Customers expect quick, convenient and hassle-free interactions with companies in the digital age—from buying the product or service, using it, paying for it and resolving any problems. They want brands to know them and understand their needs.
Many businesses use business process management (BPM) to automate internal processes and workflows, improving efficiency and reducing costs. While it can speed up some of the internal processes that influence customer experience (CX), such as loan approval, BPM doesn’t provide the customer-centric, personalized approach needed to improve CX throughout the customer journey. To truly understand and meet customer needs, businesses must implement customer journey management.
What Is Business Process Management?
Business process management refers to analyzing, modeling, designing and optimizing end-to-end business processes to achieve organizational goals. BPM uses several technologies—such as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered decisioning, workflow automation and robotic process automation—to simplify and automate daily operations. BPM also improves the efficiency, effectiveness and agility of tasks and processes that are ongoing, often repeated and/or predictable. For example, banks use BPM and robotic process automation to improve the efficiency of processes such as accounts payable, mortgage loan processing, account closure and credit card processing.
Limitations of BPM
BPM is business-centric, not customer-centric
BPM doesn’t account for the customers’ context, needs, preferences, perspectives and intent. It can improve the mortgage loan approval process, but by itself it cannot determine when or even ask why the consumer stops completing the mortgage application. Nor can it send a message (via the consumer’s preferred communication channel) reminding them to finish and submit the application. BPM by nature is designed to be back-office, and it lacks a customer-facing engagement capability designed to combine the context of “in the moment engagement” that a customer expects.
BPM applies to predictable, linear processes
Its methodology doesn’t work as well for the less-predictable, non-linear path customers follow during their interactions with a brand. Today’s customer journeys rarely lead directly from seeing an ad, going to the store, and purchasing the product. Customers may take many, varied steps (that often loop back on each other) between awareness and purchase. They may view social media ads, place an item in the shopping cart, browse other companies’ websites, abandon the cart, complete the purchase a few days later, call to check on delivery status, and then return the item when it doesn’t fit.
BPM’s automated workflows are often siloed by department (marketing, sales, fulfillment, customer service). Those workflows can’t predict, let alone manage, a customer’s circuitous journey that spans multiple processes—research, purchase, customer support, returns—across different channels over time.
BPM doesn’t continually re-evaluate and revise processes as needed
Many companies take a “set-it-and-forget-it” approach to BPM, revisiting it only once or twice a year. Without constantly updating processes, it’s virtually impossible to keep up with ever-evolving business needs or customer expectations.
BPM doesn’t personalize customer communications
BPM doesn’t gather and analyze the customer data needed to deliver tailored experiences. Without having information about customers’ previous customer service interactions (via interactive voice response [IVR] and live chat), contact center agents have to gather the details from scratch, asking customers to repeat themselves.
Business Processes Need Journey Logic
Delivering exceptional customer support requires the right customer interactions—not just the right agent workflow. A one-size-fits-all customer service approach isn’t good enough to meet unique customer needs. The customer journey is a mix of inbound, reactionary processes and outbound, proactive nudges. Customer-centric experiences start and end with knowing which journey a customer is on and what they aspire to achieve. Journey logic analyzes behaviors and interactions from other technologies (CRM, billing system, campaign, CDP, etc.) to predict intent and quickly determine the next best action. With a journey orchestration platform like CSG Xponent, overlayed across business processes and technology you will:
-
-
- Identify and eliminate unnecessary steps in the business process
- Reduce errors tied to manual analysis or step execution
- Align employee workflows to the customer experience
-
When you combine Xponent with process management, you create a customer experience that’s both efficient and effective, inside and out. Customers will have a positive experience, and the business will thrive.
If you’re ready to put customer journey logic behind the business processes, connect with us today.
