The current landscape
Research shows that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiators. Simply put, if customers like your brand and continue to associate with it, they are going to do business with you and recommend you. With customers becoming more digitally aware, their expectations and demands are evolving. The challenge is to use technology to make the experience simple, convenient, and fast without losing the human touch, and also empowering employees.
Data is at the heart of digital disruption. With a digital-first approach, data can offer an integrated view of each customer. This changes how employees engage, thereby building lasting relationships by moving to selling subscriptions/loyalty programs from products. Understanding the customer and creating a seamless experience to meet changing needs is made possible by connecting the front and back end.
The key to driving and maintaining loyalty starts with how customer data is being leveraged. Customer data can help personalize omnichannel experiences, create transparent business policies that are compliant with regulations like GDPR, and maintain consumer privacy. This is crucial as customers today want to connect with brands on a meaningful scale, beyond just cart value and points. Loyalty and relationships are a big part of that equation.
SAP C/4HANA
SAP C/4HANA is an intelligent, intuitive system with conversational, contextual features embedded in it. In the SAP Customer Experience Suite, there are four clouds that work in concert to improve customer experience, aiding in digital transformation. The SAP Customer Data Cloud builds customer trust and loyalty by leveraging technology such as Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), Microservices, and extensions. Together, they build an intelligent front office which is seamlessly integrated with the backend operations.
SAP Marketing Cloud
With the ability to market products and services intelligently for unique customers, this cloud works on dynamic customer profiling and impactful marketing analytics. This helps in targeted campaigns and lead management while building loyalty as your enterprise meets customer demands.
SAP Sales Cloud
The sales cloud helps guide customers throughout their journey and builds long lasting relationships with them. With automation of repetitive tasks, ML enables intelligent sales. With data being accessible online, 24×7 access is a given now. This helps in sales forecasting, invoicing, and performance management.
SAP Commerce Cloud
Upon understanding customer needs and expectations, the commerce cloud personalizes your shopping experience across multiple touchpoints. With pre-built integrations, omnichannel order management, and product content management, the commerce cloud personalizes and refines contextual commerce experiences. This acts as an industry accelerator, especially for SMEs.
SAP Service Cloud
This cloud helps your enterprise engage with the customers better. With a comprehensive self-service and an omnichannel contact center, the service is an AI chatbot with proactive field service and offline mobility. The service cloud provides intelligent recommendations, preventive maintenance, and knowledge management.
How customer experience drives higher lifetime value
Let us take a situation where a customer searches the web for a particular product. They move to the brand site to review product information (specifications, images, reviews, ratings, offers etc). As they search on the site, the most relevant search results based on their data come up.
They decide to purchase the product and begin the transaction. The SAP Customer Data cloud powers customer logins to the site. They complete the transaction either by creating an account or through a social provider.
With consent, customer data and preferences can be captured. Transparency on the site, with data usage, and communication plans helps address GDPR and build trust. This data can personalize on-screen recommendations through the commerce and marketing cloud. If the customer adds the item to the card and doesn’t purchase it, it will create an ‘Abandoned Cart’ workflow with a personalized offer for re-engagement.
Marketing helps drive better engagement through follow-ups. As the customer associates with your brand through personalized campaigns based on first-party data, you build trust and provide a personalized, perfect customer experience.
Values that a CIO can create with C/4HANA
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Unified customer profile
Data on customer identity shared with their consent provides an integrated view and ability to govern customer profile.
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Consumer privacy
C/4HANA offers an audit ready vault and consent enforcement to ensure that GDPR concerns are addressed.
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Microservices architecture
With an agile framework, C/4HANA provides an improved, streamlined response to market trends and customer demands.
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CX suite cloud provisioning
With its intuitive, out-of-the-box functionality, C/4HANA brings a quicker time to value leading to reduced complexity.
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Machine learning and analytics
Leveraging ML and analytics provides deep insight enabling informed decisions and complete visibility, bringing in ROI.
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Extension environment
C/4HANA provides a single, unified platform reducing TCO and providing a seamless experience.
Values that a CMO can drive with C/4HANA
Deliver an end-to-end customer experience across the digital value chain through omnichannel customer context, social sentiment, geo-spatial and predictive insight, accessible and actionable in real-time.
Build credibility as a leader of digital business transformation using emerging technologies and partnerships to accelerate experimentation and implementation of learnings and improvements.
Articulate and optimize marketing ROI through innovative approaches to attribution with flexible analytics and dashboards.
Get in touch with us for a free consultation with our experts, and learn what an SAP C/4HANA implementation can do for your enterprise.
