HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2ND ANNUAL GLOBAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INNOVATION SUMMIT

On 3rd-5th of October keynotion held a second successful edition of our Annual Global Customer Experience Innovation Summit. Once again, top executives and professionals from a variety of fields, including customer relations, brand management and user experience came together to discuss the latest trends and developments in their relevant industries.  Produced by Gauri Bhasin, the event took place in Amsterdam’s elegant venue of Novotel Hotel, and received appraisal from guests for excellent organisation.

DAY 1

The summit began with an opening statement from chair Codin Caragea, Head of Customer Experience at Bank Muscat. He underlined that customer experience is the outcome of all the interactions between customers and a brand and, therefore, should be prioritised.

The entire first day was dedicated to a workshop titled ‘HOW TO BOOST A STALLING CX PROGRAM’, led by Stefan Osthaus, founder and managing director of experience5 GmbH. Stefan in known for his belief in the interconnection between customer and employee experience. He reinstated that customer experience does not exist in a vacuum; instead, it begins the employee experience. He advised managers to be attentive to the concerns of their staff, and strive to ensure the highest level of job satisfaction for all employees. During the workshop, Stefan not only covered the main pitfalls and common challenges of implementing a customer experience program, but gave the participants an opportunity to share the individual challenges faced by their organizations, and provided each with personal, tailored recommendations. At the end of the workshop attendees were encouraged to implement the insights of the day into practice, and work in groups to design action plans for improvements in their respective companies.

DAY 2

Codin Caragea opened the second day of the event with a keynote presentation ‘GOOD TO GREAT CX: CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY TO EXECUTION’. He focused on the ways new technology can change customer experience, from using social media channels to connect with the new consumer generation, to adopting self-serve counters to empower costumers and improve feedback. Next, Antonio Ivankovic, Chief Costumer Experience officer at GO plc presented a case study titled ‘REDEFINE THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY’, with main focus on understanding the changing customer needs in the digital world, and leveraging these changes to create higher quality engagements.

Another highlight of the morning was the panel discussion ‘VISUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY APPLICATIONS FOR IMMERSIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES’. The discussion was led by top executives and acclaimed experts in customer experience: Viral Mehta, Director – Global Customer Care at Western Digital, Francis Goh – CEO, Digital Transformation, Innovation & Design Thinking at Hehsed Consulting, Gitte Andersen, Global Head of Workplace Management and Design at SIGNAL Group, and Amy Vetter – Senior Manager / Digital Insights at Samsung Electronics. They discussed the broad range of possibilities opened by VR technology for both consumers and marketers, and ways it can improve future customer experiences, such as improving product demos or transporting users to places they had never been to, which is particularly groundbreaking for the tourism industry.

After lunch, the day continued with a series of practical case studies and insightful presentations. Mette Tang, Customer Experience Director at SAP held a Thought Leadership session on ‘HOW TO CREATE USER-DRIVEN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES’. He presented ways of using IT and machine learning to redesign and optimise customer experiences, and creating effective digital platforms to gather and analyse customer data to produce valuable insights for improvement of individual experiences. The day concluded with Gitte Andersen’s presentation ‘DESIGN PRINCIPLES TO DELIVER YOUR OWN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE’. She introduced the various customer experience management platforms and provided valuable recommendations on choosing the right platform for each specific industry. This was followed by a cocktail reception, where guests exchanged insights and networked with fellow executives and professionals.

DAY 3

The final day of the summit opened with a keynote presentation ‘OWNERSHIP, RESPONSIBILITY AND LEADERSHIP IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE’ by Jocelyn McConnachie, Senior CX Expert in Van De Mensen Transformation. He discussed the role of leadership in attaining exceptional customer experience, and listed the qualities that define great leaders and set them apart from competitors. He was followed by Tony Crane, Customer Experience Director at Bank of Ireland with a case study ‘IMPROVING OUTCOMES; PUTTING CUSTOMERS AT THE HEART OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DESIGN’. He proposed a higher degree of business to customer interactions, as far as introducing customers into the delivery teams and using behaviours as a metric to measure performance. Next, Laura Tengerdi, Head of Customer Experience at Budapest Bank presented another case study, titled ‘TRANSITIONING FROM A LEGACY COMPANY TO CUSTOMER CENTRIC ORGANIZATION; EMPATHY TO ACTION!’. She highlighted the importance of putting the customer at the central focus of the firm’s strategy, and leveraging agility and business mindedness to retain high performance levels in the age of digital disruption.

Simon Svengaard, Founding Partner of The Douglas Collective presented the final case study on ‘HOW EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT HELPS DRIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE’. He discussed the added value of investing in employees, and made predictions regarding the main drivers of customer experience. The summit concluded with a Think Tank session ‘THE CULTURE OF DIGITAL CX TRANSFORMATION’, led by Kristen Engelhardt, Vice President & Voice of the Customer at Salesforce. She discussed the emergence of a more customer-centric, team-based, collaborative world, and proposed that a more flexible and adaptable approach should replace strict planning and managerial control.

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