In the past, companies engaged with their customers by meeting with them face-to-face, speaking with them on the telephone or mailing written documents. Engagement was largely reactive, with the marketing department primarily providing most of the outreach. Today both consumer expectations and communication channels have changed and companies can no longer rely on these traditional forms of engagement. Our research shows that customer service is now an enterprise-wide activity and that customers engage with companies through a variety of communication channels that include email, corporate websites, text messaging, instant messaging, social media, smartphone applications and video.

To succeed in this new environment, companies have to break down the barriers between business units and channels of communication. They must become more collaborative internally as well as with customers and be responsive to customer via mobile channels as well.

Ventana Research is conducting research to better understand users’ experiences, issues and concerns with this next generation of customer engagement. The research will provide an opportunity to understand how an organization can be a leader and innovator in this evolving market segment. The research will provide the only thorough research-based analysis of the impact of next-generation customer engagement in business today and tomorrow. Whether your organization is already embracing this trend or is evaluating what to do, this program will provide critical information with which to plan for the next wave of customer engagement.