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Brands used to differentiate themselves based on product quality, the people they had, or price. Not so today, as customer experience reigns supreme.
An interesting data point from my research is that today, 90% of organizations compete on CX compared to only 27% five years ago. In many cases, a single, bad experience can mean losing a customer.
Customer experience often starts in the contact center, but how companies interact with their customers continues to broaden, and brands must enable customers to communicate with them using the channels of their choice.
DEWA and Avaya Showcase the Metaverse for Customer Happiness
At GITEX Global 2023, currently being held in Dubai, Avaya and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) partnered to demonstrate an integrated digital interactive hub that enables a range of services and integrates customer services with the DEWAVerse platform, which allows communication in a metaverse environment.
For DEWA, Avaya helped the company complete a digital transformation project in its customer happiness center. At the event, I had a chance to meet with Abeer Eladaway, Deputy Senior Manager of DEWA, and she explained that it was the goal of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, to have all government entities provide best-in-class customer service.
This prompted the name change of DEWA’s customer service centers to customer happiness centers. DEWA actively monitors all customer interactions and has made customer satisfaction a top initiative.
One of the interesting differences regarding the Middle East is that the public sector drives innovation and aims to set an example for private enterprise. This starkly contrasts with the US and Western Europe, where it seems government entities go out of their way to provide bad service.
Also see: Top Digital Transformation Companies
Eladaway expressed that while the older generation will likely prefer face-to-face interactions, many of the younger citizens will prefer to use a virtual one, so the organization designed DEWAVerse as that option.
Based on Avaya technology and delivered through call center firm Moro, the solution includes an integrated digital interactive hub for DEWA customers to access service through an interactive voice system enhanced by AI. This system allows agents to communicate with customers, answer inquiries, and complete transactions in the virtual world.
In the virtual environment, customers have their own private space to see their electricity and water consumption, and carbon footprint. Customers can also interact with live or virtual agents and pay bills through the interface. There is also a feature in which DEWA will recommend different appliances, and customers can measure the power and cost impact.
This implementation, which is hosted and managed by Moro in its data center, enables customers to contact the DEWA using a variety of communication channels, including phone, email, video, and text. Avaya says that multi-channel engagements are fully integrated so that engagements can transition from one medium to another.
Avaya added that an IVR system now offers options for self-service options so that customers can conduct several transactions without any agent involvement. Avaya utilized artificial intelligence in building a dynamic menu that can identify, assign, and prioritize registered callers so they receive the appropriate level of service.
There has been great debate regarding the viability of the metaverse. Once a skeptic, I’ve since changed my mind because it provides an alternate form of communication. People were skeptical of e-mail initially, the web, and social media, but those have proven to be preferred by those “born in” that era.
Motul’s Cloud-Based Solutions for Improved CX and EX
Another customer experience example Avaya had on display at GITEX was with oil and lubricants company Motul. The company has adopted cloud-based solutions from Avaya to improve customer and employee experiences across many different interaction points using a suite of Avaya’s cloud-based solutions.
Avaya said that Motul has deployed the Avaya Experience Platform, which integrates with Avaya Cloud Office (ACO) by RingCentral. The solution connects more than 400 of Motul’s employees around the globe, enabling them to engage more closely with customers and each other, regardless of location.
Avaya’s Experience Platform, a cloud-based contact center solution, helps Motul create and track KPIs to transform its customer service processes. The platform’s cloud-based attributes translate into an implementation without the massive disruption often accompanying customer service upgrades. In addition, Avaya says it requires little employee training.
GITEX Global 2023 has been an action-packed event. Avaya is showing that it is focused on the future and providing companies with real solutions that work today. These announcements show the importance of experiences and underscore how critical it is for vendors to share real case studies. Both DEWA and Motul are using Avaya for novel solutions that show the power of digital transformations that are aimed at improving experiences.
For more information, also see: Digital Transformation Guide