CX Pulse Podcast | Insights on Customer Experience, AI, WFM, Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction & Contact Centers

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Omer Minkara, VP and Principal Analyst of Aberdeen Strategy & Research, for an in-depth exploration of Customer Experience (CX) influenced by AI and other technological advancements. Omer shares insights from his latest comprehensive study on CX trends, revealing the truth about what keeps CX leaders up at night and how AI is reshaping customer interactions and business strategies. Key Takeaways: (01:02) How companies interact with their customers and the trends shaping these interactions. (02:06) Top concerns for CX leaders today: unpredictable economic environments, rising costs and supply chain disruptions. (04:07) Strategic priorities for CX leaders: cost reduction and enhancing customer satisfaction. (06:27) The significant role of AI and other technologies in driving intelligent and timely customer interactions. (08:05) The importance of data quality and ethical AI in achieving accurate and beneficial AI outputs. (10:27) How AI impacts CX results: improved customer satisfaction, financial performance and employee engagement. (12:48) Recommendations for CX leaders embarking on their AI and digital journey, emphasizing a strategic, step-by-step approach and the augmentation of human capabilities with AI. Resources Mentioned: Omer Minkara - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omerminkara/ Aberdeen Strategy & Research - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aberdeenstrategyandresearch/ Aberdeen - https://www.aberdeen.com Spiceworks Community - https://community.spiceworks.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia is joined by Dan Gingiss, Chief Experience Officer of The Experience Maker, LLC and Author of "The Experience Maker," to explore the transformative power of exceptional customer experience (CX) and the role of digital transformation in today's customer service. Key Takeaways: (00:25) Introduction to Dan Gingiss and his transition from marketing to CX. (03:19) The interconnectedness of employee satisfaction and customer experience, symbolized by an infinity loop. (07:28) Leveraging AI for predictive analytics to enhance customer loyalty and understand behavior trends. (13:34) Effective implementation of AI-powered chatbots for personalized customer support and engagement. (16:31) The significance of AI-driven personalization in tailoring services and products to individual customer preferences. (19:53) Insights into Dan's book "The Experience Maker" and the concept of creating experiences that drive word-of-mouth marketing. Resources Mentioned: ”The Experience Maker” Book - https://dangingiss.com/the-experience-maker-book/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia explores the intersection of outsourcing and digital transformation with Tom Luther, Director of Channel Partnerships at Outsource Consultants, LLC. They delve into how brands can leverage outsourcing to not only enhance customer journeys but also fund their digital initiatives. Key Takeaways: (00:53) Tom's extensive experience in the contact center space and his journey through digital transformation. (01:42) Digital transformation defined as meeting consumers where, when and how they prefer. (02:19) The importance of catering to a diverse customer base with varying communication preferences. (03:21) The balance between technology and labor in providing customer service. (04:44) Outsourcing as a flexible and scalable way of bringing new employees on board. (07:09) The impact of outsourcing on operational efficiency and cost reduction. (09:31) How savings from outsourcing can fund further digital transformation efforts. (12:37) The importance of leveraging industry expertise and not embarking on the outsourcing journey alone. Resources Mentioned: Outsource Consultants, LLC This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Roy Atkinson, CEO and Principal Advisor of Clifton Butterfield, LLC, to discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence in enhancing customer service and agent performance. Roy highlights how AI can address common service pain points, provide real-time agent coaching and support effective self-service. Key Takeaways: (02:22) The potential of artificial intelligence to mitigate customer service pain points like long wait times and routing issues. (03:14) How AI can assist agents with sentiment analysis and regulatory compliance. (04:05) The role of AI in summarizing customer interactions to improve agent availability and knowledge sharing. (06:07) Essential components for successful self-service include the use of customer language and rapid knowledge sharing. (07:46) Comprehensive solutions and AI's rapid data retrieval enhance customer satisfaction. (08:51) AI-powered real-time coaching enhances agent performance and customer service efficiency. (11:13) The significance of the human factor in AI-supported service, emphasizing empathy and the option for human interaction. Resources Mentioned: Roy Atkinson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/royatkinson/ Clifton Butterfield, LLC - https://cliftonbutterfield.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

In this episode, Amelia welcomes Steven Van Belleghem, Co-Founder and Board Member of Nexxworks and Author of “A Diamond in the Rough.” They discuss the nuances of customer experience (CX) in the modern business landscape, discussing the integration of technology and human elements in crafting exceptional customer interactions. Key Takeaways: (00:28) Introduction to Steven Van Belleghem and his new book. (01:13) Steven’s early exposure to customer experience in his parents’ photography store. (02:51) How technologies like Netflix and smartphones evolve from exciting to normative. (05:10) The paradox in companies’ desire and failure to implement customer centricity. (07:28) The impact of human emotions, especially negative ones, on customer experience. (08:49) The increasing importance of human touch in automated customer relations. (10:35) Leadership’s pivotal role in authentic customer-centric culture development. (12:48) The three key benefits of AI in enhancing customer service. (14:33) The significance of maintaining a positive mindset among CX professionals. Resources Mentioned: Steven Van Belleghem - https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/stevenvanbelleghem Nexxworks - https://www.linkedin.com/school/nexxworks/ “A Diamond in the Rough” by Steven Van Belleghem - https://www.stevenvanbelleghem.com/bookshop/a-diamond-in-the-rough/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Rick Adams, Customer Success Management Mentor of ADAMS Success, Author, Trainer, Consultant and Business Owner at Practical CSM, and Business Consultant, Trainer and Coach at The Growth Consultancy. Rick and Amelia discuss: - The biggest differences between customer success and customer experience. - Customer success is the most important aspect of the customer experience. - The need for customer success management services increases as your product or service gets more complex. - The ways Rick and his team manage customer success. - The gamification of customer success training to increase motivation. - Using customer feedback to create a product they want. - How to make sure your feedback to the customer is what they want to hear. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Robin Gareiss, CEO and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, to explore the crucial role of customer experience (CX) in organizational decision-making. Key Takeaways: - Increased prioritizing of customer engagement. - Strategic approaches to enhancing CX technology. - The growing significance of self-service options like chatbots. - How CX technology improves the empowering of agents. - The value of quick decision-making based on performance analytics. - A unified view on performance, integrating various data sources. - Enabling a comprehensive understanding and strategy formulation for CX. Resources Mentioned: Robin Gareiss - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-gareiss-91413a/ Metrigy - https://metrigy.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Dennis Wakabayashi, Customer Experience Consultant at Team Wakabayashi, International Innovation Advisor at Cemantica, and Digital Marketing Instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During this conversation, Dennis and Amelia discuss: - The first ever interaction Dennis had at a CX event, which was with NICE. - The importance he places on capturing the stories of the innovators, people and products that shape the CX industry today. - The role that the algorithms play in the relevancy of the people in CX. - The measurable increased success of brands that embrace technology. - The struggle some CX programs have with getting alignment within the organization. - The difference between customer care-focused CX and marketing-focused CX. - The rise of AI and how it will spearhead innovation and growth. - The ways an internal campaign around a CX initiative can reap infinite rewards. Resources mentioned: Dennis Wakabayashi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/denniswakabayashi/ Team Wakabayashi - https://www.linkedin.com/company/teamwakabayashi/ Cemantica - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cemantica/ University of Wisconsin-Madison - https://www.linkedin.com/school/uwmadison/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Omer Minkara, Vice President and Principal Analyst of Aberdeen Strategy & Research. As a returning guest, Omer brings a wealth of knowledge, sharing cutting-edge research and insights into how generative AI is reshaping the landscape of customer service and business operations. Key Takeaways: - The differences between generative AI and traditional AI. - The increasing integration of generative AI in both business and consumer sectors. - Common misconceptions about AI replacing human jobs. - The importance of data hygiene and the need for businesses to effectively utilize their - How AI is being used to improve customer experience and operational efficiency. Resources Mentioned: Omer Minkara - https://www.linkedin.com/in/omerminkara/ Aberdeen Strategy & Research - https://www.aberdeen.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Kristi Faltorusso, Chief Customer Officer of ClientSuccess. Kristi and Amelia discuss the following topics: - The differences and overlap between Customer Success and Customer Experience. - Kristi’s experience, first in digital marketing and then a transition to CX for hypergrowth B2B SaaS companies. - Every company is different and building a Customer Success system is not “one size fits all.” - Customer Success is about your customer’s ability to realize their goals through your product or services. - All the touchpoints that contribute to Customer Experience. - The perceived value of products and services varies by company and individual customer. - Using AI and machine learning platforms while still keeping the experience human. - Where the Customer Success role starts and where the CX role starts. - Making sure a customer lifecycle or journey is being executed the way it was designed. - Milestones to measure the success in the Customer Experience. Kristi Faltorusso - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/ ClientSuccess - https://www.linkedin.com/company/clientsuccess/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Jon Arnold, Principal at J Arnold & Associates. This is Jon’s fourth appearance on the show. During this conversation, Jon and Amelia discuss: - The transformative power of AI in customer experience. - The reason for choosing the term "transformative" for AI. - AI's role in the transition to digital transformation. - AI's ability to generate new ways of understanding. - Enhancing agent intelligence with AI. - Pattern detection and creating a roadmap for customer service. - Competitive differentiation through AI. - AI's role in remote work and agent training. - Utilizing AI to create brand loyalty. Resources mentioned: J Arnold & Associates - https://www.jarnoldassociates.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Jo Causon, CEO of Institute of Customer Service, an independent professional membership body for customer service, based in London, UK. During this conversation, Jo and Amelia discuss: - The important correlation between customer satisfaction, profitability and productivity. - The insights gained from the longitudinal data in UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI). - Approaching customer experience from a government or public sector perspective. - Full transparency in communications with customers. - The ways generational differences affect the customer experience. - The similarities and differences in CX in the public and private sectors. Jo Causon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-causon-8b53652/ Institute of Customer Service - https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-of-customer-service/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Nancy Jamison, Senior Industry Director, ICT at Frost & Sullivan, a growth advisory and analytics firm that helps companies identify, plan and capture growth opportunities around the world. During this conversation, Nancy and Amelia discuss: - The evolution of digitization in the contact center industry. - The impact of different generations on customer expectations. - The role of AI and chatbots in customer service. - Adoption of AI tools and channels by top performers. - The impact of digital channels on workforce management. - The challenges and complexities in forecasting and scheduling. - Integration of new technologies for enhanced customer experience. - Addressing customer expectations in a multi-channel environment. Resources Mentioned: Nancy Jamison - https://www.linkedin.com/in/najamison/ Frost & Sullivan - https://www.frost.com/ NTT - https://services.global.ntt/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Ian Golding, CEO and Founder of Customer Experience Consultancy Ltd. During this conversation, Ian and Amelia discuss: - What complete performance means in the customer experience space. - Getting rid of complexity in CX and making it simple with a structured approach. - The six elements of the CX maturity model to develop a customer-centric culture. - Putting the customer journey before technology. - The difficulty for business leaders to change their mindset. - Aligning customer experience with employee experience. Ian Golding - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iangolding/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes back Oru Mohiuddin, Senior Research Manager at IDC, the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. During this conversation, Oru and Amelia discuss: - The reason CX is important for contact centers in 2023. - The three pillars of customer experience, efficiency, convenience and relationship. - The importance of agents in the call center with the rise of AI. - Solutions contact centers are using to drive workforce engagement. - Gamification in the contact center. - The role AI plays in driving agent empowerment. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Keith Dawson, Vice President and Research Director in Customer Experience at Ventana Research. During this conversation, Keith and Amelia discuss: - The perception of traditional self-service and how it is evolving. - Keith’s prediction that 70 percent of customer interactions will be a mix of human and automated. - The impacts self-service handoffs have on the agent. - How self-service is freeing agents up to be more human during customer interactions. - The ways knowledge resources are improving the self-service experience. - How the pandemic opened up customers’ views of what is possible. - The ways new channels like kiosks and QR codes are enhancing the customer experience. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Maribel Lopez, Founder and Principal Analyst at Lopez Research. This is Maribel’s third appearance on the show. During this conversation, Maribel and Amelia discuss: - The key areas CX companies should be investing in this year. - The challenges organizations face when it comes to creating opportunities in the CX world. - Meeting customers where they want to be met. - The importance of expanding into all available channels. - Investing in automation and predictive and prescriptive AI. - The rise of AI and Chat GPT and the opportunities they present for businesses. - Investment areas that organizations overlook when developing a CX strategy. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Leslie O'Flahavan, Principal and Owner at E-WRITE and author of 5 writing courses on LinkedIn Learning. During this conversation, Leslie and Amelia discuss: - The delicate balance between empathy and efficiency in contact centers, especially when it comes to AI. - The pervasive environment in CX, where agents are trained to offer apologies, not empathy. - The necessity of active listening or analytical reading to express empathy. - The difference between personal empathy and empathy in the workplace. - How AI can generate different empathy prompts for agents who are getting burned out. - A real-world example of increased efficiency and agent satisfaction when apologizing was replaced with empathy. - Agents can be taught to have empathy at work. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Craig Kennedy, Senior Director of Research at Aragon Research, Inc., an advisory firm that focuses on high-impact market research and advice to help businesses make better technology and strategy decisions. During this conversation, Craig and Amelia discuss: - The impact customer experience has on brand loyalty. - Creating omnichannel communications for customers to increase their comfort when seeking support. - The ways AI has created positive changes in the customer experience. - How intelligent virtual agents are now mimicking the way humans naturally interact. - Using data to personalize the customer experience. Resources mentioned: Craig Kennedy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigskennedy/ Aragon Research, Inc. - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aragon-research/ Aragon Research | Website - https://aragonresearch.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Mila D'Antonio, Principal Analyst at Omdia, a technology research and advisory group. During this conversation, Mila and Amelia discuss: - How businesses are overcoming CX challenges. - Using AI to accelerate their self-service success. - The significant advancement of digital maturity. - Achieving sustained profitable growth by growing the customer experience. - Recommendations for better CX bot interactions. Resources mentioned: Mila D'Antonio - Mila D'Antonio Omdia - https://www.linkedin.com/company/omdia/ Omdia | Website - https://omdia.tech.informa.com/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Nate Brown, Senior Director of CX at Arise and Co-Founder of CX Accelerator. During this conversation, Nate and Amelia discuss: - Nate’s accidental journey into customer support.- The challenges faced by CX professionals today.- The art and the science of CX work.- The power of the voice-of-the-customer engine for driving customer experience.- How CX leaders can remove friction in the workplace to improve results.- The importance of a “team of one” mentality in leadership.- The direct benefit to the customer after eliminating internal friction.- Developing a mission-driven customer experience.- Social media marketing and how it creates your company identity.- What the future holds for CX professionals. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Jon Arnold, Principal at J Arnold and Associates, for his third appearance on the podcast. During this conversation, Rick and Amelia discuss: - Jon’s experience in both contact center operations and unified communications. - The ease with which digital technology can be manipulated.- The importance of proactively looking out for fraud at a contact center in order to identify it.- Using AI to detect fraud by flagging callers using a script.- How robocalls are used to commit fraud.- The ways we can learn from fraud to prevent future attacks.- How common sense training can prepare new agents to detect fraudulent calls.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Colin Shaw, Founder & CEO at Beyond Philosophy LLC. During this conversation, Colin and Amelia discuss:- The evolution of customer experience as it moves toward customer science.- Understanding the importance of looking at the customer through the lens of human behavior.- The current CX trend of merging the three spheres of data, AI and behavioral science.- The ways companies are building their customer experience AI platforms on fundamentally flawed data.- How a proactive experience is important to developing the right AI process.- Using data showing what customers do as much or more than what they say in your AI tools. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com.#CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Irit Eizips, Chief Customer Officer and CEO at CSM Practice, a customer success consulting firm offering services to increase your net retention, improve your customer satisfaction, and grow your advocacy base. During this conversation, Irit and Amelia discuss: - The differences between customer success and customer experience.- The importance of customers getting their desired business outcomes through the CX process.- Measuring customer success results with net retention rate.- The evolution of CX from being churn fighters to adding value.- The difference between a success plan and an account plan.- Assessing your CX efforts against best practices for customer success.- Mistakes CX leaders make with their frameworks and methodologies.- Investing in technology in a scalable way.- The three-year plan for shifting from customer experience to customer success. Irit Eizips - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eizips/CSM Practice - https://www.linkedin.com/company/csm-practice/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Sean Ilenrey, Vice President, Support at Dutchie, the leading technology partner for cannabis retailers of all sizes. Dutchie offers solutions covering point of sale, payments, e-commerce, insurance and more. He is also a Professional Speaker and Coach. During this conversation, Sean and Amelia discuss: - Workforce management, skill optimization, forecasting and scheduling.- Optimizing the contact center to do more with less while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.- The need for omnichannel employees with multiple skills.- The importance of coaching and leadership in teaching employees new skills.- Improving information accuracy with technology.- Ways in which giving agents flexibility over their schedules can empower them.- Recognizing and praising top performers instead of weeding out bottom performers.- The three keys to a successful work-from-home environment: transparency, visibility and ownership.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. #CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Dave Michels, Lead Analyst at TalkingPointz and UC Expert at UCStrategies. During this conversation, Dave and Amelia discuss: - The relevance of AI in the contact center.- Increasing customer satisfaction with AI for self-service.- Our rising trust level of AI.- Good vs. exceptional AI and invisible technology.- The problem with AI making too many wrong assumptions.- The varying touchpoints of digital CX interactions.- The importance of the “right to forget” as a customer.- The problem with rushing to implement bad AI.- The times when it is better to deal with a machine than a human.- Making AI optional while allowing human interaction when necessary. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com. #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Shawn Nason, CEO, Founder and Chief Experience Officer at MOFI, a human-obsessed boutique design firm passionate about reimagining experience ecosystems. During this conversation, Shawn and Amelia discuss:- How Shawn’s background as a Disney imagineer and as a pastor turned him into an experience evangelist.- Ways that technology caused CX to move away from the human aspect of customer experience.- What Shawn means by an “experience ecosystem” approach to customer service.- Ways in which departments working in their own silos can waste time and money.- The importance of in-person collaboration to create the best experiences for customers.- How AI is an enabler, not an answer for human interaction.- The importance of empathy and the difference between empathy and sympathy.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com#CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Mark Slatin, Customer Experience Advisor and Consultant at Empowered CX. During this conversation, Mark and Amelia discuss:- Mark’s background in sales and sales management and how it relates to customer experience.- His approach to change management and creating value for the customer.- How change management is a hidden role for CX leaders.- The importance of being able to transform a culture for a superior CX experience.- How the pandemic showed successful CX leaders that they need to be flexible and agile in the face of a crisis.- The importance of building trust in senior leadership by listening to customers and team members.- The importance of not leaving key stakeholders behind when changing a CX culture.- Five steps to building your CX roadmap.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com#CXO #CX #ContactCenter #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Joseph Michelli, Author and CEO at The Michelli Experience, a newsletter with tips and best practices to drive customer and employee loyalty. During the conversation, Joseph and Amelia discuss:-Creating a joyful and productive workplace to focus on customer experience.-Joseph’s thoughts on post-pandemic leadership and how to deal with uncertainty in the world.-How the pandemic expedited technological advances and digital roadmaps.-The role of AI when it comes to customer experience.-Collecting data on customers and using that information in a way to aid human interactions.-The optimal execution path to start using AI today.-How most people want to make a difference and have a purposeful impact on the world.-Creating a brand experience where people are emotionally moved and want to tell their friends. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

We explore the digital transformation of CX, where analog processes are being digitized, as well as how AI takes the guesswork out of customer service and is as much about the agent's happiness as it is about the customer.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Zhecho Dobrev, Principal Consultant at Beyond Philosophy, Zhecho is a customer experience and behavior science consultant and trainer. Zhecho and Amelia discuss:- How studies show that emotions drive results in business.- The science behind why emotions are so important in business.- The importance of memories and how memories are closely tied to emotions.- How science and research show that customers often don’t know what they really want.- Organizational strategies, customer emotions and using emotions to drive results.- Developing deeper relationships and emotional attachments with customers. - The importance of what is measured when looking at analytics.- Creating a fusion between data using machine learning and AI, and the science of customer behavior.- Survival of the fittest when it comes to successful CX. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode Amelia welcomes Peter Dorrington, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Anthrolytics, a company that combines behavioral and data science to determine what a customer will do next. Topics discussed include:- Digital empathy and Peter’s professional journey with data science and analytics.- The differences between cognitive empathy, emotional empathy and compassion.- The importance of CX feeling human to establish rapport with the customer.- Why it is important to pay attention to the emotional language people use talking about your company.- The moment of truth, which is based on the point at which someone decides to act and the moment at which they do act.- The most overlooked and neglected group of customers and why they’re important.- How making offers, without thinking about how it makes customers feel, can backfire when it comes to customer satisfaction.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com#CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Jay Baer, Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker and Emcee on Marketing and CX and founder of Convince & Convert Consulting. Jay is also the author of six books. In this conversation, Jay discusses:- Technology changes, but customer expectations still lead the way for businesses.- Speed may be the most important component of the customer experience.- The pandemic puts more of a premium on the way people look at their time.- Speed in customer experience never goes backward.- There is a correlation between quick responsiveness and customer satisfaction.- AI keeps getting better, and it makes customers more likely to choose that option.- The best AI is the kind where a customer has no idea it’s AI.- There are situations where your customer service can be too fast. There is a perfect speed that Jay calls the “right now,” which is just faster than the customer expects. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com#CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Beth Schultz, VP of Research & Principal Analyst at Metrigy, a research firm that specializes in customer experience. During this conversation, Beth and Amelia discuss:- The intelligence behind powering intelligent virtual assistants (IVA).- The rise of a self-service customer experience where the customer doesn’t need a live agent.- The five components of automated self-service.- The number of companies that have adopted IVA self-service or have it on their radar.- The challenges companies face in achieving a frictionless experience.- The various ways customers use conversational AI in customer service.- The importance of AI and machine learning to keep your system up to date. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Colin Shaw, Founder & CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC.Colin discusses:- The seven books he has authored on customer experience.- The fact that customer satisfaction is the lowest it’s been in 17 years.- How customer experience is going to become business as usual.- How customer science will be the next wave.- How what customers say and what they do can be completely different.- Why extreme aversion is a natural human behavior.- How most customers don’t clearly grasp their customer emotional data.- How embracing behavioral science can lead to a higher net promoter score (NPS). Colin Shaw - https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinrjshaw/Beyond Philosophy LLC - https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-philosophy/ This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Oru Mohiuddin, Senior Research Manager, Enterprise Communications and Collaboration at IDC, where she performs ambitious research projects resulting in leading-edge market intelligence reports.Amelia and Oru discuss:- Today’s customers are not as accepting of poor service as they were in the past.- Customers expect service to be smart, flexible and convenient.- Agents and customers interact in a personal way, creating a dynamic space.- Tracking performance across all the emerging digital channels used today.- The power of self-service, where customers can solve their problems on their own with AI tools.- The role of bots in maintaining customer identity and history when a call gets elevated to a human agent.- The powerful business value achieved by empowering agents to make informed decisions.- The customers’ need to be able to use a variety of different devices.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Matt Dixon, Founding Partner of DCM Insights and Chief Research and Innovation Officer for the Austin-based AI venture at Tethr. Matt discusses:- His background as a customer experience researcher which spans 25 years.- The ways organizations can deliver experiences that increase customer loyalty.- His surprising findings that customers whose expectations were exceeded were no more loyal than those whose expectations were simply met.- How companies can mitigate disloyalty by reducing the number of sources of customer effort.- How a simple, intuitive, streamlined customer experience creates a low-effort company.- Empowering agents with control and authority to solve problems.- The importance of investments in the latest technology for a low-effort customer experience.- The amount of low-hanging fruit that can be improved upon by updating policies and procedures. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia is joined by Juanita Coley, CEO and Founder at Solid Rock Consulting, a contact center consulting company that focuses on the future of the industry with the increasing use of AI and machine learning.Amelia and Juanita talk about:- Omni-channel skills and cross training is the future of call center agent training.- Forecasting the future through running training scenarios using AI tools.- How AI and machine learning will increase the importance of workforce managers.- Automation may replace some mundane tasks but will create a more sophisticated workforce.- How the call center workforce may pivot to a gig economy workforce.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com#CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia is joined by Jon Arnold, Principal at J. Arnold and Associates, who has spent more than 15 years in the technology space. He started his career in telephony during the transition to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and is now a specialist in tech for call centers. Jon touches on the following topics:- The similarities between the transition to VoIP and today’s transition to cloud technology.- The metrics managers currently use to measure agent experience (AX) and how those numbers will only positively affect the customer experience (CX) if the agents are engaged.- The fact that happy agents are 12% more productive.- The evolution of customer service.- How embracing cloud technology can provide a roadmap to increased satisfaction for both customers and agents.- Why now is the time to embrace cloud technology. This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative and comprehensive end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.com #CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

On this episode, Amelia welcomes Christopher Hodges, Principal at Hodges and Company and author of the book, “Noble Automation Now.”Chris talks about: - Helping humans be heroes in the age of automation. - His expertise in intelligent automation. - His fight against the common perception that every time automation doesn’t fit a business process, it must be the fault of the automation technology. - Intelligent automation utilizes the magic rule of three: people, process and technology. - The people aspect focuses on the importance of having a strong human-centric culture in your organization. - Achieving an excellent process requires a shared respect for process across the organization. - The challenge with technology is for leaders to identify the proper tech for solving the organization’s specific problems. - Creating quality through noble automation is a hero’s journey.- Leaders can help humans be heroes through proper automation technology.This podcast is brought to you by NICE, the world’s leading cloud CX platform. Go to nice.com to learn more about our innovative, comprehensive, end-to-end CX solutions. That’s nice.comNoble Automation Now - https://www.nobleautomationnow.com/#CXO #CX #ContactCentre #CustomerService #CustomerExperience

Workforce management is a critical component of any contact center operation. It is responsible for ensuring that the right number of agents are available to handle customer inquiries and managing schedule adherence, performance tracking, and capacity planning. While workforce management systems optimize efficiency and productivity, how can they benefit the entire organization?In this episode, Amelia talks with Sean Ilenrey, Vice President of Support at Dutchie. Sean is an award-winning executive with over 20 years of experience in the Customer Relationship industry (Customer Care, SaaS, Sales, Retail, Real Estate, Restaurants, and Pharmaceuticals). He has built and managed several departments domestically, in Latin America, and in the Philippines.Having worked for several Fortune 500 accounts at the Director & VP levels, Sean talks about how to build a successful relationship between contact center operations and workforce management. He also speaks about the ultimate goal of workforce management, its impact on the entire organization, and the top four factors that influence net promoter scores.Enjoy!In This Episode00:44 - A history of Sean's experience in contact centers.02:04 - How to build a successful relationship between contact center operations and workforce management03:16 - The ultimate goal of workforce management04:43 - Impact of workforce management on the entire organization06:28 - The benefits of implementing a workforce management solution for companies07:16 - The top four factors that influence net promoter scoresFavorite Quotes02:47 - "Workforce management is not just trying to help you become more efficient and productive. It also can help the agent morale on the floor by ensuring that they aren't getting hit back to back and ensuring customers aren't waiting a long time in a support experience." - Sean Ilenrey03:30 - "Workforce management is trying to balance two things. One is customer experience, and the other is center profitability." - Sean Ilenrey06:01 - "It's (workforce management) about utilizing these tools to help you make smarter decisions. But the flip side of that is, too, we also know where to staff our people, so no one's being overworked compared to the next person." - Sean IlenreyConnect with Sean IlenreyLinkedInCorporate DadDutchieVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

This last part of Amelia's favorite moments from the previous episodes features episode 18, where she tapped into the knowledge of Donna Fluss, Founder and President of DMG Consulting. Here, Donna shares the specific findings of her research, which spanned over seven years and revealed contact center and servicing priorities and investment plans for 2022. To know more about the DMG report, Customer Experience, Contact Center and Servicing Priorities and Investment Plans, tune in to CX Pulse Podcast episode 18, Top Contact Center Investments in 2022.Enjoy!In This Episode01:17 - What Donna found to be the number one goal for top contact centers02:26 - What the future holds for work from home and hybrid schedules03:40 - How executives recognize the role of agentsFavorite Quotes01:36 - "Based on the study, the top contact center and servicing goal for enterprises is number one, improving CX. 76.7% of respondents selected it as their top priority." - Donna Fluss04:14 - "New findings show that those in decision-making positions are now recognizing the critical role of the agent, and intelligent organizations are making sure that this change is here to stay." - Amelia Rose EarhartListen to the full episode: Top Contact Center Investments in 2022Apple PodcastSpotifyEngage with Donna FlussLinkedInDMG ConsultingVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

This second part of Amelia's favorite moments and thought-provoking takeaways from her CX Pulse conversations highlights how AI made its way into contact centers and why organizations should embrace AI. In episode 15, Contact Center and AI: Making Real-World Progress, Keith Dawson shed light on the best practices and opportunities for contact centers, from making agents' jobs more streamlined to providing solutions for marketing and sales.Tune in and listen to episode 15 of the CX Pulse podcast to learn more about the impact of AI in contact centers and the many ways AI can be used in the future of the contact center industry. Keith Dawson is the Vice President & Research Director, Customer Experience at Ventana Research. He leads the expertise in Customer Experience technologies (CX), covering systems that facilitate engagement and allow businesses to influence and optimize their customer-facing operation.Enjoy!In This Episode00:47 - How AI made its way into the contact center01:37 - Why top organizations need to embrace AI and machine learning04:24 - What the future holds for AI integration in contact centersFavorite Quotes01:29 - "When realistic use cases of AI began to emerge a couple of years ago in contact centers, they were seen as both innovative and evolutionary rather than revolutionary." - Keith Dawson03:12 - "AI has become so pervasive that it's coming at that kind of problem from various angles. It's surfacing better information, better knowledge, and a knowledge management system, but it's also directing it to where it can do the best." - Keith Dawson04:59 - "A lot of the exciting things people want to do in areas like personalization, targeting promotions, or offers to specific people or groups of customers will be genuinely assisted by AI and machine learning." - Keith DawsonListen to the full episode: Contact Center and AI: Making Real-World ProgressApple PodcastSpotifyConnect with Keith DawsonLinkedInTwitterVentana ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

This episode is part one of the 3-part bonus episode where Amelia sourced some of her favorite moments and thought-provoking takeaways from the previous episodes. In Episode 21, Omer Minkara, VP and Principal Analyst at Aberdeen, talks about the Building Blocks to Boost Agent Retention & Performance. Passionate about all things CX, Omer explains how many channels agents can be responsible for and why agent retention should be a major focus, even as we become increasingly digital. Tune in to learn more about why prioritizing agents is the best action to make it through the most turbulent shifts of the great resignation and simultaneously strengthen the contact center’s approach to digital transformation.Enjoy!In This Episode01:12 - Why agent retention remains crucial despite an increasingly digital world02:03 - How to reduce agent attrition02:48 - How to make agents happy and perform at their bestFavorite Quotes01:27 - "The perception that as digital becomes more pervasive, companies may think agents are not as important as last year or maybe a decade ago is completely inaccurate." - Omer Minkara03:20 - "Companies with agent empowerment and engagement programs are achieving 70% more improvement in customer effort scores." - Omer Minkara03:42 - "Companies that have engaged and empowered agents are seeing four times the annual improvements in costs and service delivery and almost two times the annual revenue growth." - Omer Minkara Listen to the full episode: Building Blocks to Boost Agent Retention & PerformanceApple PodcastSpotifyEngage with Omer MinkaraLinkedInTwitterAberdeen ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Digital transformation is top of mind for companies across industries as they seek to remain competitive in an increasingly digital era. For many, this means turning to automation to unlock new efficiencies and drive better customer experiences (CX).In today's episode, Wayne Butterfield sits with Amelia Rose Earhart to talk about all things automation. They take a big picture view of the technological advancements and how to unlock new opportunities in CX. Wayne Butterfield is an automation pioneer, initially starting as an early adopter of RPA in 2010 and creating one of the first enterprise-scale RPA operations. As the Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions at ISG Automation, Wayne is responsible for helping organizations leverage Automation Technologies, such as RPA, NLP, OCR, and Virtual Agents, for creating efficiency and improving the customer/employee experience.Enjoy!In This Episode01:10 - What motivates Wayne to continue working in contact centers03:36 - How AI has evolved over time06:26 - How innovation drives new-age customer experiences09:36 - Some tips for keeping up with contact center innovations11:30 - How to learn more about the role of intelligent automation in businessFavorite Quotes01:27 - "The contact center never stands still. It is the beating heart and where the vibrancy is in most organizations." - Wayne Butterfield04:41 - "We've spent the last 2000 years putting people at the heart of everything we do. Every process we have generally created as an organization has people and a system right in the very center of it. It's been interesting to see this move and the mindset shift that AI generates." - Wayne Butterfield07:43 - "Technology will enable us to do that 15 years' worth of work with one or two people in probably three to six months." - Wayne Butterfield09:04 - "Process mining, task mining, and communications mining— all these technologies are helping organizations reduce massively the amount of time that's going to take to get useful, insightful, and actionable data. And that, for me, is where we are pushing boundaries right now. " - Wayne ButterfieldConnect with Wayne ButterfieldLinkedInISGVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

In a highly competitive business environment, organizations must keep up with the ever-changing customer journey. To stay relevant, proactive CX has become a focus of attention. That means taking measures to prevent problems before they occur instead of waiting for customers to come to you with complaints. But how can organizations take proactive CX to positively impact all aspects of customer service?Melanie Turek joins Amelia in today's conversation. Melanie is the VP of Research for Digital Transformation and Connected Work of Frost and Sullivan. Today, Melanie talks about what proactive CX is, how companies use it, and how organizations can take proactive steps with their data.Enjoy!In This Episode00:56 - Melanie Turek's role at Frost & Sullivan01:48 - What is proactive CX?03:04 - An example of how companies are using proactive CX06:29 - The impact of proactive CX on corporate clients08:55 - How organizations can take proactive steps with their data12:56 - What the future holds for proactive CXFavorite Quotes02:02 - "Instead of waiting for your customers to reach out to you for a problem or an issue or just something they need to get done, you are identifying the areas where you pretty much know that they're going to have to do something or have a question or something's going on there. Right? So you want to identify that early ahead of time and then reach out to them proactively." - Melanie Turek07:05 - "After you do a proactive outreach, you may very well get a contact you wouldn't have otherwise, but chances are, you want that contact." - Melanie Turek12:29 - "You need to be aware of the language you're using and how it is that you're reaching out to people. You don't want to overuse it. People do not want to hear from you every day. They want to hear from you only when it's relevant, and you'll have to give them the option of opting out." - Melanie TurekEngage with Melanie TurekLinkedInTwitterEmailVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

Data is increasingly becoming a key differentiator for brands. Today, a new breed of "data rich and famous" brands is emerging, and these brands are using data in innovative ways to create exceptional customer experiences. With the advent of big data, how can brands organize, leverage, and harness the power of data to transform the CX landscape?In this episode, Omer Minkara joins Amelia for the second time. And today, Omer talks about Aberdeen Strategy & Research's recent study on the "data rich and famous," what makes a business "data rich" and savvy, and what the six building blocks are for organizing big data.Omer Minkara is the Vice President & Principal Analyst of Aberdeen Strategy & Research. In his role, Omer is tracking and reporting the key trends and best practices in customer experience management, contact center, and e-commerce. Through a combination of prior experience, skills in financial and data analysis, and passion, Omer helps organizations build and maintain profitable customer relationships and reduce unnecessary costs.Enjoy!In This Episode00:56 - The key role Omer plays at Aberdeen Strategy and Research01:29 - An Aberdeen study on the "data rich and famous"02:19 - The difference between traditional and intelligent self-service03:37 - What makes a business "data rich and savvy"06:52 - Six building blocks for organizing big dataFavorite Quotes03:09 - "The "data rich and savvy" business companies not only have better data quality but also leverage a certain set of tools more effectively and widely." - Omer Minkara04:09 - "The real "data rich and savvy" businesses are the ones that turn the existing data into rich insights and leverage the existing insights to steer conversations. " - Omer Minkara06:29 - "The "data rich and savvy" are rich and savvy, not in terms of the quantity of data but rather the insights that they're able to extract from the data. And as a result, they're reducing costs, creating happier customers and growing revenue." - Omer Minkara[08:18] - "Without knowing who your customers are, you can't optimize self-service." - Omer Minkara10:01 - "Contact center leaders should consider a low-code or no-code approach to leveraging self-service. That means that you're not relying heavily on your business personnel, business staff, and business leaders to analyze data and make adjustments. Instead, you can quickly leverage low-code or no-code to make the necessary adjustments." - Omer MinkaraEngage with Omer MinkaraLinkedInTwitterAberdeen ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

The recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to the development of conversational AI, which is responsible for powering chatbots and other similar technologies. This technology is revolutionizing how we interact with computers, making more natural and human-like conversations possible. What are some use cases of conversational AI, and how is this technology revolutionizing the CX industry?In this episode, our guest, Craig Kennedy, discusses why conversational AI is gaining traction and attention, how the CX industry has adopted this technology, and where conversational AI is heading in the future.Craig Kennedy is the Sr. Director of Research at Aragon Research. He is also the Lead Analyst for conversational AI and digital operations, including areas like security cloud infrastructure. Aragon Research provides research and advisory services to businesses and IT executives ranging from startups to some of the largest enterprises in the world. Enjoy!In This Episode00:56 - Craig Kennedy's role at Aragon Research01:32 - Why conversational AI is gaining traction and attention05:25 - How the CX industry has adopted conversational AI07:16 - Some of the use cases of conversational AI08:59 - Conversation AI: what's next and where it's goingFavorite Quotes01:43 - "Conversational AI has always been perceived as the pinnacle of artificial intelligence. It's always been showcased in science fiction. And today, it's becoming a scientific fact." - Craig Kennedy08:01 - "Some of the leading collaboration providers are also offering real-time translation. So, it's a translation of the transcription. So if you have a remote team in another country that speaks a native language that's not English, it can actually transcribe and translate on their screen what you're saying in their native language. So really cool stuff." - Craig Kennedy08:22 - "Another use case that's pretty cool and popular in conversational AI is the use of agent assist. This is where a customer or prospect talks to a live agent. The conversation AI technology follows along and monitors the conversation, providing suggestions to the agent on how to best respond to the caller. And this technology is helping live agents improve their calling skills, and it's been proven invaluable in helping to onboard contact center agents very rapidly." - Craig Kennedy09:24 - "There's also a growing expectation that chatbots provide a personalized experience for the end-user. And that means that each conversation doesn't always start again from square one. The chatbot can identify who it's conversing with, retrieve that user's previous interactions and the overall experience based on that is incredibly pleasant." - Craig Kennedy10:03 - "Another trend we're seeing gaining popularity is voice interactions, including the ability to customize the brand to a voice. So that's being made available by some leading conversational AI providers." - Craig KennedyConnect with Craig KennedyLinkedInAragon ResearchVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

In today's world, consumer expectations evolve tremendously. Businesses go above and beyond to keep up with the challenge and create a memorable customer experience. One way they do this is through journey orchestration, a process that creates personalized, real-time customer experiences across all channels and touchpoints. How can companies design, manage, and optimize the customer journey to create the best possible experience?In this episode, Amelia talks with Julio Hernandez about journey orchestration. Julio discusses customer orchestration, how orchestration fits into a company's CX strategy, and the core capabilities companies need to support this practice.Julio Hernandez is the Global Lead of Customer Center of Excellence and US Customer Advisory Practice Lead at KPMG. He focuses on helping organizations think about how to engage the marketplace and attract, convert and keep customers to fuel profitable growth. He also works with businesses from across the globe to help them design and deliver relevant customer experiences that drive engagement and result in sustainable customer relationships.Enjoy!In This Episode01:08 - Recent developments in digital transformation for CX02:07 - What orchestration is and how does it fit into a company's CX strategy03:59 - What orchestration means for the end consumer05:45 - The core capabilities companies need to support customer orchestrationFavorite Quotes01:30 - "Experience centricity is about designing the experience you want to give your stakeholders." - Julio Hernandez02:16 - "Orchestration is the execution, the ability to be able to get things done in the way that you want them to be done." - Julio Hernandez03:02 - "The idea of customer orchestration, journey orchestration says, hey, I need to understand who the customer is. I need to understand what experience I want to be able to deliver. I need to understand which channel they're in. I need to be able to use data and analytics to basically deliver that experience, and I need to make sure that the people who are engaged in that experience, the employees or partners, are all working the right way. So, that's the idea of orchestration." - Julio Hernandez03:48 - "You cannot do orchestration without facts, and you can't do it without data. You can't do it without technology. and you can't do it without basically having a threat across the whole customer experience that holds everything together. " - Julio Hernandez04:18 - "If you think about consumers today, their expectations have evolved tremendously. I almost call it the inflation of customer experience." - Julio HernandezEngage with Julio HernandezLinkedInKPMG InternationalVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify

It's been shown time and time again that happy agents lead to happy customers, and happy customers lead to increased loyalty and customer lifetime value. As the customer experience is the new battleground for companies, agent experience is just as important to a company's overall success. So what does it take to create a great agent experience?In this episode, Amelia is joined by Blair Pleasant, President & Principal Analyst at COMMfusion. Blair will share her expertise about why agent experience is essential to a company's overall success, what motivates agents to deliver their best, and what organizations can do to improve employee experience and engagement.Blair Pleasant is an independent industry analyst with over 20 years of experience, providing market insights and analysis on business communications markets and technologies for end-user and vendor clients. At COMMfusion, Blair provides insights, analysis, and consulting services to help the vendor and end-user clients develop ongoing strategies and tactics in the evolving business communications arena.Enjoy!In this Episode01:05 - Why agent experience is important to a company's overall success02:23 - The benefits of agent empowerment in the workplace04:20 - What motivates agents to deliver their best06:31 - How coaching can improve the agent experience07:31 - The role of gamification in empowering agents10:43 - How to quantify employee experience benefits12:00 - What organizations can do to improve employee experience and engagementFavorite Quotes01:17 - "You can't have a good customer experience if agents are bored, unhappy, and dissatisfied with their jobs, and the agent experience directly impacts the customer experience." - Blair Pleasant02:06 - "As it relates to the contact center and customer experience, engaged employees build stronger relationships with customers and that helps their company increase sales and customer retention. So really by focusing on the agent experience, it's good for the agent, good for the customer, and good for the organization." - Blair Pleasant03:07 - "By empowering agents, they have the autonomy and the motivation to do what's right to solve the customer's issue as effectively as they can." - Blair Pleasant11:00 - "As it relates to contact center and customer experience, it has been proven that engaged agents can build stronger relationships with customers. It helps increase sales and revenues and customer satisfaction and loyalty." - Blair Pleasant11:13 - "From a revenue perspective, engaged agents are more likely to have longer and better customer interactions and find more upselling and cross-selling opportunities." - Blair PleasantEngage with Blair PleasantLinkedInTwitterCOMMfusionBC StrategiesVisit NICEWebsite - www.nice.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNICELtd/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/NICESystemsTwitter - https://twitter.com/NICE_CXLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nice-systems/posts/?feedView=allListen to more episodes of the CX Pulse PodcastApple Podcast Spotify