Customer communications management (CCM) is a term that has evolved drastically over the last decade. CCM is no longer a simple, two-dimensional interaction with consumers; it’s become a platform for customer engagement that demands omnichannel touch points, personalized interactions and a more dynamic interface to communicate with customers.
In a recent webinar titled, “The CCM Evolution: Taking Customer Engagement to a New ‘Personalized’ Nirvana,” Pitney Bowes Director of Product Management for Customer Engagement Solutions Kevin Ricks walks through this transformation that CCM is undergoing and how marketing leaders can build on existing CCM foundations to create something new and engaging.
Because we are firmly in the Age of the Customer, consumer preferences are what dictate how companies interact with their audiences, thus giving rise to the variety of customer communication channels as well as the demand for relevant and personalized interactions.
Kevin went on to elaborate on how customer engagement has transformed over the years and how these engagements have moved away from a transactional nature and have become more focused on the dialogue with the customer and how to make those interactions more dynamic and intuitive.
This chart shared in Kevin’s presentation illustrates that movement towards more complex and thoughtful customer interactions across several channels and using new technologies like virtual assistants. He urges companies to ask themselves, “How do you interact with your client through those channels in a controlled way that supports your brand image, does not put any risk to that brand image, and continues with that interaction flow of relevant and meaningful data to that client?”
The importance of a clear and full view of the customer is another important pillar that supports a strong CCM system. Kevin explained the different tools companies can use to form that 360-degree view of a customer and, with that customer context, how customer interactions can become increasingly relevant.
“What are the next steps that I want to take that really align well to what that customer journey is and how do I make those recommendations to make sure that I A) am honoring that journey, but B) I’m being effective as I interact with those clients,” is how Kevin framed the train of thought for customer interaction strategy and utilizing that newfound context.
After you have aggregated and analyze all this customer data, put it into action and apply it to how you interact with your customer, whether it’s through physical or digital channels. Kevin explained that understanding the design strategy behind both digital and physical assets is crucial to reaching a higher level of engagement with a customer.
You can listen to the Kevin’s whole presentation here and learn more details about how marketers are leveraging CCM in ways they haven’t before.
To learn more about creating specific interactive CCM tools like Pitney Bowes’ Engage One Videos, click here.
