A moderated panel of ISG subject matter experts will explore the key technologies that will drive Customer Experience including:

• AI and Automation
• Platforms
• Predictive Analytics
• Cybersecurity
• Blockchain

We live in uncertain times. Technology changes very rapidly. Business models evolve almost overnight. To top it off, we are in the midst of a global COVID-19 pandemic which changed how people interact with each other and with businesses on a daily basis. Some of the most hotly debated topics in business circles are about whether the pandemic has changed customers’ needs, behaviors, and attitudes for good or whether there will be a return to a pre- pandemic “normal”.

This time of uncertainty is dominated by the rise of big data, data science, machine learning, and algorithms. On the other hand, many businesses strive to create customer loyalty and increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) by creating products and services which are personalized, tailored, evoking emotional connections with customers.

In this talk, Alex will try to convince you that these two trends -the fascination with big data, statistical averages, and algorithms, on the one hand, and the quest for cultivating lasting customer loyalty based on positive emotional experiences, on the other - are in opposition to one another and create inherent tension. This tension needs to be resolved by any business which wants to win the hearts and minds of the customers of today and tomorrow.
In other words, businesses cannot create products and services that result in remarkable customer experiences and cannot hope for meaningful customer loyalty until they understand and treat customers as people instead of just numbers.
What you will learn:

• The role of customer trust in loyalty and customer lifetime value - How to build your own VOC program
• Busting some common customer-related myths
• The Zappos journey to give customers a voice
• Lessons learned

Brands must demonstrate a commitment to social issues in order to build trust with their consumers. Value driven consumption is enabled through information at the point of sale.   More information drives increased trust.  The use of technologies like Conversational AI to deliver the right answers at the right time  and offering transparency on product pages, informs and drives towards customer loyalty.  Marketing, Customer Service and Supply Chain are integrally linked in driving customer satisfaction. Data and Predictive Analytics anticipate customer needs and wants.  Brands can encourage loyalty by rewarding customers for making more ethically responsible purchases through the use of platforms and tools that measure the carbon footprint of purchases.              

The global pandemic has led to massive and unprecedented disruption in the way organizations are supporting and servicing their customers. The shift from face-to-face interactions to increased adoption of digital channels and shopfronts is increasing the complexity of data. At the same time, customer care services are facing hyper growth and talent challenges across most Tier 1 countries. Top of the customer agenda during this time of growth is implementing new ways to capture customers, modernizing platforms to enable digital transformation, and improving the support and enablement of talent. To address these challenges, our panel of experts will discuss how organizations can:  

* Modernize their transformation platform 
* Transform their delivery strategy based on changes in domestic labor availability and cost 
* Balance domestic, nearshore, offshore, and digital workers
* Leverage intelligent automation as a medium to drive meaningful, frictionless customer interactions in the customer operations space.

It’s estimated that almost two thirds of global greenhouse emissions come from food production, with clothing production the next largest contributor . Regenerative business promises the biggest positive impact on sustainability.  In this theme, we’ll explore technologies being used to improve, measure and track sustainability progress.     

Technology is critical to addressing today’s greatest environmental and social issues. When designed with sustainability in mind, digital innovations and hardware infrastructure can create substantial impact and market disruption. Companies are already leveraging IoT, cloud, AI and other innovations to reduce operating costs, mitigate risk and capture market share. This session will illustrate the intersection of technology and sustainability and highlight how companies are driving real business value by putting sustainability at the core of their tech solutions and strategies. In the session, attendees will hear directly from ITRenew, a California company set ”to make sustainably sourced, zero-carbon data center infrastructure the industry standard”. 

Supply chain risk has emerged as one of the biggest challenges of the pandemic.  Businesses across all industries have been rocked by unforeseen disruption.  Companies are prioritizing risk management to address threats from the supplier ecosystem, ransomware attacks and unanticipated geo-political issues.  In this theme, we will examine the innovations that manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers are turning to for supply chain resilience.

• The role of strategic partnerships in solving supply chain challenges
• Scenario Planning
• Digital Twinning and the ability to create virtual replicas
• Data sharing through permissioned block chain solutions
• How brands have adapted and how they plan to cope going forward
• The importance of early warning systems and detecting risk and opportunity early
• Derisking the supply chain through AI Predictive Modeling         

A review of the day's sessions, what we learned and next steps.