In the new economy companies are having to rethink “Growth”.  It’s now much more about growing market share as Revenue growth can often be declining.  Winning relative to your Competition is how companies will survive and thrive in today’s environment.  Microsoft UKs Customer and Partner Experience Director talks about how they are embedding Customer Experience into the heart of their Competitive Strategy?

• Brand Image – How do you bring alive the brand piece internally for the team?
• How do you take steps to demonstrate your brand promise in your customer communication – let’s explore it and hear from our team and our customers?
• Where is the value at an operational level within the contact centre?
• The Problem: why is there a gap between the corporate brands and operational reality?
• The Effect: what happens when customers perceive the gap?
• The Solution: what impact does closing the gap have on the bottom line?

If your company or corporation is beginning the extensive journey of customer experience management, the adaptation of a proven successful programme from one industry to another is a compelling way to understand some of the best practical tips in terms of effective CEM.

Understanding the set up and execution hurdles and barriers, not to mention the continuity, longevity and sustainability of the programme, to ensure that the programme becomes engrained as part of your corporate culture and DNA.

Brief case study in terms of previous industry programmes

• High level overview of the programme, its scope and its success factors

How to adapt from one industry to another

• Where to begin
• What to look for
• Challenges and barriers faced and overcome
• Sustainability

Since integrating two retail catalogue giants in Littlewoods and Great Universal, Shop Direct Group, supported by its shareholders, has been driving a programme of customer experience improvement.  With no pre-defined budget, and stuttering support of senior management, the results achieved have been made possible through a great deal of will, determination and its Customer 1st programme.

Who are Shop Direct Group? (Chris Plank)

• 2 minute introductory video
• Our history
• The integration period
• Our ‘customer service legacy’

Customer Experience Transformation  (Ian Golding)

• The introduction of the ‘Customer 1st programme’
• Translating what we think we do into ‘Moments of Truth’
• How we measure the customer experience
• How we engage our people through ‘Customer 1st Aid’

The proof is in the pudding! (Chris Plank)

• Customer 1st achievements
• Examples of improvements
• Don’t take our word for it – customer video
   

With traditional advertising becoming less and less effective, return on marketing investments are getting smaller as fewer people respond to our messages. Visitors just don’t pay attention to adverts as much as they used to. Do we continue to shout louder or is there another way to attract new customers to our business and retain existing customers?

Generating positive word of mouth promotion for our business, whether it is done online or offline, starts and ends with the customer experience. This is especially true in a service industry such as tourism, where the primary outcome is the way visitors feel about their experience. The challenge for tourism operators is to ensure every visitor gets world-class customer service and is inspired to talk about the visit to others after they leave in a way that makes them crave the same experience.

This session will show you how to use social media as a complementary approach to traditional marketing techniques, not as a replacement. Whether you’re in tourism or not, this session will demonstrate why social media needs to be fully integrated into the marketing strategy of the business and not to be seen purely as a tactical activity.

Using real-life case studies, delegates will learn about:

• Why traditional advertising is not working any more
• Harnessing the power of word of mouth
• Web 2.0 and joining the conversation
• Monitoring social media - Return on Engagement
• Creating a web 2.0 marketing strategy

The relatively new field of customer experience is settling down to a number of shared assumptions that add up to a common language. But how well do these concepts stand up to scientific scrutiny? Throughout the last two decades, John Bunyard has been undertaking pioneering research into the ways in which potential customers experience products and services, particularly in the context of their expectations. Now he will be sharing experimental proof that some of our most closely held beliefs about customer behaviour are simply wrong. He will also demonstrate how large corporations like Honda are using exciting new techniques for understanding consumer experience from the inside out, and applying the findings strategically to new business acquisition.

• What does science say about current theory?
• How can we understand the customer’s brain better?
• Why do expectations matter so much?
• How can businesses turn insight into profit?
   

• Most companies use CEM programmes to measure Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty, but such metrics aren’t actionable in and of themselves.
• Most companies fail to contact customers to tell them what’s been done with their feedback.
• Learn how to create a CEM programme that is actionable, driving alerts to escalate customer issues.
• Learn how Nationwide Autocentres delivers alerts to customers as well, driving referral business while improving customer satisfaction and repeat business.

This is war. Personally, I am sick swingeing attempts by large organisations to contain the customer, trap them in rules and processes allegedly designed to protect us. What rubbish! At Volkswagen Group we are breaking the mould. We are putting our customers in the driving seat (and I don’t mean just by selling cars!) To do this, we need to create a chain of empowerment and trust, and sometimes that is uncomfortable and even counter intuitive. But, if we aren’t occasionally feeling uncomfortable when we’re serving our customers, then we aren’t digging deep enough and our expectations are too low.

For some companies, customers are like onions, full of layers and potential but difficult to identify through watering eyes. For other companies customers are like parfait, rich, rewarding and fattening (in a good way) to the bottom line. Beyond the Hype uses case studies in an interactive manner to explore how companies can go beyond the hype of social media and create deep and intimate connections with their customers. Discover how Bill Clinton, Shrek, Donkey, the fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Market and other pioneering companies can help you make the most of customer connections and the new social media boom.

• Social Networks and Customer Experience: creating competitive advantage from the buzz channel.
• The Monkey Sphere: how many customers are you able to conceptualize as people?
• Breake the limits: above the Dumbar's number.
• Managing the Monkey Sphere: serve your customers and creating acquisition and retention opportunities.
• The buzz: turn the viral logic in a tremendous opportunity
• Providing the ROI managing the Social Networks: seriously managing a monkey sphere is hardly a monkey's business

• Everyday in your company people get out of bed and upset customers which don’t come back – What are you doing about it? (Design & Measurement)
• How much is Dissatisfaction effecting your business? (Measuring and Business Growth)
• Limitations to what companies can do – How do you prioritise? (Change)
• What is customer centricity? How do you create interaction? (Change)
• How do you build a great CE without big budget? What can SME’s learn from companies with big budgets? ( Business Growth and or new customer Acquisition)
• How competent are we at challenging CW (conventional wisdom)? (Measurement)

During a period of massive internal change, how do you equip over 9000 people at 169 locations across the UK to deliver consistently the level of customer service promised by, and expected of, a global premium brand? 

• Global changes / local challenges / big opportunities
• Tough decisions - confronting the issues
• A brand new strategy - coordinated action
• ‘Class Leaders On The Road’ – bringing innovation to communication
• We began in the bedroom - getting on side with our people
• ‘Best In Class’ – ground-breaking training to convert a premium brand into natural, everyday behaviour
• CSI Milton Keynes – raising the scores
• JD Power – rising through the rankings
• Following the star – where we go next

• What needs to change in order to keep up with the ever changing fickle needs of the customer
• Can you just change the attitude within a company or do you need to go from the ground up and change it all, or is there a half way house 
• How do you being to make that change 
• How do you monitor and benchmark the success of the change
   

• Introduction – definitions of change and common circumstances where change management is needed
• Issues within change – control and blame, how to spot and what to do
• Process of change – Awareness, responsibility and commitment, know the process but don’t be a slave to it
• Group work – own experiences, questions and discussion to learn from each other, Chatham House Rules
• Successsful change management methods – how you can make it work within your contact centre, from tomorrow, top tips to get the ball rolling
• Sustainable change – after tomorrow, techniques to keep the changes in place and convince the sceptics
• Checking you’re still on course – how evaluation, appraisal and in-the-moment feedback play a part in change
• Common issues encountered – the avoidance of change practical examples and what to do about it
• Conclusion – overview and final questions