4 Things to Expect at CCW Austin: Digital CX, Service Design, EX and More

As organizations pour immense dollar investments into technology stacks like AI, automation and knowledge management, CX leaders are reiterating the basics of service design to make sure the human touch is at the forefront of every technology implementation. 

At CCW Austin this September, we’re putting CX automation, employee experience, digital CX and more under the microscope, featuring speakers from major brands including Uber, Nike, Stitch Fix and MetLife. 

You’ll also hear from headliner Michelle Williams, a Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter actress and entrepreneur, who rose to fame in the 2000s as a member of R&B girl group, Destiny’s Child. 

Williams will discuss her exhilarating evolution as an entrepreneur with her latest venture, Believe at Home by Michelle Williams, a collection of home products sold exclusively through the digital commerce company, Evine.

Here are five things we’re excited about for CCW Austin.

1. Digital CX and the customer journey

As companies scale and optimize their self-service channels to enable customers to accomplish more things online, the digital customer experience often constitutes the entire customer journey – even for a brick-and-mortar retailer. 

With digital platforms becoming the number-one customer touchpoint, organizations are doubling down on honoring customer channel preference and reducing customer effort with omnichannel engagement. In fact, retailers are grappling for ways to bring the digital realm into the in-store experience. 

At CCW Austin, you’ll have two opportunities to hear from Larry Rodgers, senior director of retail concepts at Nike, on how to connect the retail store experience to amplify your digital business. On Day 2, we’ve convened an expert panel to discuss how to optimize the human factor in agent and customer engagement.

Self-service driven by chatbots, portals and knowledge bases has not only overhauled the customer journey but placed new demands on agents, who now focus on complex requests not resolved through self-service. With this in mind, you’ll learn how digital tools such as AI can foster greater empathy and human connection.

2. Experience design using data analytics

Data is now more coveted and available than before, two things that are normally at odds. Access to real-time behavioral data shows what customers are doing on your website, mobile app and on your social media channels, allowing businesses to preemptively detect experience gaps and proactive ways to serve the customer. 

The Girl Scouts of the USA is one organization that leans heavily on data to optimize its member experience. Hear from chief customer officer Lynelle McKay, who will share tips on how to look beyond analytics by iterating and designing digital and physical experiences for continuous improvement, as well as grow a membership base through service design.

Meanwhile, Rob Solfest of well-known bedding manufacturer Sleep Number will discuss how the company uses data insights to find opportunities to reduce contact and effort that customers might face, and even influence organizational priorities by highlighting areas of high customer effort. 

Finally, learn how to use data for personalization with Comcast’s Luke Hagstrand when he shares how CX data plays into Comcast’s ‘Scale to One’ personalization model.

3. Service design to reinvent the customer journey

As the stakes rise for the customer experience, businesses are re-evaluating their entire customer journey, critically eyeballing it for customer effort, attrition points and opportunities for improvement. Service design is the process of designing an optimal service experience, often involving customer journey maps, beginning with qualitative to better understand the user. 

Who better to hold court on service design than Julio Badin, SVP of customer experience at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. He’s responsible for ensuring that each of the 46 million passengers that travels through the airport annual has a seamless experience through every step of their journey. 

That same day, catch a session on effortless customer experiences with DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that allows individuals to donate directly to public school classroom projects. You’ll hear customer operations team members Maya Lundhagen and Kristina Sproat on how to build a CX team around what’s special about your organization.

4. Employee experience and the changing role of the agent

No customer contact conference would be complete without mentioning the agent experience. An uptick in CX automation has changed the role of the agent to one where they must navigate new and unfamiliar technology stacks, interface with numerous desktops simultaneously and handle complex customer queries not resolved in self-service. 

Organizations are also cottoning on to the high costs of agent attrition, and have responded with flexible work schedules, remuneration packages and other workforce optimization initiatives. 

On Day 2, hear from ESPN’s Micah Citti on tales of agent and customer care success, and take in The Purple Carrot’s presentation on how to find and recognize the right talent to hire in times of rapid growth.

Finally, no employee engagement program is complete without the right training and performance metrics. Lizzie Resnick of SmartPak will share how to effectively measure your agent’s success for contact center optimization.