As software vendors, we at Topdown are keenly aware that our customer communications management (CCM) solutions do not exist in a vacuum. Every one of our customers has integrated our CCM software into a unique ecosystem made up of other software and systems, all serving different departments and purposes, all fighting for resources (bandwidth, access to databases, etc.), and all with varying levels of ability to integrate with other software in the ecosystem. We see firsthand the struggle IT staff go through every time they have to install or upgrade software and have to juggle budgets and competing business interests to make sure everyone gets what they need. That’s why we don’t just hand our software over to customers and tell them they’re on their own. We go on-site to help with installation and training to make sure our software works well for our customers in their unique environment. When there’s a problem with a customer’s IT infrastructure that interferes with our software, we help solve it – even when it’s not our fault. That’s just good customer service and a great customer experience. How to Minimize IT Costs and Frustration It seems like the ideal solution would be for someone to build a tool that could do everything for everyone, using resources such as databases and bandwidth seamlessly and without logjams or delays, accessible by any department at any time, and easily upgradeable over the long term – a comprehensive solution that could serve marketing, operations, sales, customer service, human resources, accounting and more. Unfortunately, such a solution doesn’t exist, and it may never exist. More importantly, you may not actually want it to exist.

You probably already have a pretty good understanding of what customer experience (CX) and customer communications management (CCM) are if you’re reading our blog. But we wanted to take a step back and clarify how we define CX specifically as it pertains to customer communications management.

In the age of digital-first omnichannel communications, do companies still need a correspondence management system? Yep, they sure do. Despite much chatter to the contrary, the death of print is not yet upon us – at least not in the realm of customer communications management. In fact, our clients, many of whom operate in heavily regulated industries such as health care, financial services, and utilities, tell us that somewhere around 70 percent of their customer-facing communications are still printed and mailed as opposed to being delivered digitally.

We recently recommended that organizations work to define roles and terminology much more clearly as they move forward with their customer experience improvement plans in order to avoid confusion and missed opportunities. McKinsey & Company reinforces this idea in a recent article entitled “What ‘Digital’ Really Means,” asserting, “Even as CEOs push forward with their digital agendas, it’s worth pausing to clarify vocabulary and sharpen language.” The authors of this article specifically focus on the definition of the word “digital,” which represents a surprising diversity of ideas among business leaders:

The term “digital first” originated in the news publishing industry a few years ago as a reaction to the rapid growth of online news consumption and the expectation that the death of print was imminent. To survive, journalists had to adapt, and quickly, to an increasingly digital world. They had to publish with the expectation that readers would encounter their news online, and probably on mobile devices, and maybe even in 140 characters or fewer. It was no longer enough to create a print edition and just republish it online. They had to learn to create and present their content for digital consumption first, which was a sea change for decades- or even centuries-old print publishers.

You can identify and address customer experience (CX) gaps by mapping out critical customer journeys to see what works and what doesn’t from the customer’s point of view. To do this, you need to take a close look at very specific customer/company interactions, starting with the ones that most directly impact your business objectives and/or potentially contribute to customer experience gaps that lead to customer attrition.