CEM: The Time is Now

Ventana Research recently posted a noteworthy blog about CEM and its evolution

At Tealeaf, we have witnessed the growth of CEM over nearly a decade now, as more and more transactions move online. People now are talking a lot about “Web 2.0,” which points to a next wave of the Internet – one in which people have higher expectations than ever when they go online. Ten years ago, people hoped they could complete their transaction, but were probably patient if things veered off track. Today, people demand more and companies are realizing that they can’t just throw money at site performance issues -- they have to be able to *see* their customers’, and *understand* their experiences in order to deliver upon their site’s promises.

As online users’ expectations have increased, so too has the use of CEM. As Ventana said, there are whole customer management teams being created now. We’ve seen many of our customers designate CEM-specific roles.  These executives are helping their organizations to become more customer-centric through the common view of their online user. Being able to actually see every session from each customer (and combine this qualitative insight with quantitative analysis) helps them understand their sites, explore opportunities for improvement and innovation, and provide the most effective service possible. It also provides irrefutable answers to some of the previously nebulous questions about online behavior and site issues to drive requirements and set priorities.

To Ventana’s point about spanning the line of business, helping an entire organization become more customer-centric bridges departments together to achieve overarching business goals. And whereas previously CEM was used primarily by ebusiness and IT, we’re seeing expanded use in customer service, and legal and compliance departments especially. One of our large travel customers is using Tealeaf all across their enterprise – spanning more than six departments.

For example, Tealeaf cxReveal allows customer service teams to replay both live and recent customer interactions so that they can improve their first resolution rates. And Tealeaf cxVerify – by preserving complete records of all online customer interactions -- has been extremely valuable to departments supporting customer dispute resolution and fraud investigations, as well as audit and compliance requirements.

There is no question that the Web is still not perfect (but what ever is?). We sponsor an annual Harris Survey. In 2007 (for the third year running) the survey results showed that 9 out of 10 users conducting transactions have experienced problems. Read the summary release or better yet, download the complete set of findings.

However, we’re encouraged to see that more and more businesses are recognizing the need for online visibility, creating CEM-specific roles and best practices. Beyond the spread of CEM across teams, we’re also seeing a spread across application type (from ecommerce focused systems to B2B portals and HR applications, for example) and into diverse markets. I’d be shocked if any of us haven’t, at some time, felt the frustration of not being able to complete an online transactions, so this is all a step in the right direction!

-- Geoff Galat, Vice President, Marketing & Product Strategy