Your CX Platform may not be what you thought it was.
Chaitanya Chokkareddy
Aug 29, 2023
Looks like everyone is a CX company now. Businesses offering SMS solutions, those offering PBX solutions, conversational AI companies, etc. Everyone is a “CX” company!
But to orchestrate excellent CX, a lot of things have to fall in place.
What truly defines a CX Platform?
Let us look at the different pieces that actually make a CX platform.
1. CCaaS
This is the most vital component. It is the heart of customer communication and customer experience. You need software to help your customers and to help your employees who are helping customers. Your CCaaS is where it all starts. Even if you have no other software, a core CCaaS platform is a must. It is where all your routing rules, integrations into CRMs, and integration into different channels go.
2. CPaaS
Many companies earlier used to offer just SMS messaging. But now that’s not enough. You need a messaging layer for all channels like SMS, WhatsApp, Apple business messages, Google business messages, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, email, web chat, etc. You require a CPaaS with well-defined public APIs for all these channels.
Ideally, this includes a common interface for messaging so that new channels can be added easily. The CPaaS platform should also support a well-defined voice interface.
3. CDP
A customer data platform (CDP) is a technology that helps businesses collect, manage, and integrate customer data from various sources, such as website interactions, social media, and marketing campaigns.
The main advantage of a CDP platform is that it offers businesses a single, unified view of their customers. This helps them deeply understand customer behavior and preferences. And, in turn, helps them deliver personalized and relevant experiences to their customers, which improves customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Additionally, a CDP platform can help businesses improve their marketing efficiency and effectiveness by providing them with a more complete and accurate picture of their customers. This can help them target their marketing efforts more effectively and avoid wasting resources on irrelevant or uninterested audiences.
In short, a CDP platform can help businesses better understand and engage with their customers which improves customer relationships and business outcomes.
4. Conversational AI platform
A conversational AI platform is a technology that allows businesses to create and manage intelligent, natural language-based interactions with customers.
5. CRM Integrations
A good CX platform will have pre-defined integrations into all well-known CRM and support systems.
On top of all this, a good CX platform should have well-defined templates for handling a company’s support, sales, and marketing processes.
Some common features of a CCaaS platform include:
- Omnichannel support, such as the ability to handle customer inquiries and requests through multiple channels, including phone, email, chat, and social media.
- Automatic call routing and distribution, such as the ability to route calls to the appropriate agent or team based on customers’ needs and preferences.
- Interactive voice response (IVR) capabilities, such as the ability to create and manage automated phone menus and call flows to route calls and provide information to customers.
- Knowledge management and self-service, such as the ability to provide customers with access to a knowledge base or FAQs, and to allow them to resolve common issues on their own.
- Agent tools and support, such as the ability to provide agents with the tools and information they need to handle customer inquiries effectively and efficiently.
- Reporting and analytics, such as the ability to track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs), such as call volume, response time, and customer satisfaction, and to generate reports and insights to improve contact center operations and outcomes.
Some common features of a CPaaS platform include:
- Voice and SMS capabilities, such as the ability to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and manage call routing and forwarding.
- Video and audio conferencing, such as the ability to host and participate in video meetings and webinars.
- Collaboration tools, such as the ability to share files, documents, and screens and to collaborate in real-time on projects and tasks.
- Messaging and chat capabilities, such as the ability to send and receive instant messages, conduct group chats, and integrate with popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
- Development tools and APIs, such as the ability to build and customize communication features using pre-built tools and templates and to integrate with third-party systems and applications using APIs.
- Analytics and reporting, such as the ability to track and analyze communication metrics, such as call volume, response time, and customer satisfaction, and to generate reports and insights to improve communication processes and outcomes.
Some common features of a conversational AI platform include:
- Natural language processing (NLP) and understanding, such as the ability to understand and interpret customer inputs and requests, and to respond in a natural and human-like manner.
- Dialogue management and context tracking, such as the ability to maintain and update a conversation’s context and state, and to provide relevant and personalized responses.
- Integration with multiple channels, such as the ability to integrate with popular messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and SMS, and to provide a consistent and seamless experience across channels.
- Customization and flexibility, such as the ability to tailor the conversational AI experience to a business’s specific needs and preferences, and to integrate with existing systems and processes
- Self-learning and improvement, such as the ability to continually learn and adapt based on customer interactions and feedback and improve over time.
Conclusion
Technology advancements and changing customer expectations require businesses to continuously evolve their CX strategy. But when companies add new solutions ad-hoc, to accommodate a growing number of customer interaction channels, it hampers this strategy.
A unified CX platform — a collection of technologies working in tandem — can help businesses meet their customer communication goals. While the CCaaS and CPaaS components will streamline communications functions, CDP and an integrated CRM will work with conversational AI to deepen customer engagement and personalize conversations.
The end result of implementing such a CX platform? Consistent customer experiences, high satisfaction rates, and stronger customer relationships. When you achieve these results, that’s when you know that all the pieces are finally in place.
