Twilio for versatile cloud communications integration.

Quadient Inspire – CCM

Quadient Inspire, positioned as a leader in Cloud CCM by analysts like IDC and Aspire, is a cornerstone in enterprises globally, notably in the Asia Pacific region. Deployed for high-volume batch or on-demand communications, Inspire is recognised for its prowess in rationalising, simplifying and automating customer interactions.

At the forefront of its capabilities is the integration of AI, augmenting its competitive edge. The AI engine not only comprehends content intricacies, such as sentiment, tone and readability, but actively contributes to content improvement. It suggests alternatives, enhances readability and even provides language translation, ensuring personalised and compliant communications.

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Quadient Inspire excels in omnichannel communications through the cloud or over any premise deployment, delivering a consistent customer experience across print, e-delivery, email, SMS, web and mobile. Its efficiency in managing high-volume essential communications, including reports, promotions, eStatements, bills and forms, positions it as a game changer for organisations seeking streamlined and effective customer engagement.

Through multichannel capabilities and personalised content, Quadient Inspire puts the power at customers’ fingertips by allowing them to access information and interact with a brand on their terms. Discover more about the Inspire CCM on the Quadient website.

OpenText – Information management

OpenText is a leading Information Management platform that enables organizations to manage, analyze, and leverage large amounts of enterprise content. By bridging gaps and facilitating information exchange, the system helps companies establish efficient communication channels, fostering a more interconnected and responsive work environment.

It plays a pivotal role in managing outgoing content that powers personalized omnichannel experiences. Businesses can leverage OpenText to curate, organize, and deliver relevant content, ultimately creating a more satisfying and tailored journey for customers and employees.

For example, its Extended ECM allows organizations to manage content directly in familiar environments such as SAP, Microsoft 365, and Salesforce. This capability enhances efficiency by eliminating the need for users to switch between platforms, ensuring a more cohesive content management experience. OpenText’s Smart View facilitates the presentation of data in dynamic and easy-on-the-eye dashboards, which customers can benefit from, when, say, tracking order histories or monitoring account activities. OpenText addresses the critical aspects of security and protection, offering multiple layers of defense against threats. This ensures the integrity and confidentiality of the data involved in communication and CX processes. By providing developers with cloud API services, OpenText also contributes to faster application development, reducing costs and improving time-to-market.

Twilio – Cloud communications

Twilio is a cloud communications platform that integrates communication features in diverse applications with a suite of versatile APIs. These include voice, SMS, and video, offering real-time and personalized customer interactions. For example, Twilio SendGrid Email API guarantees 99.99 percent uptime for efficient email delivery, while Voice API provides calling integration with the CustomerAI Perception Engine to give valuable insights to agents. With these APIs, users can create tailored communication workflows that align with unique business needs and are delivered through customers’ preferred channels.

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Twilio’s comprehensive suite also facilitates the delivery of timely notifications, authentication processes, and interactive support, contributing to a cohesive and satisfying customer journey. For example, Twilio Verify ensures secure multichannel user verification, blocking millions of SMS fraud attempts. Furthermore, Twilio Notify allows businesses to send messages across multiple channels, including SMS, push notifications, and email, enabling them to reach their audience in real-time with important alerts and updates. Twilio has spent over a decade perfecting its tools that empower organizations to engage their customers and gain valuable insights from interactions, and continues to reshape the future of customer-centric communication solutions.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Tech Wire Asia