Why customer management programmes are key

9/10 of UK consumers prefer to spend money with organisations that are easy to buy from. At the heart of this desire for less effort lies the omni-channel experience.

Customers want to use a wide range of communication methods when interacting with organisations and for the customer service reps they deal with to be up to speed on their previous interactions with the company, regardless of channel.

TRP: What measures should businesses be taking to improve the success rate of their customer experience programmes?

NK: Technology alone will not ensure project success. It needs to be supported by appropriate underlying objectives, strategy and management. For example there is minimal benefit to having social media monitoring software if you cannot link it in to the contact centre, enabling agents to have a single, overall view of all customer interactions.

The impact of a customer management project is often diluted by the fact that different parts of the business - from marketing and sales to the contact centre and the finance department - are responsible for different elements.

If they do not work together seamlessly, the overall customer initiative is likely to fail. Conversely, by collaborating closely to identify the ideal set of solutions, they can together deliver a coherent omni-channel customer experience.

TRP: How expensive is it to implement an effective customer programme? Is it cost effective for SMEs?

NK: Customers' needs and expectations don't change simply because of the size of a business. Many midsize companies have the same customer experience aspirations as large enterprises, but with limited resources.

Many small businesses believe that customer experience management solutions are expensive and designed purely for large enterprises, but in reality this perception is incorrect. Technology companies have launched customer solutions designed specifically for smaller companies and priced accordingly.

TRP: The research states Europe is lagging behind other regions when it comes to CEM programmes – why is this?

NK: In general, European businesses place less importance on managing the customer experience. According to the survey, European businesses lag behind those in both high-growth economies and China and the US, in having CEM programmes in place.

In China 83% of companies have a CEM programme, and in the US it's 73%, whilst 72% of companies in India have a customer experience programme and 63% in Brazil. This is in sharp contrast to Europe, where only 55% of British and German companies do.

These differences are likely to be based on culture and differing attitudes in the c-suite. What is clear is that the organisations - regardless of where they are based - that grasp the customer management opportunity by the horns are the ones that are most likely to succeed.