How to Conquer Complexity and Empower Your Business Users with Modern Customer Communication Management (CCM)

Understanding Where A Strategic Customer Communications Management Partnership Can Help You Deliver Positive Business Outcomes Sooner

The argument for better customer communications seems simple. Timely, relevant communications that reach customers through their channels of choice result in happier customers and a better customer experience.

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, businesses that take every opportunity to add value to customer relationships will surely pull ahead of those which maintain the status quo.

So, what’s preventing many organizations from moving faster to implement modern customer communications management solutions?

Many of them are held back by the complexity of managing communications in an increasingly regulated world with an ever-expanding array of channels. But thankfully, there are ways of managing complexity, so it doesn’t have to be a barrier.

With the right industry partner and technology stack, your organization can conquer complexity and access the many benefits of customer communication management.

Transitioning to Modern Customer Communication Management Can be Challenging.

We understand that organizations and decision makers in regulated industries operate in an the increasingly complex world. This complexity includes both external pressures (like regulatory mandates, customer expectations, and an ever-changing mix of communication channels) and internal factors (including creating and managing a large library of documents and managing the needs of multiple stakeholders).

Our clients often cite some or all the following six areas of complexity when discussing customer communications roadblocks with us:

1. Complex businesses 

   Financial services, healthcare services, and utilities are complex businesses, to begin with, regardless of how one decides to manage communications. Customer communication initiatives must compete with other leadership priorities.

2. Complex regulations 

   Leaders must respond to ever-evolving legislation, privacy, and security requirements, covering every area of their already complex, regulated business.

3. Complex documents 

   Documents produced involve multiple types, templates, delivery channel requirements, lifecycle management rules, and deadlines. Many business user roles are engaged in creating these documents.

4. Complex consumer behavior 

   Customers have ever-increasing expectations and points of reference for what the experience must look like, based on experiences in other industries that may not have the limitations imposed by regulatory pressures.

5. Complex technology landscape 

   Technology options include a myriad of possible solutions with many implementations and integration options, in addition to the need to maintain legacy infrastructure.

6. Complex internal change management practices 

   Hundreds and thousands of people, systems and processes must be organized around any new initiative.

Easing Complexity with Strategic Digital Communications Outsourcing

Given the increasingly complex environment around customer communications, it is no surprise that an increasing number of organizations are electing to outsource some, or all, of their CCM.

Today, digital communications outsourcing is growing at an 8.9% CAGR, as companies look for ways to access the latest technology, while cutting costs and improving security and compliance.

But, while compliance and cost reduction drive outsourcing, there are business processes in CCM that organizations want to retain full control of by empowering business users to execute on those processes.

For example, your organization may choose to outsource the complexities of omnichannel campaign setup, workflow design, and data integration. However, in-house experts including marketers, content authors, customer service and operations personnel may take care of some, or all the following:

• Managing communications, template, assets, and content
• Email marketing
• Customer service
• Self-serve correspondence
• Reporting and analytics
• Leveraging a 360-degree view of the customer, including documents, communications, engagement, and activity

When deciding how to tackle complexity, while retaining control over your strategy and execution, as well as staying agile, you should ask yourself some key questions about your organization and your CCM strategy.

Considerations when evaluating a modern customer communication management partner or platform:

1. What do our CCM technology and processes look like? Do we have a fully documented architecture, vendor list, and list of internal responsible parties?
2. What is our CCM improvement plan for the next 3 to 5 years? Do we have one / should we develop one, formally?
3. What are our key CCM challenges today? Did we ask all stakeholders?
4. What is the least modern component within our CCM system – both from the technology and customer experience point of view? What issues does this cause? Can we fix it first / quickly / without major change management?
5. Have we uncovered any additional cost-savings opportunities through service consolidation or outsourcing, but have not moved ahead with a project to address them yet?
6. How could we make our communications more agile (by shortening time to market for regulatory or marketing communications, enabling ad-hoc changes if needed, etc.)?
7. Which communications does our organization need to produce in a centralized way and which ones should be in the hands of our business users?
8. Would our business users benefit from content management, personalization, targeting, marketing, customer service, customer profile information, reporting or other capabilities they could access any time through a self-serve portal?

By answering these questions, your organization will arrive at a clear understanding of the current state and goal state of your CCM. You’ll see where you have sufficient internal resources to succeed and were working with an experienced CCM partner can help you deliver positive business outcomes sooner.

Doxim’s Approach to Strategic CCM Partnership

Over the years we have learned from our clients that a balanced approach to outsourcing and self-service, with the flexibility to solve one challenge at a time, is the best fit in an environment where organizations need the ability to change fast, while remaining compliant.

In a nutshell, here’s how Doxim understands the value we bring to a successful CCM partnership:

1. Outsource the complexity to Doxim, print and digital. With our CCM expertise across digital and print, Doxim will keep channels connected, eliminate the need for you to manage disparate systems and multiple vendors, so you can focus on growing your core business.
2. Empower your business users to do what they do best. Our industry-focused platform is designed for business users and offers self-service capabilities, wherever appropriate. Your users will have tools to be agile in response to new revenue opportunities and to improve CX, growing your organization while maintaining the intimacy and personalized service your customers seek.
3. Get a helping hand with risk management as CCM complexity and the scale of your communications increase. Doxim maintains the strictest compliance levels per requirements of multiple highly regulated industries and are regularly audited.

Our platform and infrastructure check all the boxes for decision-makers that need to manage risk. We are an experienced and reliable partner, backed by the loyalty and trust of thousands of clients.

Are you ready to conquer CCM complexity?

We would be interested to learn how your organization navigates complexity and how much control you would like to give your business users over-regulated or marketing communications, from creation, management, personalization, targeting, to delivery and access to reporting.

Considering how to navigate the increasingly complex work of CCM, so you can reap the many benefits? TALK TO A DOXIM EXPERT