In 2024, delivering exceptional customer experiences (CX) has become a critical differentiator. How can CX platforms help brand organizations cope?

We, as consumers, have expectations that rise and never seem to falter. A few years ago, brands adapted to adopt technology solutions that manage and optimize every customer interaction across every possible touchpoint. Now our demands for service are back with a vengeance. We had an opinion earlier this year about what this means.

This is where Customer Experience (CX) Platforms come into play. A previous interview with Zoom’s head of contact center, Chris Morrissey, revealed an industry-wide view that CX platforms like contact centers, are traditionally thought of as cost centers.

Chris Morrissey, Zoom

This seems counterintuitive to the Salesforce report not long after that, which stated customer service is perceived as a revenue driver – service teams are tapping into technologies like AI and data analytics to increase revenue, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

But then again, perhaps reports like Salesforce’s can serve to highlight that there is a slow and steady shift in how CX platforms and CX teams are being viewed, and why brands have to acknowledge this and take the necessary steps to drive revenue from a CX perspective.

A powerful orchestrator for experiences

CX platforms are comprehensive software solutions that enable businesses to manage and orchestrate customer interactions across multiple channels, such as phone, email, chat, social media, and more. These platforms provide a centralized hub for customer data, allowing companies to gain a holistic view of each customer’s journey.

By leveraging advanced technologies like AI and machine learning, CX platforms can automate routine tasks, streamline workflows, and provide valuable insights to enhance the overall customer experience.

They are great for use by customer service, sales, and marketing teams that want to engage with customers seamlessly across various channels. Significantly, they also provide a consistent and cohesive experience. CX platforms also contain centralized knowledge bases that give agents quick access to information and enable them to respond to customers in an accurate and timely manner.

These platforms offer a suitable environment to automate repetitive tasks and processes, streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and improve overall efficiency. Because of the interaction and engagement activities that take place on this platform, it holds a wealth of data that can be analyzed to provide insights into customer behavior, sentiment, and deliver performance metrics.

CX platforms also seamlessly integrate with other business systems, such as CRM, ERP, and marketing automation tools, ensuring a unified and convenient view of customer data.

Gavin Barfield, Salesforce

Gavin Barfield, CTO and VP of solutions at Salesforce ASEAN had said, “Service teams cannot afford to miss the moments in the overall customer journey to build stronger relationships and loyalty,” and a platform can enable service teams to holistically, conveniently, and effectively offer customer experiences that are timely and even contextually aware for greater impact.

“Data and AI is enabling service teams to demonstrate their ability to drive revenue growth through greater efficiency and upsell activities.”

Growing CX through collaborations

IDC reports that CX services spending in APAC will grow at a CAGR of 6.9% and reach USD 43.8 million in 2027. But this increase in CX service dollars is not just about acquiring more products and services. Zoom’s Chris gives an indication of where these spending may go towards when he gave a vehemently positive response to the idea of mutli-party collaboration on innovation, marketing, and selling.

“I think 100%, yes, in all those areas.

“Just think of companies like Accenture, Capgemini, Tata, Infosys – it’s their mission to help customers transform. I think vendors like Zoom will be partnering more and more with service providers that can help (with) the technology, and help the customers think about how they transform the experience.”

Zoom also partners by having their app development framework ready to be integrated with solutions by other CRM providers and vertical-specific applications.

“We don’t want just a generic CX experience, but one that is specific to what’s important in a particular vertical.”