Putting Products First
"The product experience is what underpins a satisfying customer experience"
“The product experience is what underpins a satisfying customer experience: the products are what drive a customer to engage with a service provider; the diversity and attractiveness of offers
and services are what generate additional revenue, and the quality and consistency of the use of those products is what keeps the customer loyal," Catherine Michel, chief technical officer and
founder of Tribold says.
To gain this understanding of the customer experience and optimize product uptake, CSPs should also explore the relationship between customer relationship (CRM) management and product management. Traditionally CRM has been a place to store information about the customer life-cycle and it has been painfully disconnected from the product life-cycle. ISVs have now begun to integrate CRM systems with product management and other systems, such as customer analytics, to provide context and relevancy to customer interactions. The integration of these communications technology products helps CSPs transform their methodology from managing a linear customer life-cycle to a circular customer experience.
"As our customers and partners integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Tribold EPM they are combining best-of-breed product catalog functionality with agile customer relationship management," adds Margitta.” This provides customers with faster deployment, higher agility, and lower cost of ownership than doing CRM integration and customization from scratch."
By placing product management at the heart of the customer experience, CSPs can achieve better service adoption but it's not just a one-way street. They can also centralize product information to gain insights into product performance to better manage, analyze, and adjust their product portfolio. Together, integrated product and customer management provides a unique value proposition for CSPs and superior experience for their customers.
Figure 1 - The impact of the product experience on the customer life-cycle.
To gain this understanding of the customer experience and optimize product uptake, CSPs should also explore the relationship between customer relationship (CRM) management and product management. Traditionally CRM has been a place to store information about the customer life-cycle and it has been painfully disconnected from the product life-cycle. ISVs have now begun to integrate CRM systems with product management and other systems, such as customer analytics, to provide context and relevancy to customer interactions. The integration of these communications technology products helps CSPs transform their methodology from managing a linear customer life-cycle to a circular customer experience.
"As our customers and partners integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Tribold EPM they are combining best-of-breed product catalog functionality with agile customer relationship management," adds Margitta.” This provides customers with faster deployment, higher agility, and lower cost of ownership than doing CRM integration and customization from scratch."
By placing product management at the heart of the customer experience, CSPs can achieve better service adoption but it's not just a one-way street. They can also centralize product information to gain insights into product performance to better manage, analyze, and adjust their product portfolio. Together, integrated product and customer management provides a unique value proposition for CSPs and superior experience for their customers.
Survival of the Fittest
In today's market, competition is not just about competing with the next guy, it's about survival. It's about evolution and, to some extent, natural selection. Ultimately, CSPs can only
truly distinguish themselves by leveraging their unique technology to develop and deliver innovative products and service their customers can't live without, and by providing a
meaningful and superior customer experience throughout the customer relationship.
By leveraging and integrating communications technology products like product management and CRM, CSPs are able to harness innovation and connect it directly to customer experience and perhaps that's the most important advantage of all.
By leveraging and integrating communications technology products like product management and CRM, CSPs are able to harness innovation and connect it directly to customer experience and perhaps that's the most important advantage of all.
