For modern CX leaders, delivering a seamless and personalized customer experience is the key to competitive advantage. However, this is easier said than done. It requires a well-integrated customer experience (CX) technology stack that can provide a single view of the customer and that can enable you to deliver a consistent and personalized experience across all channels. This article provides a guide for how to build a modern CX technology stack, from the foundational systems of record to the engagement and analytics layers.
The first step in building a modern CX stack is to have a clear understanding of your customer journey. You need to map out all of the touchpoints that a customer has with your brand, from their first visit to your website to their post-purchase support interactions. This will help you to identify the key moments of truth where you can make a difference and to choose the right technologies to support those moments. For a deeper dive into the importance of the customer journey, see our article on omnichannel vs. multichannel.
1. The Foundational Layer: Systems of Record
The foundation of any modern CX stack is a set of systems of record that provide a single source of truth for your customer data. This includes:
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Your CRM is the heart of your CX stack. It’s where you store all of your customer data, including their contact information, their purchase history, and their interaction history. A platform like CRM9 makes this process seamless by centralizing customer insights and helping teams deliver more personalized experiences
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Your ERP system is where you manage your core business processes, such as finance and supply chain. Integrating your ERP with your CRM can provide a more complete view of your customer.
- Product Information Management (PIM): Your PIM system is where you manage all of your product information. Integrating your PIM with your e-commerce platform and your marketing automation platform can ensure that your customers always have access to accurate and up-to-date product information.
2. The Engagement Layer: Channels and Touchpoints
The engagement layer is where you interact with your customers. This includes a variety of channels and touchpoints, such as:
- Contact Center Platform: Your contact center platform is the hub of your customer service operations. It should support a variety of channels, including voice, email, chat, and social media.
- E-commerce Platform: Your e-commerce platform is where you sell your products and services online. It should provide a seamless and convenient shopping experience.
- Marketing Automation Platform: Your marketing automation platform is where you manage your marketing campaigns. It should be integrated with your CRM to enable personalized and targeted marketing.
- Content Management System (CMS): Your CMS is where you manage your website content. It should be integrated with your other systems to provide a consistent and personalized experience.
3. The Analytics Layer: Insights and Intelligence
The analytics layer is where you turn your customer data into actionable insights. This includes:
- Customer Data Platform (CDP): A CDP is a specialized system that ingests data from a variety of sources to create a unified and persistent customer profile. Modern customer experience analytics solutions often build on CDPs to further integrate insights and guide CX strategy.
- Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics Tools: BI and analytics tools can help you to analyze your customer data to identify trends, to segment your customers, and to measure the effectiveness of your CX initiatives.
- AI and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning can be used to personalize the customer experience, to predict customer behavior, and to automate customer service. For more on this, see our article on AI-powered contact center automation.
| Layer | Key Technology | Key Function |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational | CRM, ERP, PIM | Provide a single source of truth for your customer data. |
| Engagement | Contact Center, E-commerce, Marketing Automation, CMS | Interact with your customers across all channels. |
| Analytics | CDP, BI, AI/ML | Turn your customer data into actionable insights. |
Conclusion
Building a modern CX technology stack is a complex but essential undertaking for any organization that wants to compete on customer experience. By taking a strategic and customer-centric approach, you can build a CX stack that provides a single view of the customer and that enables you to deliver a consistent and personalized experience across all channels. The journey to a modern CX stack is a marathon, not a sprint, but with the right strategy and the right partner, you can build a more intelligent and customer-centric business. For a deeper dive into the metrics that matter, see our guide on the contact center analytics that truly improve CSAT.
