For anyone taking on a CEO role, there are a tremendous number of things you need to focus on in the first 100 days. For me though, it always starts with the customer.

That’s why I made it a priority to meet with many of the businesses around the world that rely on Genesys solutions to interact with their customers every day. I also used this time to engage with and learn from the Genesys team. After all, their insights and experiences are paramount to our ongoing success. And last, but certainly not least, I did a lot of critical thinking about our industry and even the global landscape of technology innovation. Like any new CEO, I can’t claim to have all the answers, but I want to share with you the things I am certain about as I move further along on this journey with Genesys.

The Next Technological Transformation Puts Customers in Control

Today’s consumers are much more discerning about what they want, how they want it and when. Just think about the way people shop, exercise and communicate with friends and family — it’s all tailored to them. As a result, consumers now expect this level of individualized experience with brands and organizations each and every time they interact.

At the same time, businesses around the world are at varying stages of transforming so they can more effectively engage this new digital-savvy customer. We are well beyond the old service-for-the-masses approach to customer support. Businesses know they need to connect to consumers where they are on a variety of channels (text, web chat, messaging apps, voice, etc.), and deliver service that’s right-sized for each individual.

Businesses also recognize the powerful insights they can glean from the data footprint consumers leave. They know the only way to both manage and learn from all that data is by turning to the cloud and leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation.

All of these shifts bring us to a pivotal moment that feels a lot like those leading up to two major transformations I have been lucky enough to experience firsthand in my career. First, the internet emerged and completely flipped the script on how we make connections and access information. Then came Skype, which drove the democratization of communications.

Right now, we’re on the cusp of our third major transformation. It’s driven by data and is all about truly understanding each customer — and putting them into the driver’s seat.

Moving the Needle on Personalization

In our lives as consumers, we’ve all been on the receiving end of a company’s efforts to personalize the experience. It’s very common to get ads and offers built for us and communications customized around our interests and histories. And we’re starting to see predictions about what we might want next based upon aggregate data from customers that “look” and behave like us.

However, truth be told, very few businesses are doing any of this really well.

For those that are, it’s a good step. But the reality is, consumers want an even deeper level of personalization than they already have — to the extent brands know what they want and can deliver it without even being asked.

Ultimately, consumers want to feel like they’re the only customer that matters during every interaction with a brand. That takes an incredible amount of technology, without a doubt. But we’ve reached a point where technical innovation isn’t enough to differentiate. Today, only the experiences a business actually delivers can do that.

This starts by recognizing experience is no longer defined by service — it’s about how consumers are marketed to, sold to and re-engaged. And it’s about building a richer relationship with customers by tuning into this new standard of personalization.

While knowing your customers’ names, profiles and histories used to be cutting edge, it’s now just table stakes. The next wave of personalization will be about knowing an individual’s preferences well enough to understand details such as:

  • You can’t call them from 9-5, but you can text
  • Your service options have to work around their calendar, not yours
  • You must deliver the experience they need based on their mood at any given moment (i.e., don’t sell to me right now, I’m upset)

And, this goes beyond single brands to include cross-enterprise experiences — where a traveler’s late flight automatically triggers notifications to their hotel, the car rental company and even the restaurant where they’re scheduled to dine later.

Imagine a world where all the pieces of the chain are linked — and consumers don’t need to lift a finger. That’s the world we imagine at Genesys.

Leading the Personalization Revolution

Genesys has a vantage point few other companies have. In our decades as an industry leader, we’ve successfully taken customer experience to new heights and built authentic relationships with thousands of businesses worldwide. They range from small companies to the largest Fortune 50 businesses, and include brands known for delivering the world’s best experiences. With varying degrees of complexity and sophistication, they trust Genesys to serve billions of consumers daily.

We are the stewards of enormous amounts of interaction data, and the Genesys Cloud gives us the innate ability to bring it all together to deliver personalized experiences rivaled by no other CX industry player. That’s why I firmly believe there is no company better positioned than Genesys to turn personalized service on its head.

It’s time to put the wheels in motion. It’s time for a major transformation.