Co-authored by Mike Keutzer, Cisco Technical Teacher at Sundown Studying Institute, a Cisco Platinum Studying Accomplice.
Classes from Sundown Studying’s personal Proactive Buyer Journey expertise
Proactive buyer journeys are sometimes mentioned as a future-state functionality, one thing organizations plan for as soon as the proper instruments, knowledge, and integrations are in place. However maybe proactive engagement ought to be much less about fixing the advanced challenge as an entire and extra about intent: anticipating buyer wants and decreasing friction earlier than it turns into an issue.
At Sundown Studying Institute, a Cisco Platinum Studying Accomplice, the Proactive Buyer Journey is an idea we train often. However a easy inner query challenged us to look inward at our processes:
We advocate for proactive engagement every single day, however are we absolutely making use of these rules ourselves?
That query turned the start line for enhancing our personal Proactive Buyer Journey.
The issue: A registration expertise that works however isn’t seamless
Our class registration expertise isn’t damaged, nevertheless it’s not an ideal system both. When college students join a category, they obtain:
- Affirmation emails.
- Calendar invitations.
- Reminder messages for when class begins and find out how to join.
If somebody misses the beginning of sophistication or has hassle becoming a member of, our workforce follows up manually through e mail and telephone to help as wanted.
On the floor, this course of works.
In actuality, emails get buried, calendars refill, and other people juggle competing priorities—particularly very first thing on Monday morning when class begins. When college students can’t simply discover class particulars or entry hyperlinks, our workforce steps in to fill the gaps, however this, in flip, creates a ripple impact of inefficient time administration.
This occurs typically sufficient that our workforce has turn into resistant to it and customarily expects to do some “cat herding” firstly of each class. However somewhat than performing reactively when issues happen, we ought to create a extra proactive course of for purchasers and our workforce alike.
For a corporation targeted on buyer expertise transformation, this problem presents a chance: use the instruments we advocate to make the primary day of becoming a member of a category extra well timed, related, and easy for our prospects.
The Proactive Buyer Journey outlined with an answer
We’ll talk about and configure the precise Proactive Buyer Journey choices in additional element whenever you come to class, however the fundamental premise is easy sufficient: match the client’s communication channel preferences with the enterprise’s capabilities—as proactively as attainable!
Protecting in thoughts the problem of unclear communication to college students throughout a number of channels and Sundown Studying Institute’s must fill the gaps with further help, contemplate a conceptual instance of find out how to enhance the Proactive Buyer Journey:
College students presently discover data or register for lessons on-line, by e mail, or by telephone. For some, nevertheless, communication earlier than and after registration can turn into complicated, overwhelming, or misplaced altogether. So, wouldn’t it’s more practical and all-encompassing if college students might additionally inquire about or register for lessons through communication channels they might in any other case favor, equivalent to Chat, WhatsApp, Apple iMessage, SMS/RCS, and Fb?
And what if Sundown Studying Institute might additionally proactively reply to every buyer on these distinct channels, assembly their distinctive preferences?
Moreover, what if this modern resolution, which might enable for higher versatility by opening new channels of communication, might additionally combine with our back-end buyer relationship administration (CRM) purposes and third-party methods, or if AI brokers might present a seamless journey for each the client and our group?
Appears like a fantastic plan with an achievable objective that may lead to many optimistic outcomes! You might be asking, “How lengthy will it take to create that system?” and “What number of technologists would work on this challenge?”
These are legitimate factors, as our group sometimes has no Contact Middle setting (the place you’ll probably discover this omnichannel resolution). We don’t want or need one both since we’re a small group utilizing Webex Calling, Messaging, and Assembly providers for our back-office setting.
Like all organizations, we don’t desire a bunch of technologists to should work on this one challenge. We care about prices, and we’d like to begin easy with the power to develop into this final amalgamation of expertise described above.
So, what resolution can enable a typical group to simply lengthen its communication channel capabilities to prospects, together with AI agent performance, utilizing a low-code/no-code resolution that gives grow-as-you-go options and integrates simply with the remainder of our current Webex Companies?
Webex Connect with the rescue!
Webex Join is a cloud-based Enterprise Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) that helps companies automate and handle buyer interactions throughout a number of channels like SMS, WhatsApp, e mail, and voice.
It makes use of a low-code, visual-flow builder to create, check, and deploy automated communication journeys that incorporate native integrations with third-party options, in addition to intensive API and Webhook performance.
Beginning the journey easy: SMS reminders
As with every journey, it is best to most likely prepare first and plan issues out. In spite of everything, it’s not an in a single day journey; it’s a journey!
For us at Sundown Studying Institute, our first Proactive Buyer Journey step is deliberate to be deliberately modest: sending SMS reminders on the primary day of sophistication, earlier than class begins.
The straightforward message will likely be so simple as its identify suggests. It would embody:
- A salutary greeting.
- Data on class begin dates.
- A hyperlink to hitch the assembly straight from the message.
- A pleasant “Have a fantastic week!” message.
By providing direct entry to session particulars and connectivity data with out together with pointless promotional content material, it retains the client knowledgeable with out overwhelming them. A extra direct method with clear directions ought to scale back the necessity for additional help from our workforce.
Webex Join makes this preliminary objective pretty simple to implement, because the interface permits for ordering SMS numbers and configuring branding and campaigns. The built-in Occasion Scheduler can assist schedule SMS campaigns by pulling buyer data from a number of sources. We are able to begin easy and add complexity and performance as we go.
The results of this initiative ought to entail a smoother expertise for college students and fewer final‑minute points for our workforce. Whereas this instance straight applies to the issue we’re attempting to unravel at Sundown Studying Institute, it provides perception into modern considering that may enhance the proactive buyer journey in lots of conditions.
We don’t must “boil the entire ocean,” because the saying goes. Let’s begin with a easy proof of idea to realize administration buy-in and show that our assets are incomes buyer belief and simplifying processes for all concerned events.
What this expertise hopes to show about proactive journeys
Whereas this proposed enchancment appears easy, it ought to reinforce a number of broader rules that apply to any group exploring proactive buyer engagement:
- Begin with friction, not options: The simplest journeys handle a particular ache level as an alternative of main with technological capabilities.
- Timeliness issues greater than quantity: Proactive buyer engagement is just not about sending extra messages; it’s about sending fewer, better-timed ones.
- Small modifications can ship outsized impression: Even a single, well-placed touchpoint can considerably enhance the general expertise for purchasers.
- Proactive doesn’t imply impersonal: When messages are related and well-timed, automation can really feel useful somewhat than intrusive.
These classes apply throughout industries, whether or not the journey includes onboarding, help, coaching, or buyer communications.
Constructing towards extra clever journeys
This preliminary step is simply the start. As organizations like Sundown Studying Institute and their method to proactive buyer engagement mature, alternatives typically develop to incorporate deeper integrations, AI-assisted interactions, and true omnichannel orchestration.
What stays fixed is the underlying technique: designing journeys round buyer wants, not inner processes. Know-how permits transformation, however technique makes it profitable.
Â
Mike Keutzer is a Cisco Methods Technical Teacher primarily based within the Denver, Colorado, space, with over 30 years of expertise in data methods and buyer engagement applied sciences. He has spent many years educating and creating Cisco Contact Middle, Voice, and Routing options, together with Webex Contact Middle. Mike has authored and contributed to quite a few Cisco Contact Middle coaching applications and has obtained a number of Cisco Teacher Excellence Awards.
To study extra, discover Webex Contact Middle coaching supplied by Sundown Studying Institute, a Cisco Platinum Studying Accomplice.
