What Is a Buyer Expertise Platform? [Scenarios & Criteria]

The expertise your clients have together with your product, service, and workforce will make or break your backside line. Each touchpoint all through the client journey issues. Ensure you have the appropriate instruments, processes, and folks in place to measure buyer sentiment and implement the largest alternatives for enchancment.

Right here, we’ll cowl the primary kinds of buyer expertise software program, which options are important, and customary eventualities the place a centralized platform is perhaps useful.

What Is a Buyer Expertise Platform?

A buyer expertise platform is a software program resolution that helps you ship constant, high-quality experiences irrespective of the place and the way clients work together together with your model. Buyer expertise software program affords a set of options and functionalities, together with customer support instruments, advertising and marketing automation, and analytics, for managing the client expertise to enhance interactions throughout the whole buyer lifecycle — and your groups. 

Implementing a buyer expertise platform empowers you to ship personalised experiences at scale and meet buyer expectations, boosting buyer loyalty, retention, and advocacy. 

Buyer Expertise Platform Parts

Buyer expertise platforms vary in options, however there are a number of widespread capabilities that any good buyer expertise software program ought to have.

Omnichannel help

A key characteristic of a buyer expertise platform is offering omnichannel help. You’ll be able to monitor all of your buyer conversations in a single place as a substitute of attempting to maintain tabs on separate channels. 

For instance, you might need a name heart dealing with inbound and outbound telephone calls, lively social accounts, SMS, and a number of e-mail addresses. Buyer interactions occur throughout these channels concurrently, and it’s laborious to trace them individually. 

Omnichannel help means that you can streamline buyer interactions and reply to points rapidly. If a buyer sends a message on Instagram and picks up the dialog by way of e-mail later, they gained’t must repeat the knowledge they shared earlier. All the things they share seems as one steady dialog. 

Information analytics and insights

Buyer expertise platforms have in-built analytics instruments that analyze and extract actionable insights from buyer journey information. 

Nextiva has a strong enterprise intelligence perform that mechanically analyzes name heart interactions and creates dashboards and reviews in your name efficiency, which saves the time you’ll have spent analyzing the info from scratch. It additionally helps you make data-driven selections with out guesswork. Say you uncover that sure brokers are overworked; you’ll be able to plan to rent new workers or enhance name routing to higher distribute name volumes throughout your workforce members. 

Personalization at scale

In Section’s State of Personalization Survey, 56% of individuals mentioned they might change into repeat patrons after a personalised buyer expertise:

A buyer expertise platform personalizes buyer interactions by amassing and analyzing information from varied touchpoints and channels. You’ll get insights throughout buyer demographics, preferences, buy historical past, and rather more. You should utilize this data to personalize your advertising and marketing campaigns, product suggestions, and basic help. 

For instance, in case your web site analytics instrument reveals {that a} buyer checked out a gross sales web page however didn’t make a purchase order, you’ll be able to e-mail them with a particular provide to immediate them to rethink buying the sale product. 

Automation and AI

Many buyer expertise platforms incorporate automation and AI to streamline time-consuming handbook processes, present real-time help, and personalize buyer interactions. For instance, Nextiva lately acquired Thrio, an AI-powered buyer expertise administration software program, to increase its buyer expertise capabilities. Because of this growth, our platform now has superior course of automation for name routing and workflows.

Suggestions and surveys

Buyer expertise platforms have built-in survey instruments for amassing and analyzing real-time buyer suggestions. For instance, you’ll be able to create post-call surveys to study if a buyer is glad with the way you resolved a difficulty. 

Web promoter rating and buyer satisfaction surveys make it easier to measure buyer sentiments. Prospects with constructive sentiments normally change into repeat clients and even suggest your online business to others of their community. 

7 Varieties of Buyer Expertise Administration Platforms

There are various kinds of buyer expertise platforms, and relying on the use case, some choices is perhaps higher suited to your wants than others.

1. Contact heart platforms

A contact heart is a centralized hub for managing all incoming and outgoing buyer communications. It’s like a nerve heart for buyer help, gross sales inquiries, and different interactions. You’ll be able to monitor buyer emails, telephone calls, social media messages, cell and web site dwell chats, and extra.

Prime contact heart options embody: 

• Automated name distribution: Mechanically route incoming calls to probably the most acceptable agent or division primarily based on predetermined standards.
• Interactive voice response (IVR): Permit callers to work together with an automatic phone system by way of voice or touch-tone keypad inputs earlier than routing them to the appropriate agent. 
• Agent administration: Monitor agent exercise in actual time. Observe the standing of agent queues, eavesdrop on calls, and supply help as wanted. 
• Omnichannel routing: Mechanically assign buyer conversations to the appropriate agent throughout all channels. As an example, if a buyer sends a direct message on social media and follows up with an e-mail, you’ll be able to route the e-mail to the agent who dealt with their preliminary message.

Contact heart platform examples: Nextiva, Five9, NICE, and Talkdesk

2. Buyer relationship administration (CRM) programs

A CRM system is the one supply of fact for all of your buyer interactions. It’s the place you retailer demographic information — together with identify and get in touch with data — handle buyer relationships, and monitor individuals concerned with your services or products as they transfer by way of the completely different buyer journey phases. 

Prime CRM software program options embody: 

• Advertising automation: Automate e-mail campaigns, social media posts, and promoting to assist higher interact together with your clients.
• Buyer success administration: Combine your CRM together with your contact heart to handle buyer inquiries, complaints, and suggestions in a single place.
• Lead administration: Observe and handle leads all through the gross sales funnel, from preliminary contact to conversion.

CRM software program examples: Copper, HubSpot, and Zoho

3. Helpdesk and help platforms

A helpdesk manages all of your ongoing help efforts to assist clients profit from your services or products. Right here, you’ll be able to streamline your buyer help processes, handle tickets, and resolve buyer points promptly.

Prime helpdesk options embody: 

• Ticketing programs: Mechanically assign tickets to buyer inquiries and help requests to prepare, prioritize, and reply to buyer points on time.
• Information bases: Create a buyer schooling library the place clients can discover solutions to questions on utilizing your product. 
• Self-service portals: Empower clients with the appropriate data and instruments for resolving points independently. 

Helpdesk examples: Zendesk, HappyFox, and HelpScout

4. Buyer suggestions and survey instruments

These instruments make it easier to accumulate and analyze real-time buyer suggestions to find precious insights. You’ll be able to create and administer these suggestions surveys at completely different buyer journey phases. For instance, if a buyer has simply completed onboarding, you’ll be able to ask them to attain their expertise on an emoji ranking scale. 

Prime survey instrument options embody: 

• Response administration: Observe survey response charges and comply with up with clients as wanted. 
• Survey distribution: Administer surveys throughout a number of channels concurrently. You’ll be able to ship surveys by way of e-mail, embed them into dwell internet chats, or ship them within the app to gather suggestions. 
• Suggestions administration: Mechanically analyze survey outcomes, extract buyer insights, and set up them into helpful data to help enterprise use instances and selections. 

Buyer survey instrument examples: SurveyMonkey, Medallia, Qualtrics

5. Advertising automation platforms

A advertising and marketing automation platform handles tedious duties on your advertising and marketing campaigns throughout completely different channels. This instrument frees up time so that you can concentrate on the extra strategic elements of your advertising and marketing course of. 

Prime advertising and marketing automation platform options embody: 

• Personalization: Tailor advertising and marketing messages and campaigns primarily based on buyer information and habits.
• A/B testing: Take a look at completely different advertising and marketing messages and campaigns to see which performs greatest.
• Behavioral triggers: Create automated campaigns triggered by particular buyer behaviors, similar to deserted carts or web site visits.

Advertising automation platform: Brevo, Keap, and ActiveCampaign

6. Digital expertise platforms (DXP)

A DXP affords instruments for creating, managing, and optimizing digital experiences throughout internet, cell, and different digital channels. It additionally integrates with backend programs to personalize buyer interactions and experiences. 

Prime DXP options embody: 

• Content material administration: Create, handle, and publish digital content material throughout varied channels and gadgets, together with web site pages, emails, social media content material, and in-app push notifications.
• Buyer information administration: Accumulate, retailer, and analyze buyer information from varied sources in a centralized location. This consists of demographic data, buy historical past, and behavioral information, which may help you ship extra personalised buyer experiences.
• Digital asset administration: Manage and deploy visible property like photos and movies simply. 

DXP examples: Contentstack, Adobe Expertise Cloud, and Sitecore 

7. E-commerce platforms

An e-commerce platform supplies the infrastructure for getting and promoting on-line. Its primary kind features a backend the place you’ll be able to add product catalog photos and a checkout web page the place clients pays for chosen gadgets. 

However that’s not all. Superior e-commerce platforms have options like:

• Information analytics: Observe buyer habits in your on-line retailer to determine developments and personalize future suggestions. 
• Buyer help: Use dwell chats and assist desks to reply to buyer requests and resolve points promptly. 
• Product catalog administration: Create and handle your on-line retailer’s product catalog, together with product descriptions, photos, pricing, and stock ranges.

E-commerce platform examples: Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce

Examples of When You Want a Buyer Expertise Platform

You need to take into account investing in a buyer expertise platform if you happen to’re experiencing a number of of those eventualities.

You’ve gotten a excessive quantity of buyer calls

Your name heart is drowning beneath excessive name volumes, and clients are continuously experiencing lengthy wait instances. These are indicators that it’s time to combine a contact heart platform into your present setup as a substitute of spending cash on a brand new CRM software program instrument. 

A contact heart platform with ACD, IVR, and real-time analytics, like Nextiva, will make it easier to handle and route a big quantity of calls effectively — providing higher customer support and decreased wait instances in comparison with a brand new CRM system.

You’re creating personalised advertising and marketing campaigns

In case you’re launching large-scale personalised advertising and marketing campaigns, you’ll want a advertising and marketing automation platform that will help you handle the method successfully. 

In contrast to primary e-mail advertising and marketing instruments, a advertising and marketing automation platform enables you to create multi-channel campaigns concurrently. It additionally affords extra superior segmentation and personalization capabilities. For instance, you’ll be able to section your viewers primarily based on demographics, habits, and pursuits and ship extremely personalised content material to completely different segments.

You’ve gotten complicated buyer journeys

Managing buyer interactions throughout a number of digital channels will be difficult.

A DXP or omnichannel platform can streamline these interactions, permitting you to energy all digital interactions from a central platform. This ensures constant, personalised experiences throughout all touchpoints, surpassing standalone e-commerce or social media administration instruments.

You require in-depth buyer insights

A buyer suggestions and survey instrument that collects and analyzes suggestions from varied channels is more practical than generic analytics instruments for understanding buyer wants and driving services or products enhancements.

You want environment friendly buyer help administration

A assist desk and help platform with a complete ticketing system, information base, and self-service choices considerably enhances help effectivity for companies coping with quite a few help tickets in comparison with primary e-mail administration programs.

What to Maintain in Thoughts When Selecting a Buyer Expertise Platform

There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy to selecting the best buyer expertise platform. You’ll want to contemplate a number of components like: 

Enterprise aims

Strictly outline your online business priorities and select a buyer expertise platform that helps you accomplish them. If you wish to streamline buyer communication throughout a number of channels, you’ll want a cloud contact heart that powers all your enterprise communication from a single platform. 

Integration capabilities

Select a buyer expertise platform that seamlessly syncs with the opposite purposes that handle your total buyer expertise technique. Your buyer expertise software program ought to combine together with your buyer information platform for easy information move and unified buyer profiles. 

Be taught extra about Nextiva’s integrations with buyer expertise apps

Scalability and adaptability

The very last thing you need is to bear a complete buyer expertise system overhaul each time your online business hits a brand new milestone. To keep away from this, spend money on a buyer expertise system that retains up with your online business’s development tempo. It must be versatile sufficient to scale up or down when your online business wants change — with out costing a lot cash or time.

Compliance and safety

Ensure that the platform satisfies related information safety necessities to maintain first- and third-party data secure. Totally scrutinize its privateness coverage to know the way it collects, makes use of, and protects your online business and buyer information.

Buyer help and coaching

Think about the extent of help and coaching supplied for easy implementation and utilization. Getting a brief time-to-value ensures the perfect ROI out of your buyer expertise platform. 

Nextiva: The Most popular Buyer Expertise Platform for Contact Facilities

Selecting the best buyer expertise platform is essential. Prospects are the center of each enterprise. Any subpar expertise can result in churn and income loss and decelerate buyer acquisition. 

When selecting a buyer expertise platform on your contact heart, Nextiva stands out because the instrument of selection. With its omnichannel help, in depth integration library, and superior name options, Nextiva is a worthwhile buyer expertise instrument for contact heart operators trying to empower their brokers, enhance buyer experiences, and get issues finished sooner.