CCM And The Cloud – The Sky’s The Limit

Customer communications management (CCM) systems are often overlooked when it comes to the cloud.

This is a mistake.

In fact, extending customer communications management systems via the cloud represents a powerful opportunity to extend the capabilities of traditional Customer CCM, use of advanced, cloud-based technology, can deliver a host of business benefits.

Why cloud capabilities are disrupting traditional CCM

The heritage of core CCM capabilities is the creation, delivery, storage and retrieval of outbound communications. In the past, these communications were largely delivered via print-based mediums.

Not anymore.

Digital caused a paradigm shift. In today’s world communications are delivered via email, websites, social media, white papers and more. These communications are moving beyond one-way communications – integrating interactive forms into customer interactions has become an expectation – drastically reducing the time it takes to generate complex, personalized content for delivery across channels. Using a CCM solution that is extendable via the cloud allows organizations to leverage the cloud and their communications efforts, and so they win on many levels:

It empowers companies to coordinate omnichannel communications from a central point, ensuring that messages distributed through different media are timely and consistent.

It gives them the ability to enjoy enterprise-wide automation spanning multiple functions.

It lets companies modernize processes and supporting infrastructure allowing them to achieve previously unattainable or unimaginable outcomes.

It provides the insights needed to support message tracking and the ability to leverage telling data to develop targeted messages.

It can make it possible to generate a much higher ROI on CCM.

CCM and the Cloud – The Sky’s the Limit

How does the cloud make CCM better?

While current CCM users appreciate the speed that on premise and hybrid solutions provide today, the cloud is offering substantial benefits to those looking to add functionality through APIs and cloud-delivered applications. According to experts in the field, the reason why the cloud has the ability to turbo-charge an organization’s CCM system’s performance is its ability to connect and automate workflows to accelerate processes.

By doing so, the cloud makes it possible to respond quicker to prospects, achieve greater consistency across the marketing/sales/delivery process, and enjoy a higher ROI on technology and staff.

How to convince the C-suite to invest in cloud-enhanced CCM

Moving to the cloud is all well and good but it’s not going to happen unless you can get buy-in from the C-suite.

In general, solutions that offer compelling financial benefits, deliver greater operational efficiency, enable companies to out-manoeuvre competitors and forge strong customer relationships are most likely to gain C-suite support.

In the case of cloud-based CCM, you have nothing to worry about. These compelling arguments should have the suits asking, “Where do I sign?”.

Cloud systems are considered to be more cost effective than conventional systems.
Customer agents and representatives become more productive.
Product and sales management will be able to identify opportunities for expanding reach into new segments and improve conversion/close rates.
Not only will savings be achieved but also better top-line performance.
Eliminates the risk of relying on aging technology.
Makes the upgrade of business-critical applications future-proof.

What if the C-suite is concerned about the security of the cloud?

To put it bluntly, the security of cloud facilities is not an issue.

Data centres operated by Amazon, Microsoft and other cloud leaders are more secure than virtually all corporate data centers.

That’s why you should not let your organization’s security teams hold back cloud initiatives based on unsubstantiated cloud security worries. If you do let them, your company will miss out on opportunities and the ability to operate more efficiently and effectively.

5-step process to cloud-based CCM utopia

Like most things, cloud-based CCM is an ever-evolving journey. Along the way your organization will improve current tasks and processes, achieve new capabilities, foster deeper customer relationships and expand into new channels and levels of sophistication.

CCM and the Cloud – The Sky’s the Limit

Source: the white paper “Reimagining Digital Experience: Using the Cloud to Enhance Customer Communications”

To help guide you along this journey, here’s a 5-step process:

Shape the customer experience with strategic planning. Ask yourself what do we want to do differently or better as a business? Examine how and why changes will increase the number of customers who are being served, the value of those customers and their propensity to become long-term advocates for the business.

Determine what cloud capabilities you require to meet your goals. Conduct operational planning to determine what capabilities you’ll need from your cloud solution in order to achieve your vision.

Perform gap analysis. Gather up your IT people and key stakeholders and ask the tough questions in order to put together an accurate picture of the current state of your capabilities and where they fall short in terms of achieving your corporate objectives. This will provide a baseline that will identify ways that new systems can contribute meaningfully to improved business outcomes.

Define the capabilities that are needed. This step requires you to look beyond understanding your current restraints and to consider and identify the new capabilities that are out there that would accelerate your organization’s future growth.

Define the solution required. Once you have completed the first four steps of the process, you will have the perspective you need to define what your solution should encompass in order for your organization to achieve its vision going forward.