Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • Networking

    Adobe’s Tarkoff Takes On Customer Experience Management

    Written by

    Darryl K. Taft
    Published June 20, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      On June 20, Adobe announced a new Digital Enterprise Platform for Customer Experience Management, delivering on a new directional push for Adobe. eWEEK senior editor Darryl K. Taft recently connected with Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president and general manager of Digital Enterprise Solutions at Adobe, to get his perspective on the CEM challenges that companies face in a multi-screen, multi-channel world.

      eWEEK: What mistakes do companies tend to make when engaging with customers digitally?

      Tarkoff: They force customers to work too hard to get what they want. Customers no longer make a distinction between their online personal and business lives. They want to engage with a retailer, bank or tax service, for example, with the same ease and agility as their social networks. Traditional enterprise systems have largely failed when it comes to helping businesses live up to these kinds of customer expectations.

      eWEEK: Do customers expect too much?

      Tarkoff: I don’t think so, but if they do, what does it matter, because you aren’t going to tell them to temper their expectations, are you? Customers today are accustomed to dealing with their providers digitally, but they still want to be treated like real people who have relationships with their banks, wireless carriers, etc. Customers expect these experiences to be as friendly and intuitive as Facebook, but they often want it outside of the Facebook paradigm.

      As I said, customers don’t want to work hard to complete a transaction or get information about rate plans or insurance benefits. Unfortunately, achieving customer experience nirvana often requires a complex, multifaceted business process behind the scenes, because so much of these capabilities are locked in old transactional systems that are inaccessible to most human beings.

      At Adobe, our mission is to reduce the complexity of delivering great customer experiences so our customers can unlock the value they have for their customers before they lose them.

      eWEEK: Does customer experience management mean customers want their experiences to feel less transactional and more like a relationship?

      Tarkoff: Definitely. This has never been truer than it is today, and it’s why we make design thinking the center of our customer experience strategy. When we talk about design thinking, it’s not only about visual design or “look and feel.” It’s about looking at a problem from the customer’s point of view, armed with everything you already know about them. When you get this part of it right, it gives you more license to engage with customers in an ongoing dialog-which is critical for business in the digital age.

      eWEEK: What companies are role models when it comes to managing experiences well across multiple channels?

      Tarkoff: One that comes to mind is D&B, the leading source of commercial information and insight on businesses. D&B reinvented its approach to customer experiences when it revamped its research tools for business professionals who use their service to accurately gauge credit ratings. D&B has more than 195 million business records in its global database. They wanted to enhance their ability to provide customers with a consistent, engaging experience as they access this vast information from diverse devices. A new, interactive application enables D&B customers to easily search the company’s extensive database and receive real-time data that outline a company’s current financial information, which in turn helps them make better business decisions faster.

      Another is T-Mobile. T-Mobile implemented a new universal user interface that could sit across all systems and channels, giving company representatives an easy-to-use, intuitive application to quickly access, review, and update customer information and process service requests. T-Mobile increased the potential of its workforce and empowered customers through a consistent, great customer experience that builds confidence and loyalty. From a numbers perspective, T-Mobile has been able to achieve an 8- to 10-second reduction in the time it takes its agents to resolve a customer call. And when you consider its agents handle 220 million calls a year, that’s pretty amazing.

      eWEEK: How can IT bridge the gap between customer expectations and managing the bottom line?

      Tarkoff: Design thinking plays a key role here, I think. Once you incorporate design thinking into the overall enterprise plan, technology innovation becomes part of the complete approach to delivering solutions that are easier to use, more effective and more apt to please the customer. It takes into account business processes, transactions, user interface, personalization, recommendations, measurement, as well as the relevant touch points that today’s customers actively use-tablets, smart phones, computers, TVs and so on. What you get is a well-orchestrated series of customer interactions that covers the customer lifecycle, from acquiring and servicing them, to retaining and motivating them to be advocates for your brand and your business-all of which help manage, and improve, the bottom line.

      eWEEK: How does CEM differ from CRM?

      Tarkoff: CRM is essentially about managing internal data that you have about your customers. CEM is about creating great digital experiences that keep the customer coming back. CEM leverages your historical investments in CRM but takes it to the next level. It’s about pre-empting problems in “relating” to customers by designing experiences with customer needs in mind from the very beginning. Customers don’t care about enterprise software; they care about a great experience.

      eWEEK: In a nutshell, what is the new Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform that you just launched? Why is it important?

      Tarkoff: The Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform, or ADEP, really represents the culmination of an incredible amount of work and innovation at Adobe to bring together a new set of technologies that’s going to help our customers meet their own customers’ demands for a new level of digital experiences. ADEP combines the capabilities in Web content management, digital asset management and social collaboration technologies from our acquisition of Day Software with our core Adobe LiveCycle solutions. It also provides out-of-the-box integration with our new online marketing suite from our acquisition of Omniture. ADEP will help enterprises drive the digital experiences their customers’ demand in ways that make them more competitive and keep them at the front of the pack in their sectors as they face this incredible wave of digital transformation happening across industries.

      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.