Exploring the Key Components of SAP Customer Experience (CX)
SAP Customer Experience (CX) is largely the replacement for SAP Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which was SAP’s original entry into the customer relationship space. In light of competition from platforms like Salesforce, SAP has introduced a host of new and updated features and packaged them as SAP CX. A series of acquisitions by SAP including Coresystems, CallidusCloud, and Gigya products are part of a growing belief in the importance of customer management. The launch of SAP CX ultimately allows companies to manage the most important features of customer relationships in one place.
In this piece, we explore the key components of SAP Customer Experience (CX) and the value it brings to retailers.
WHY DOES THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MATTER IN RETAIL?
The retail industry has found that customer experience is an increasingly important differentiator. With the rise of AI and powerful analytics tools, firms are now able to address customer and client experience more optimally, and CX is SAP’s response to the needs of retail firms that seek to stay ahead of competitors. This specific set of solutions encompasses the latest updates in AI and data analytics to ensure efficiency where it was previously costly or time intensive.
Below, we break down the 5 key components of SAP CX.
KEY COMPONENTS OF SAP CX
1. SAP Customer Data Cloud
SAP Customer Data Cloud functionality allows firms to manage customer information. Vitally, it provides data protection measures and secure channels for compiling new information. Customers can also control their data while maintaining compliance with GDPR requirements. Effectively, SAP Customer Data Cloud is a tool to import, export, manage, and store customer information in an efficient and safe way.
2. SAP Marketing Cloud
SAP Marketing Cloud’s role is to manage the attainment and retention of customers. Primarily, this solution allows firms to analyze marketing data and generate actionable insights for their customer interactions. This means that companies can possess a real-time understanding of where to focus marketing efforts and what to change. Notably, the feature even allows marketers to learn customer interests, sentiments, and historical behavior.
3. SAP Commerce Cloud
SAP Commerce Cloud largely focuses on creating and managing a firm’s eCommerce presence. By allowing for high degrees of customizability, the platform enables retailers to create and scale their online stores as they wish. Additionally, it supports the usage of AI both on the back- and front-end which can outsize the impact that a small development team has. For example, the firm receives AI-processed data about improving the platform as users interact with AI chatbots to deliver better shopping experiences. Finally, users can integrate their own plug-ins, further developing the platform’s customizability.
4. SAP Sales Cloud
SAP Sales Cloud provides a holistic view of virtually every key data point for a sales team. It effectively streamlines and automates core processes with AI that would otherwise be done manually. The solution also analyzes data and has the ability to forecast trends for a firm’s customers. Additionally, it provides the statuses of all customers in order to track and manage ongoing sales journeys.
5. SAP Service Cloud
SAP Service Cloud functions as a request processing center for customer inquiries. It not only manages customer requests, but also creates a degree of consistency in interactions by standardizing solution channels. Some notable features of SAP Service Cloud include connecting a request for help with customer service members anywhere in an organization, incorporating AI to provide faster feedback, and improving accuracy with case management workflows. SAP Service Cloud is able to be tailored quickly and easily by firms to their specific needs, such as with what items are visible and prioritized, which can be crucial with the pace of change in today’s rapidly changing landscape.
ENHANCING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH SAP CX
SAP Customer Experience (CX) is a powerful tool for retail firms in an age where customers increasingly value white-glove service. Perhaps the most important component of SAP CX is its customizability, which means that firms can adapt to any of their own unique needs and challenges in the ever-changing retail landscape. This means that firms can resolve issues internally without requiring large downtime for bug fixes or improvements. Finally, SAP CX incorporates AI into nearly every component to ensure efficiency and accuracy. Firms that want a well-packaged introduction to AI should consider SAP CX – especially those in retail that are experiencing high-growth phases where optimality is vital.
If you’re interested in discussing SAP CX for your retail business, reach out to us today.
Contributions from Jake Park-Walters