CONNECTING THE DOTS FOR A BETTER VIEW OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Understanding the practical implications of digital transformation demands inclusion and assessment of the delivery capabilities of an enterprise, alongside thoughtful management to optimize.
This is particularly true of those B2C businesses which are continuously faced with the challenge of engaging with their customers at the right time, across multiple channels—all wrapped in the data-driven context of that customer’s relationship with the business.
Previously I have argued that much of the digital limelight has been consumed by creating a slick, visually appealing online presence that serves as the “face” of the business; sometimes at the expense of the myriad connections that must go on “behind the scenes” to deliver on what I have called the digital promises being made.
The importance of connecting the dots behind the scenes means looking at all aspects of the enterprise which are focused on delivering products and services to consumers. This encompasses both the transactional technology, like enterprise applications, as well as functional areas— particularly the back office where the physical processes which fulfill customer requirements are centered and carried out. The contact center is no exception to this rule.
In another post from this blog series, my colleague Ken Landoline, Principal Analyst in Ovum’s Customer Engagement practice, argued, “Since we know that a major portion of customer interactions with the contact center are initiated by events and issues involving the back office, such as slow order fulfilment, incorrect billing, order tracking and follow up to insurance claims, it just makes sense for contact center agents to have knowledge of processes and happenings in the back office, as well as the ability to tap into back-office resources, such as subject matter experts, to assist in customer problem resolution.”
The importance of connecting the dots behind the scenes means looking at all aspects of the enterprise which are focused on delivering products and services to consumers. This encompasses both the transactional technology, like enterprise applications, as well as functional areas— particularly the back office where the physical processes which fulfill customer requirements are centered and carried out. The contact center is no exception to this rule.
In another post from this blog series, my colleague Ken Landoline, Principal Analyst in Ovum’s Customer Engagement practice, argued, “Since we know that a major portion of customer interactions with the contact center are initiated by events and issues involving the back office, such as slow order fulfilment, incorrect billing, order tracking and follow up to insurance claims, it just makes sense for contact center agents to have knowledge of processes and happenings in the back office, as well as the ability to tap into back-office resources, such as subject matter experts, to assist in customer problem resolution.”
Connecting the contact center more closely to the business’ back office is a logical and perhaps overdue step for some enterprises. The recent acquisition of eg solutions, a back-office workforce management solution vendor, by Verint is a natural complement that echoes the importance of this trend. Understanding—and optimizing—the flow of customer-serving business processes requires a more holistic view, one that brings together the customer touch points of digital properties, and the contact center with the systems and back-office functions that deliver for the customer.
In my view, some of the thinking that brought us omnichannel needs to be applied introspectively; digital transformation is as much a matter of orchestrating the people, processes and technologies that are often hidden from the customer as it is addressing the connectivity the enterprise has with its customers.
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