CEM: Current Buzzword, Old Methods

Do you ever get that feeling of being run over by a new trend or acronym that seems to have come out of nowhere? Welcome to CEM (Customer Experience Management). In the last few months not only has this new buzzword gained ever increasing levels of hype but it is being applied to everything, everyone and all products and services being sold today. So here we are in another hype curve at the moment. This feels a bit like when “CRM” came on in the late 90’s. Anyone remember “360 degree view of the customer” or “Customer Intimacy?” We heard all those promises and visions of turning the contact center into a profit center while simultaneously increasing ROI, reducing churn and delivering customer nirvana.

Do you remember life before and after CRM? Did you get the promised results? If not, what will change with the new buzzword of the decade? CEM holds similar promise as a methodology for increasing customer satisfaction. Promises made by vendors today tout the virtues of tools, metrics, analysis etc. Don’t get me wrong. I agree with the premise. I believe there are lots of good tool sets and methods out there today. I also believe there are tools and technologies inside your company right now that are not being leveraged to the fullest extent.

We are seeing a new set of organizational changes that are addressing the problems. Titles are showing up in companies like Chief Experience Officer, Director of Customer Experience, etc. Yes, the movement has momentum. Companies are realizing there is something to be done to improve customer experience – something they can control. I read in a recent article that “if all your products are the same as your competition, the differentiator has to be service”. How can you disagree with that? The global economy has commoditized all kinds of goods. Is one EBAY purchase significantly different from the next?

So how or should you implement a CEM solution? Earlier in my career, I worked as a practice leader in the CRM/Contact Center field looking at business processes and technologies to improve operations. Things haven’t changed too much. Traditional consultative methods still play nicely in today’s “new” market. Initiatives will start in the requirements definition/gathering phase. We’ll do a current state analysis to better understand our people, processes and technologies. We’ll look at where we need to go (future state) and what we need to do to get there (gap analysis).

Of course, it has always been harder than it sounds. But it is a proven approach to some pretty big problems.

Tony O'Brien
IQ Services
612.243.6700 | www.iq-services.com