Upgrading CX: Getting the IT crowd on board

Upgrading CX is a multi-department, multi-discipline project for many brands. While traditional in-person customer service is still important, CX technology to engage customers, facilitate transactions, maximize revenue, manage inquiries and complaints, and boost loyalty continues to grow in importance.

Without the buy-in of an engaged, well-trained IT department, making the most of the myriad CX opportunities of the digital world will become a major challenge. The Qualtrics XM Institute’s 2022 Q2 Global IT Executives Study highlights just how important it is to involve the IT team every step of the way when upgrading CX.

Key findings of the study – which surveyed 663 IT leaders from companies with more than 1,000 employees – include 85 percent of respondents saying their IT organization will be “significantly involved” in helping improve experience management (XM) in the next few years. Indicating the importance of properly trained IT teams, 42 percent of respondents “strongly agree” that XM will be an important capability for IT teams in the future, with a further 45 percent agreeing.

Data is a particularly important area for building IT team capability. André Grandt, customer experience chapter lead and transformation officer at Roche, says that more companies are realizing “they must capture, learn from and act” on data to enhance CX. This is one of many areas where a motivated IT department can be empowered to make a real difference through building capabilities.

However, a study of 363 global CX practitioners by Gartner revealed that a major stumbling block to successful CX improvement is a narrow focus on the path to sale. Augie Ray, vice president analyst for Gartner’s marketing practice highlights the importance of journey-mapping as part of a holistic approach with multiple departments working together, including IT.

“A journey map that focuses merely on the purchase funnel, and not the entire end-to-end customer journey, is not a CX journey map,” says Ray. “Those sorts of journey maps may assist with efforts to build awareness, inbound traffic and acquisition, but they cannot uncover the opportunities that influence customer satisfaction, loyalty and long-term advocacy.”

For IT practitioners, developing a comprehensive journey-mapping system is an exciting opportunity to play a vital role in CX upgrading. The importance of technology cannot be understated, according to the CX Network’s Customer Experience Report: 2022.

Integration between IT and customer contact centers is another area that can be improved to win IT buy-in. Customer Contact Week’s special report on maximizing productivity in contact centers highlights how many companies have not yet introduced new technologies to improve customer and employee experience.

“While the introduction of new channels and technology are undoubtedly positive, there must be a focus on unifying experiences for companies to reap the rewards,” the report found. “When asked about how their digital customer experience has evolved since the start of the pandemic, as few as 37% of companies stated that they have improved integration or connection between channels.”

IT departments need to work with other departments to ensure the digital technologies are effective at every customer touchpoint. Self-service functions, personalized email marketing, accurate customer data for call center staff, secure online transactions, and intuitive web and mobile app interactions are among the many aspects of CX where engaged, upskilled IT departments can make a real difference to revenues and customer retention. A culture of inclusion, engagement and awareness of their role in the bigger picture are all essential for buy-in from the IT crowd.