Letting the machines take control

The decisions being made by AI algorithms and machine learning are having an increasing impact on our lives, our jobs and our businesses. AI promises exciting possibilities for a wide range of industries including healthcare, financial services, utilities, entertainment and so on. It will help us to design the products and services we will enjoy …

CX Leadership Profile: Caroline Maillols, head of customer experience, MedicalDirector

Two years ago Caroline Maillols was appointed by MedicalDirector, a leading provider of healthcare and practice management software, to take charge of their CX and digital transformation strategy. Caroline’s job was to change MedicalDirector from being a product centric company to a customer centric business. CXFocus talks to Caroline about the challenges and successes she …

Avoiding the most common customer persona pitfalls

Buyer or customer personas are a great tool to develop a profound understanding of your customers and the factors that influence their buying decisions. Personas are essential in creating engaging content and customer experiences. There are, however, a number of pitfalls the unwary marketer or CX professional can easily fall into. Hubspot defines a buyer …

Don’t poke the bear! Why many executives are afraid of talking to customers

In terms of customer service, most companies tend to be reactive. This tendency stems from fear. Many executives I’ve met have demonstrated fear when it comes to proactively contacting customers. They are afraid that if they poke the bear, they will encourage the customer to re-think the entire relationship and ultimately leave. This fear can …

Don’t forget the EX in pursuit of the CX

Giving employees collaboration tools via the cloud and unified communications (UC) to create better customer experiences (among other critical objectives) is smart business … and Australian business leaders know it. Employees are being given access to tools from anywhere via any device, to encourage collaboration and productivity across an organisation’s communications network, be that between …

Future of self-service is customer-led automation

To cope with the avalanche of digital information and activities, customers — like organisations — are increasingly turning to automation. There’s a lot of discussion about how enterprises continue to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) to save time and money, but we often overlook the next generation of customers being equally amenable to conducting their …

Why CX is stagnating

CX transformation projects can take years and cost millions of dollars. Though the potential benefits are enormous, CEOs can come under immense pressure to justify the costs. According to the Forrester CX Index 2018, little progress has been made in the last few years – brands simply aren’t doing enough to innovate and differentiate themselves …