Breaking barriers in CX with SAP: Embracing the digital revolution and meeting customer expectations  

In today's digitally driven world, organizations face the challenge of adapting to new technologies and leveraging them to enhance the customer experience. By embracing the digital revolution, organizations can overcome traditional barriers and create innovative strategies to meet and exceed customer expectations. This requires a shift in mindset, a focus on agility and adaptability, and a commitment to leveraging technology as a differentiating factor. By embracing the digital revolution, organizations can break barriers in CX and cultivate meaningful customer relationships in the digital era. In the same spirit, Sudeep Singh, Vice President and Head of CX Business, SAP India recently spoke to Dataquest.  

Excerpts from the interview 

DQ: How has the digital revolution impacted customer expectations, and what are the key challenges organizations face in meeting those expectations?

Sudeep Singh: Every person running an organization is also a consumer. As consumers, we often gain early access to transformative technologies, which greatly enhance our lives and reshape our interactions. We expect the same level of convenience and efficiency when we engage with organizations on behalf of our own. This principle is a key driving force behind our expectations. B2C (business-to-consumer) serves as a testing ground for innovation because its success determines whether a technology will thrive or not. If consumers can effectively utilize these technologies in their daily lives, they become the foundation for our social and commercial interactions. 

Consequently, anything happening in the B2C space ultimately influences the B2B (business-to-business) sector. The speed of this transition depends on the industry and the organization's willingness to embrace progress, but eventually, it will permeate B2B as well. Take generative AI, for example. Its initial use case was the release of a chatbot by OpenAI to validate its effectiveness in the B2C arena. Once it gained popularity, organizations began building use cases around it, exploring how they could incorporate this technology. This is how the ecosystem of technology operates—new innovations emerge in B2C, gradually permeate B2B, and the cycle continues.

DQ: What are the key trends you see that are shaping CX in India? 

Sudeep Singh: Customer experience encompasses two dimensions. The first dimension revolves around the consumer space, where all the exciting innovations are shaping consumer behavior and our interactions with technology. We have already discussed this aspect. The second part of the customer experience is how organizations handle and differentiate themselves by incorporating these technologies into their business processes. 

Let's delve into this second aspect now. One of the key behaviors that shape this dimension is the impact of new technologies on organizational operations. It goes beyond just the individuals interacting with customers; it also affects the systems running behind the scenes, often referred to as the back office. As time progresses, the distinction between the front office (customer-facing systems) and the back office is diminishing. Both must work in harmony to ensure the absorption of new technologies and the delivery of products and services in alignment with the changing landscape. 

The first trend in this dimension is the convergence of the front office and back office for organizations. They need to seamlessly collaborate to adapt to the new technological advancements. 

The second trend is the organization's agility to adapt to these changes. This refers to how quickly an organization can absorb and integrate new technologies, including the associated costs and change management involved. Agility becomes a differentiating factor in the marketplace. 

 The third trend is centered around the trust and consent of customer data. When consumers share their data with an organization, they expect two things: first, that it will be used with their permission, and second, that they will have control over how and to what extent their data is utilized. Establishing a foundation that respects and adheres to customer preferences becomes crucial. This involves capturing preferences and enforcing them across the organization. Trust and consent around data management emerge as a critical and defining issue in the future of technology.

These three trends—convergence of front and back office, agility to adapt, and trust and consent of data—shape the customer experience landscape and warrant our attention moving forward.

DQ: In your experience, what role does digital customer experience play in driving business growth and competitiveness?

Sudeep Singh: As consumers, we become accustomed to certain technologies and the way applications are built on them. The objective for organizations is to capture more mindshare from consumers. This means leveraging the channels and technologies that consumers spend more time on in order to reach them effectively. Falling behind in utilizing these tech channels can lead to lagging behind competitors who are able to capture those channels. Therefore, the ability to adapt quickly to new channels and engage with customers while efficiently absorbing new technologies becomes crucial.  

The benchmark for customer experience is set by the consumer space. For example, if you are in the business of online sales, whether B2C or B2B, set the standard. Similarly, if you are in the customer service industry, you need to benchmark against the practices in the consumer space. Can you respond or engage on social platforms? This illustrates how the cycle of tech innovation works and highlights its importance for organizations internally. 

This internal shift requires adapting organizational structures and teams accordingly. For instance, if you had a team dedicated to handling customer complaints or issues via telephone, now you need a team to handle complaints on social media. Marketing also becomes intertwined with customer service, as sensitivity to social media posts and customer responses becomes essential. The lines between customer service, marketing, and operations are blurring, forcing these functions to work together to address issues. 

This example demonstrates how the working dynamics of organizations are changing, and it is just one-use case among many.  When technology is adopted on a large scale, the magnitude of change is significant. Organizations must possess the ability to absorb and deliver products or services in response. The differentiator becomes the agility to adapt and absorb technology. Being able to do this ahead of competitors puts an organization at an advantage in the game.

DQ: What are some of the most significant barriers or roadblocks organizations encounter when implementing effective CX strategies?

Sudeep Singh: I believe the primary barrier to leveraging technology as a differentiator for organizations lies in the mindset. It is essential to recognize the potential of a particular technology in the consumer space and envision how it can shape the future state of the business. By observing how other industries and companies have successfully incorporated technology, a roadmap can be defined for one's own organization.

The second barrier is change management. Adapting to technology-driven changes requires collaboration across different functions within the organization. Processes will span multiple functions and will undergo continuous improvement and evolution. Establishing mechanisms to manage and facilitate change becomes crucial in achieving the desired end state.

The third barrier revolves around investments. Once the decision to embrace technology as a central aspect of differentiation is made, the ability to allocate resources and investments becomes vital. This links back to the mindset, as strong conviction and belief in the value of technology will drive these investments. However, it is not merely about investing for the sake of it; technology must be treated as a business driver. Return on investment (ROI) must be actively pursued, integrating technology into the fabric of the organization and ensuring clarity at the board level regarding its strategic use as a differentiator in the marketplace.

DQ: How can SAP CX help overcome these challenges?

Sudeep Singh: We have recognized the above mentioned trends and aligned our products and services accordingly. SAP, as the leading ERP solution for organizations worldwide, serves as the backbone of the back office. This integration enables us to build a front end that seamlessly synergizes with the back office, allowing for adaptability and responsive changes. The integrated interplay between the front office and back office is a cornerstone of SAP's offering. 

Additionally, our focus on agility to adapt ensures that our front and back office work together cohesively, breaking down barriers between functions and enabling the orchestration of processes across the organization.  Trust and consent form the foundation of SAP, as we excel in capturing customer preferences through our Customer Data Platform Additionally, our focus on agility to adapt ensures that our front and back office work together cohesively, breaking down barriers between functions and enabling the orchestration of processes across the organization.  Trust and consent form the foundation of SAP, as we excel in capturing customer preferences through our Customer Data Platform (CDP) portfolio and reinforcing those preferences throughout the organization. 

Leveraging AI and machine learning, we not only understand customer preferences but also how they wish to interact with an organization's products and services.  Our product portfolio encompasses the CDP foundation, including front office components such as SAP Emarsys, SAP Commerce, CRM, and customer service, alongside the comprehensive ERP suite for the back office. This comprehensive approach allows SAP to capture and absorb these trends, ensuring that our customers can effectively leverage these technologies at scale, thereby creating differentiation in the marketplace.

DQ: How do SAP's CX solutions enhance customer experience and help achieve tangible business outcomes?

Sudeep Singh: Defining a business outcome and establishing the means to measure it are crucial factors. SAP's integrated portfolio enables processes to seamlessly span across the organization, facilitating the ability to run analytics at a comprehensive level. This unique capability allows for measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) from the front office to the back office and optimizing them through SAP's product offerings. The unmatched ability to analyze end-to-end processes empowers businesses with tangible insights and the opportunity to drive value. Leveraging technologies like SAP Signavio further optimizes processes, while simultaneously identifying and eliminating inefficiencies that do not contribute to the organization's Application Programming Interface (API).

With presence across industries, we work with some of the marquee brands including MG Motor India, Asian Paints, CERA Sanitaryware, DCM Sriram, Daikin, Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), Nippon Paints to name a few, to deliver better customer experiences and enable tangible business outcomes.  

DQ: How does integrating data analytics and AI-driven insights contribute to improving CX? What potential benefits and opportunities do you see in this area?

Sudeep Singh: One of the long-standing challenges across industries is achieving a single view of the customer, also known as a customer 360. The goal is to consolidate all interactions between an organization and its customers into a unified system, enabling valuable insights to be derived. The first step is to establish this single view, followed by leveraging these insights to optimize processes and drive value. SAP has taken a leading role in addressing this challenge through its Customer Data Platform (CDP) portfolio.

With SAP's CDP, organizations gain the ability to create a comprehensive view of the customer across various touchpoints. This encompasses everything from marketing outreach and social media interactions to post-sales support and sentiment analysis. The internal view of the organization, such as cost-to-serve analysis, can be consolidated alongside competitive information, providing a near-accurate customer 360 view. This consolidation and analysis process is continuously refined through machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Once the customer view is established and insights are obtained through the CDP, the next step is to put them into action. The CDP has the capability to interface with downstream systems, allowing for personalized offers to be sent on the right channel to individual customers. It leverages existing systems to execute actions based on the insights obtained from the CDP. For example, the CDP can trigger marketing campaigns and request the relevant system to carry out one-to-one communication with customers. This power of the CDP brings a distinct advantage.  This cycle closes the loop, as the customer view is captured, insights are analyzed, and actions are executed through the CDP. It forms a continuous process that unlocks numerous avenues for running analytics across the organization, driving insights and facilitating effective decision-making. 

The integration of the CDP with key performance indicators, such as customer lifetime value and cost-to-serve, further enhances its capabilities. Moreover, the user-friendly and business-centric nature of the CDP allows business analysts to configure scenarios and run analyses, minimizing the need for extensive technical involvement.  In summary, SAP's CDP portfolio addresses the challenge of achieving a customer 360 view and leveraging insights to drive business value. It empowers organizations to run analytics, obtain actionable insights, and execute personalized actions, all while offering a user-friendly and business-focused interface.

DQ: Considering the evolving landscape of customer expectations, how can organizations stay agile and adapt their CX strategies accordingly? What role can SAP's innovation tools play in enabling such agility?

Sudeep Singh: To summarize, the initial aspect of technology awareness is fulfilled by the consumer space, as organizational leaders are also consumers themselves. However, the key challenge that SAP assists organizations in overcoming is the absorption of these technologies across the entire organization. This entails bringing together various functions, including the front office and back office, and implementing the necessary technological infrastructure.

The second aspect revolves around a constant cycle of innovation, driven by the agility to adapt. Organizations must continuously fine-tune their processes, gather insights to enhance products and services, and utilize technology as a differentiating factor.

The third crucial element is the foundation of trust and consent regarding data. SAP emphasizes the importance of upholding these principles throughout the entire organization, ensuring that data privacy and customer preferences are respected.

By integrating these components, SAP empowers organizations to embark on their innovation journeys. Constant investments are made in cutting-edge technologies, allowing the flow of innovation to reach customers. Whether it's embracing generative AI or integrating with emerging consumer channels, SAP is well-positioned to absorb these advancements at scale within their platform, enabling customers to build their own use cases based on these technologies.