Tag: Customer experience management

Thailand – Dentsu International is enhancing its customer experience (CX) management in Southeast Asia (SEA) with the launch of marketing agency Merkle in Thailand. 

Merkle’s launch in Thailand comes after the market attained a significant increase in marketing technology investments. With the rising expectations for customer experience and brand interaction, Merkle Thailand leverages its Experience and Service Design Consulting, CRM and Customer Engagement/Loyalty, Data Strategy and CDP, as well as Omnichannel Commerce to secure long-term customer loyalty while extending business growth opportunities to brands. 

The expansion of Merkle through its Thailand launch contributes to enabling enhanced and transformative digital marketing in SEA. 

“SEA is an awakening dragon, and as a dentsu cluster that was born to soar with the dragon, we are a rare partner with a glocalised lens to unlock the potential of the CX journey in this region. Particularly in Thailand, where CX has become an intrinsic part of any business looking to cut through the noise and connect with consumers, with Merkle now in Thailand, it will undoubtedly be able to help brands win on experience by reimagining sustainable CX strategies for business transformation. Merkle’s expanded footprint will also open up stronger possibilities for clients looking to be CX leaders in the era of SEA,” Sanjay Bhasin, chief executive officer of Dentsu SEA, said.

Apirada Benchakaranee, chief executive officer, CXM of Dentsu Thailand, said, “The dawn of AI-driven experiences is a seismic shift that can make CXM a daunting journey for many brands in Thailand, where consumers have radically evolved in their expectations and behaviours around brand experiences. At Merkle, we are purpose-built to partner ambitious brands in seizing opportunities, even amidst chaos, to deepen engagement with their most important consumers. We look forward to bringing this to brands that are ready to elevate their experience-led growth.”

Chun Yin Mak, president, CXM of Dentsu Asia Pacific, added, “As the only player in the industry that grew up in data, Merkle is an end-to-end experience transformation partner that is ready for an AI-first future. Our unrivalled integration of strategy, technology, design and data, enables us to power the experience economy, and we are delighted that we can now bring that same obsession to Thailand to help brands dream, do, and deliver the total experience for consumers.”

Over the years, Merkle’s growth in SEA includes over 300 experts in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Singapore – Sprinklr, a unified customer experience management platform, announced Scott Harvey’s appointment as the executive vice president of customer operations. Harvey will report directly to Ragy Thomas, the founder and CEO of Sprinklr, in his new position.

In his new position, he will oversee and lead the company’s executive leadership team, where he will have the responsibility of improving and streamlining operations that deal with customers, from pre-sales solution consulting to post-sales customer success and ongoing services.

Harvey is transferring from Stripe, where he served as the global head of technical sales and services, to Sprinklr. In this role, he oversaw pre- and post-sales teams focused on increasing customer adoption and usage of Stripe’s product offerings, which significantly increased revenue.

Prior to joining Stripe, Harvey held a number of important executive positions at ServiceNow, Inc., where he spent more than six years as senior vice president of solution sales and senior vice president of solution consulting. During his term, ServiceNow, Inc. underwent growth and expansion, with revenue surging from $425 million to $4.5 billion and the company’s workforce expanding from 1,800 to 13,000 employees.

Speaking about the appointment, Thomas said, “The Sprinklr unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform built with proprietary Artificial

Intelligence (AI) is a no-compromise approach to better customer experiences for the world’s leading enterprise brands. With our unique ability to unify customer experiences, we are attracting world-class leaders like Scott to help optimise our customer-facing operations as we continue our journey of growth and scale.” 

He added, “Scott will help strengthen our pre- and post-sales rigour so sales can translate our world-class technology to measurable and transformative business value and our post-sales can deliver on the promises made one hundred percent of the time.”

Meanwhile, talking about his appointment, Harvey remarked, “The most exciting thing about joining Sprinklr is the opportunity to work directly with iconic brands and strategic partners across almost all industries to help transform businesses and their front office. When there is opportunity to grow into new or existing accounts while providing increased value, that is an exciting journey that I want to be a part of.” 

Singapore – Sprinklr, the unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform for modern enterprises, has announced the appointment of Haitham Elkhatib to senior vice president of growth markets. 

Elkhatib will be responsible for accelerating the growth of Sprinklr’s platform and capitalising on the strong demand in MEA and APJI, which includes the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and India markets.

In the new role, he brings with him years of valuable sales strategy experience. He joined Sprinklr in 2018 as regional director in Dubai and has been instrumental in scaling sales efforts and driving awareness of the unique Unified-CXM value proposition in the MEA market. 

Prior to joining Sprinklr, Elkhatib held several sales positions at enterprise software companies including Oracle, Lithium Technologies, and EMC.

Elkhatib shared his excitement over the new role, stating, “Sprinklr has an incredible opportunity to transform the way companies all over the world are reaching, engaging, serving, and listening to customers across digital channels. I’m honored to expand my role with a phenomenal Sprinklr team and couldn’t be more excited to build on our momentum in MEA and APJI.”

Ragy Thomas, CEO and founder of Sprinklr, also said that Elkhatib’s expertise and deep understanding of customer needs will help the company achieve its growth potential as they work to expand its global customer profile.

“Over the past 13 years, Sprinklr has grown from the definitive leader in enterprise social media management to the only platform for Unified-CXM to bring social media, marketing, insights, and customer service together. We work with more than 1,100 brands including many of the most iconic companies and organizations on the planet, but we are still just getting started,” Thomas added.

Recently, Sprinklr has also unveiled 120 new customer service and 25 new AI innovations for its multiple product suites targeted at improving omnichannel customer experience.

Singapore – Dentsu International’s customer experience management (CXM) company Merkle is expanding its APAC presence with the launch of its services in Taiwan. Merkle’s 30 years of global experience in data, digital transformation, and worldwide talent connections will now be adopted by the new team.

Carrie Tsai, who is iProspect Taiwan’s CEO, has been appointed by dentsu Taiwan to also become Merkle Taiwan’s CEO. Joining Tsai to head the new team is Boice Lin, former SVP of Global partnerships/Global business development at Appier, who has been appointed as general manager of Merkle Taiwan.

The agency said that the new Taiwan team will work closely with martech, adtech, cloud, and tech providers to integrate commerce design consultancy. The CXM transformation offerings that will be provided by Merkle Taiwan include data transformation as in focusing on data science and data engineering, including cloud service consulting, data management consulting, and data analysis, which will also include personalization, commerce consulting, CRM, and loyalty program consulting. Most of all, Merkle will be helping brands in CXM Transformation such as customer experience transformation strategy, planning, and technology consultancy.

Remarking on today’s market, Jennifer Tang, CEO of dentsu Taiwan, said that brands have entered into a new era in which everything is all about data and that to meet the evolving market and technology demand, such as the cookieless future, brands need to consider connecting with customers through consumer experience, finding more value from data, and extending business applications.

“With Merkle joining dentsu Taiwan, we are able to immediately respond to the market and clients’ demands, and also further consolidate our industry leadership in creative, media and CXM, making dentsu the only marcom group in Taiwan that truly provides idea-led, data-driven, and tech-enabled end-to-end solutions,” said Tang. 

Meanwhile, President of Merkle Asia Pacific Zhengda “Z” Shen, added, “Asia Pacific is a key global growth driver for Merkle, and we’re very enthused with the rapid growth and maturity of digital commerce, data management and customer experience in Taiwan. Putting together this superstar team has been years in the making. We’re excited to now launch in market and work with the most innovative marketers and technologists.”

New CEO Tsai further stated that Merkle is a well-known global brand for its delivery and proofing capability.

“We have built a team of global talents who hold entrepreneur experience. It is the winning strategy to bring the brand’s vision to life through customer experience transformation. Our vision for Merkle Taiwan will be to focus on data transformation, digital transformation and CXM transformation, and it will integrate with dentsu’s other offerings and change the value chain,” said Tsai.

Meanwhile, new GM Lin highlighted that launching Merkle Taiwan indicates dentsu’s dedication to enabling end-to-end marcom solutions, “Only considering both data application and commerce insights can help brands rebuild their model post COVID-19. It is crucial for our clients to take action and work closely with a full-service consultancy. We are confident to be the best transformation partner.”

Last August, dentsu APAC has also launched Merkle in Indonesia.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Global advertising network dentsu in Indonesia is adding customer experience management (CXM) services to their new business offerings with the launch of Merkle, a data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that drives people-based marketing strategies and helps brands in creating competitive advantage through hyper-personalized experiences across platforms and devices. 

With this launch, dentsu Indonesia now has three service lines with multiple agency brands, alongside their existing creative and media offerings.

To kickstart Merkle’s operations in the country, 30 experts including data scientists, engineers, developers, and consultants will be established for reimagining the Indonesian customer journey and strengthening customer experience through CX consulting, digital transformation and data transformation.

For Maya Watono, CEO of dentsu International Indonesia, there has been no better time to launch Merkle in the country other than this time, noting that CX has become a critical component of businesses in Indonesia.

“Many Indonesian companies in multiple industries have started their CX strategies to boost their standing in the market and future-proof themselves to the demands of consumer experience in the digital world. Merkle Indonesia is ready to help brands innovate and map out their CX strategies to stay ahead of the curve,” Watono said.

Meanwhile, Zhengda Shen, president of Merkle APAC, commented, “The Indonesian consumers and business community are making the world envious with their innovative digital solutions. We are extremely excited to launch in-market and bring our world-class capabilities, experiences, and research into the country. We look forward to helping drive the future growth of the digital economy in Indonesia.”

Merkle creates competitive advantage through people-based customer experiences that are hyper-personal, informed by data, powered by technology, and delivered through creativity.

“By adding Merkle to the network, dentsu Indonesia has taken one step ahead towards the future of customer experience management. The importance of data management for business is now crucial as consumers demand a seamless and connected experience,” dentsu Indonesia said in a press statement.

Manila, Philippines – Philippine telco Globe has tapped the use of Viber Communities as a way of bringing localized customer support for its various services.

The added customer support channel comes in response to the growing needs of its customers in the new normal as well as Filipinos’ increasing participation in online communities to transact and communicate. 

Through the localized Viber Communities, Globe customers can use features such as addressing queries, recommending self-service channels, and product offerings from Globe.

“It is important that we are where our customers are, and Viber is among these channels. By creating Viber Communities, we are able to focus on the needs of specific groups of customers and show our care in a personalized manner,” said Beck Eclipse, Globe’s chief customer experience officer.

Globe’s Viber communities include:

  • Globe At Home Postpaid and Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi
    • These communities provide broadband customers with useful information such as troubleshooting guides, steps on how to update an account, newest promos, among others. Both communities have already been verified by Viber and have a total of almost 8,000 members as of January 2020.                  
  • Residential Communities
    • The communities provide real-time agent support from 8 AM to 6 PM daily. Outside these hours, customers may still report their concerns via an online form and a Globe representative will get in touch with them. Globe now manages 32 communities with a total of about 18,000 members.

Globe is set to roll out more Viber Communities in the coming months as well as new features to the existing ones. 

Singapore – Global customer service software company Zendesk has unveiled its new Zendesk Suite by including access to Zendesk’s comprehensive messaging solution, as the package brings together all Zendesk’s service capabilities into one complete offering that brings ease of use to the enterprise software space.

Through the new added feature, businesses can now communicate whether customers want to text, chat on their computer, reach out over WhatsApp or through connected conversational experiences across web, mobile, and social channels. Zendesk’s messaging solution also offers advanced capabilities including proactive notifications, enabling specialized third-party bots, and allowing customers to transact directly within the conversation when browsing products, reserving seats, or making payments.

The new messaging solution inclusion coincides with a greater need for messaging solutions for enterprises. According to a CX report by Zendesk itself, 2020 saw a 117% increase in the use of social messaging in APAC, while 69% of consumers in the region said they tried a new way to get in touch with customer service, with messaging and bots as the leading choices.

“Today’s customers demand real-time experiences at a level and pace we’ve never seen before. Companies cannot take customer loyalty for granted, and using outdated, expensive enterprise software that takes months to get up and running is a thing of the past,” said Adrian McDermott, president of products at Zendesk. 

“Businesses need the best possible technology to remain agile and face customers’ ever-evolving needs. Within hours, Zendesk can help businesses deliver great customer experiences, with messaging front and center,” added McDermott. 

For Kyle Jenke, partnerships director at WhatsApp, the Zendesk messaging solution integration speaks to the fact that more than 175 million people across the world are already messaging using a business account on WhatsApp every day.

“People today want to connect with businesses the same way they chat with their friends and family — with personal messaging to get questions answered and receive support quickly and conveniently. Through partnerships with companies like Zendesk, we’re making it easier for businesses to shift their operations online during the ongoing pandemic so they can stay close to their customers even when they’re physically apart,” said Jenke. 

Zendesk was one of the first SaaS companies to democratize the way businesses offered email support, and with its new Suite, is now leading the shift to messaging-driven relationships. 

Singapore – Global advertising and public relations company dentsu has recently appointed Rachel Ooi as the company’s new chief growth officer for customer experience management (CXM) for Asia Pacific.

Through the new appointment, Ooi will be responsible for bolstering CXM’s regional footprint through new business and organic growth, working closely with Media and Creative leads on integrated opportunities. She will also lead the regional roll-out and implementation of the sales platform across all sales and account management functions. She will report to Zhengda Shen, CEO of CXM at dentsu APAC, and Owen McCorry, global CXM chief growth officer.

“dentsu has world-class capabilities in CXM through Merkle and huge growth potential in APAC. I am excited to join the team at such a pivotal time for the business, especially when this growth opportunity collides with a seismic shift in changing consumer and business habits seen globally in the past year,” Ooi commented regarding her appointment.

Prior to joining dentsu, Ooi has worked for professional services company Accenture as managing director for Industry X.0 lead (growth markets), and for multinational conglomerate Electric (GE) as general manager for the ASEAN enterprise sales, as well as leading GE’s Ecosystem Alliance for the APAC region.

“Rachel has an impressive track record, is results-driven and skilled in leading high-performance teams and projects across various sectors, especially Tech Innovation and Digital. Her background and experience will ensure we continue to lead in this space,” Shen said.

Meanwhile, Owen commented, “We believe focusing our business capabilities around customer experience is the greatest advantage we can give our clients. Hence, we need someone like Rachel, who has proven strategic vision growing businesses and challenging the status quo. Most importantly, she will deliver client centricity across APAC markets, bridging cultural nuances, which is fundamental to success in this dynamic, fast-paced region.”

Rachel Ooi’s appointment comes with a greater need in digitalization of businesses. For her, there are opportunities to drive business outcomes for clients amidst transformations and convergence,  which she describes as the “era of digital genesis”, centered around a “digital-first, cloud-scaled, and AI-enabled circular economy”.

“CXM is the weakest link today in many organizations that are in transition, where there is an urgent need for creativity working with digital innovation and human-centric engagements for continual customer intimacy and business success. I look forward to working with the team to make a fundamental impact and deliver value for our clients,” Ooi concluded.

Singapore – Businesses in Singapore have shown a greater interest in improving their customer experience (CX) through various strategies, despite 2020 being a disruptive year for far-reach transformation, new report from customer relationship management Zendesk shows.

According to the Zendesk Customer Experience (CX) Trends Report 2021, Singapore businesses have witnessed a 22% increase in average weekly support requests, and nearly half of customers or49%, in Singapore say that experience is more important to them now compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, 77% of local companies – the second highest in the APAC region – say their organization prioritizes CX more than they did a year ago.

“We’ve seen companies in APAC embrace digitalization at an incredible speed this year in response to the dramatic shifts in the operating landscape they’ve had to navigate. Customer experience has never been more important, and we think this accelerated adoption of technology is likely to continue in 2021,” said Wendy Johnstone, chief operating officer for APAC at Zendesk.

The study’s recent statistics support data from IT service management firm Gartner that 91% of organizations said that CX was one of the primary goals of their digital business transformation efforts.

“Organizations need to ensure they have the right strategies, processes, and technology in place to empower customer support teams and drive business success,” Johnstone added.

Additional findings among Singaporeans include half of customers preferring to use embedded messaging when they engage with businesses, such as on websites or mobile apps, while one out of five managers (21%) and one out of four (27%) of agents state that they don’t have the right analytics tools to measure success for remote teams and work with it. 

In addition, 81% of Singaporeans are willing to spend more with a company that offers a good customer experience, which is the highest in the region. The report also shows that 83% of Singaporeans will take their business elsewhere following bad experiences.

“Facing continued volatility, service, and support, organizations must find ways to keep up with their customers. Customer experience leaders cited the ability to quickly adapt to the evolving needs of customers as their biggest challenge in 2020 and the highest priority going forward,” said Zendesk. 

Toronto, Canada – Customer experience (CX) management and customer insights platform Alida has recently announced a new slew of products and services, developed with direct feedback from their customers.

Alida’s initial product release for their Winter 2021 release is the Alida Video, which helps brands harness video to amplify their customers’ voices. Through Alida Video, brands can easily capture customer-recorded video feedback, uncover authentic, deep insights, and inform stakeholders and decision makers at the speed of business, all in a unified platform.

Meanwhile, enhancements to existing features include improvement to the platform’s deep insight feature Alida Sparq and broad feedback feature Alida Surveys.

With the improvements on the Alida CXM & Insights Platform, users can expect the following:

  • Hub Newsletter Redesign for brands to better engage their Alida Sparq insight community members and stakeholders with more visual and content-rich newsletters
  • Quotas for administrators to control the number of responses to a survey or a set of questions
  • Mobile Survey Image Enhancements to improve the respondent experience
  • Recodes & Rollups as an Early Access Program (EAP) for users to create new custom variables based on a dataset and analyze data from a different view

Included in the CXM & Insights Platform are also updates on Alida Touchpoint, including NPS® via Quick Polls, that enable organizations to keep a pulse check on brand perception. Brands can now place activities in mobile applications to engage customers with on-brand micro-surveys designed to collect contextual feedback.

“In today’s global climate, video has become an integral mode of communication to engage and connect with people. It is imperative that brands use it to humanize their customers’ emotions and glean accurate context, to put insights into action and build a great customer experience,” said Riaz Raihan, president of products and engineering at Alida. 

He added, “We are thrilled to provide our clients with the added value of video to deeply understand and analyze their customers by hearing and seeing them talk directly.”

Alida has also launched its FS Industry solution, specifically catered for the benefit of financial services clients. It has enhanced its CXM framework, with features such as ‘Case Management’ for case creation on the platform for customer follow up, ‘Data Lake’ for accumulating various organizational data sources in one platform, ‘Crosstab Analysis’ for checking survey data by various categories like demographic, and ‘Configurable Dashboards for Alida Surveys’ for creating a dashboard for Alida Surveys.

Alida, formerly known as Vision Critical, and headquartered in Toronto, Canada; has recently expanded its presence in the Asia Pacific.