January 12, 2024
On December 5, 2023, the final conference of the Omnichannel Customer Experience Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, one of the most important reference organizations in Italy for research in Digital Innovation, was held. At the core of the OCX Observatory, the research activity took place throughout 2023 with the aim of delving into the concept of omnichannel from different points of view: from the degree of maturity of Italian companies in this area, to the importance of a data strategy to build a solid understanding of the customer.
As a supporter of the research, Increso provided its experience and expertise to give interesting insights to the many participating companies on:
- Business strategies to be adopted to implement OCX;
- Technologies to support rapid go-to-market;
- The benefits of adopting Artificial Intelligence solutions;
- Barriers and difficulties encountered in using an omnichannel approach.
Degree of omnichannel maturity of Italian companies
The Observatory explored a number of issues of interest through direct input from the experience of research partners and sponsors. In particular, it aimed to measure the degree of maturity of medium and large Italian companies in omnichannel through theOCX Index, a synthetic index based on variables such as Strategy & Organization, Data & Technology, Execution (Marketing & Communication, Sales and Customer Care). By ranking results on a scale ranging from 0 (low level of maturity) to 10 (high level of maturity), the index revealed an overall average maturity level of 4.5/10 in 2023.
Compared to 2022, there has been a slight decrease, which can be attributed to two main factors: on the one hand, the initial exploratory phase of so many new companies interested in the potential of the omnichannel approach contributes to lowering the overall average. On the other hand, awareness of the new challenges to be faced in an unfavorable economic environment for medium- to long-term investments generates partial inertia among companies that are already investing in transformation.
Specifically, 21 percent of the 133 companies surveyed, predominantly from the B2B sector, are beginning an omnichannel journey, while 25 percent are in the progress stage, meaning they have already improved both their organizational structure and their approach to data, with evolved analytics cases.
The majority of companies (46 percent) are working positively on OCX adoption, distinguishing two types of approaches: one more focused on the organizational front and the other on the technological front.
Finally, the remaining 8 percent can be described as advanced in terms of omnichannel maturity, distinguishing themselves both by having a cross-functional organizational structure and by having worked on building robust data collection and integration, adopting tools such as the Customer Data Platform and the Voice of the Customer (VoC) platform .
From our point of view, the result that emerged from the research is perfectly consistent with what we observe on a daily basis with our clients: there are many companies that are still in an initial approach, but the interest that is being shown aboutadopting omnichannel solutions, including through innovative technologies, is growing steadily.
The importance of human touch
The other aspect of the customer-centric omnichannel transformation that emerged from the Observatory is that it must be as much human as tech: "human" because the support provided by people remains central to the customer's path to purchase; "tech" because technology becomes central to improving productivity and customer satisfaction levels.
For example, the ability to dialogue in a timely and personalized manner with individual customer interactions significantly reduces waiting times. In this context, the contribution of Generative AI emerges as a relevant factor, especially in optimizing customer experiences and business processes.
The specialists of Contact Center, in addition to being a key touchpoint in the Customer Journey, are involved in omnichannel transformation on many fronts. For this reason, just as the Voice of the Customer assumes a key role for the company, listening to the voice of employees becomes equally important in gathering and monitoring customer feedback and perceptions.
And here is how theintegration of human factor and technological solutions can significantly improve the Customer Experience. This value has always been a central and integral part of Increso's business strategy and allows us to stand out and successfully compete with much larger competitors. We call it "Human Touchnology."
Analyzing data to enhance customer care
Another topic explored by the OCX Observatory concerns the implementation of a data-strategy to support a concrete omnichannel approach.
Although the importance of collecting advanced data (e.g., social data, data from human or third-party interactions) is already a central issue for most companies, it still remains a critical issue for many of them: only 1 in 3 companies manage to integrate the available data in Single Customer View logic and thus fully personalize the user interaction.
In general, however, the focus on creating a centralized knowledge system is growing significantly: in fact, 61% of companies have initiated a process to create a unique Knowledge Base. Another relevant figure concerns the use of new AI technologies to support analysis for process optimization, which has enabled the identification of best practices & pain points, while 53% use Quality Monitoring systems .
Source: Omnichannel Customer Experience Observatory, Politecnico di Milano
At Increso, we face daily challenges with companies that want to collect data by integrating it into Single Customer View logic.
The our Inxide platform integrates generative AI, omnichannel, workflow and automation technologies, providing customers with engaging interactions. It is easily integrated with any application ecosystem through predefined and custom APIs or through widgets. It also tracks and historizes digital and human interactions through standard or easily configurable reports and KPIs. The data, analyzed in real time, enables instant activation of customer interactions, automated execution of activities, and routing of any escalations to Customer Specialists.
Inxide's Generative AI engine can provide support for all stages of the "Human" analytic process, such as displaying insights in a conversational manner, allowing users to ask questions directly from an interface by interacting with the platform in natural language and rendering conversational answers in text and graphical formats.
Trends and innovations for 2024
The combination of human and technological dimensions is at the heart of the trends emerging in recent months. The use ofArtificial Intelligence is confirmed as the most discussed topic, at an experimental stage in 63 percent of companies, mainly focused on personalization of recommendations and digital customer support such as chatbots and virtual assistants.
Although still in a preliminary stage, companies are already experimenting with Generative AI to ensure an interactive Conversational Experience between customer and company through natural language processing (NLP).
Second,hyperpersonalization is the trend whereby real-time data collection and processing is used to develop up-to-date knowledge of users and activate one-to-one actions based on the insights obtained, constituting a key element of the customer experience.
Finally, the importance of Voice of the Customer (VoC) emerges , measurable through technologies that can collect customer feedback in a structured manner, a practice that should not be limited to the generation of reports and dashboards, but should extend to understanding and perceiving customers' experience with the brand and identifying critical situations.
In line with the trends outlined, the challenges faced by Increso in the past 2023 have enabled the realization of solutions that until yesterday were unimaginable except with huge investments and continuous experimentation with new technologies. In 2024, thanks to the potential of applicable new technologies, we will be able to further enhance theautomation of our customers'service activities, surpassing any predictions made before the arrival of Generative AI.
Source: Omnichannel Customer Experience Observatory, Politecnico di Milano
Concluding remarks
In conclusion, the goal of Politecnico di Milano's 2023 research was for companies to understand the business benefits of an omnichannel approach. Researchers at the Omnichannel Customer Experience Observatory, through interviews with supporting companies, were able to accurately collect valuable, qualitative data needed to explore issues such as:
- The company's OCX approach and initiatives;
- The measurement strategies and KPIs used;
- The ability to design, collect, integrate, and analyze data for customer management;
- The main technologies used and trends for the future;
- The testing of AI solutions.
Increso's concrete contribution allowed the Observatory to identify not only the degree of maturity of Italian companies, but more importantly to understand what real potential it brings to bear on Generative AI to improve and make the experience of each individual user extremely positive.
Through the solutions we develop every day for our clients, we have been able to demonstrate howArtificial Intelligence can be a valuable ally for contact center specialists and how the integration of human factor and technology-our Human Touchnology-ensures innovative and efficient Customer Care.
Fill out the form or contact us marketing@increso.it to find out how our solutions can make each individual end-customer's experience unique.
