Customer Experience Strategy

At Zurich Insurance’s HQ, product managers didn’t look to another insurer for inspiration. They looked to Spotify. Spotify made streaming seamless with three clicks and you’re playing a song. Zurich applied the same principle to 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬. Agents who once wrestled with 15–20 screens can now resolve queries in just 3 clicks. That’s not just convenience, it translates into 70% faster service, fewer processing errors, and double-digit improvements in customer satisfaction scores. In fact, in insurance, trust isn’t built just at point of sales. It’s also built at the moment of service when a customer is vulnerable, waiting for clarity, or seeking resolution. Every second shaved off that journey adds to confidence in the brand. Globally, insurers who invest in frictionless CX are seeing retention rise and policy lapses fall. In markets where penetration still hovers around 3–4% of GDP, cutting complexity could be as powerful as cutting costs. Because, insurance should feel less like a bureaucratic battle… and more like streaming your favorite playlist. What do you think, shouldn’t buying and servicing insurance feel as easy as listening to music? #DigitalIndia #Fintech #AI #technology

How will email marketing change if AI summarizes all your emails? The first wave of AI was about creating content, but the second wave is synthesizing information to save users time: Gen AI → SynthAI. Marketers got a wake up call about SynthAI with Google I/O’s recent announcements. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 AI Overviews in search will lead to “zero click search” and dramatic drops in clicks to your website. Recommendations for how marketers should respond include: 🎢 Websites must become experiences that can't be summarized. Christopher Penn says machines can’t summarize experiences because there’s no value in the summary; you want to visit Disneyland, not read a summary about a trip. Invest in owned media and communities, with new content formats such as videos, podcasts, and events. 📊 Content must be so relevant that AI search can't ignore and must cite it. Invest in content based on original research and data, a la Gong Labs. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥? Gemini in Gmail can scan unread emails, deliver a summary of key points and action items, and draft a reply. What will happen to B2B email marketing if buyers don’t read their emails and only pay attention to what the AI highlights? The drops in web traffic will be nothing compared to the drops in email open and click rates. 😱 The solution? Like websites, focus on experiences and content AI can't ignore, and: 🤝 Use “human” emails: As AI handles more routine communication, authentic human-to-human interactions will become more important. Emails from people your recipient knows, including your executives, will stand out. ✍️ Master "AI-optimized" email copywriting: A new specialty will emerge in crafting email copy that guides the AI to include it in summaries. This will include authentic personalization; referencing specific events or deadlines that the AI associates with urgency for the user; and including unique, valuable offers or insights that the AI recognizes as noteworthy. 🎼 Orchestrate across channels: B2B marketers will synchronize their email messages across channels like LinkedIn, direct mail, and phone calls to surround prospects and tell a cohesive story that can't be reduced to a summary. 👥 Prioritize human channels: May Habib suggests you engage customers in the channels you know are likely to be their human eyeballs and not their AI ones — particularly social. 💧 Cultivate buyer watering holes: Spend time where your buyers spend time, such as communities, review sites, industry events, and influential publications. Email becomes a notification system to drive engagement on these platforms. 🏆 Build your brand: Most importantly, as I've often said, your brand is what people think and feel about you, regardless of what an AI summary says. If your brand is strong, people will seek you out — something AI can't synthesize. #SynthAI #B2BMarketing #EmailMarketing #AIOverviews #GoogleIO

Between 63% and 70% of ECC Customers still haven’t made the move to S/4HANA. In 2024, SAP strengthened its position with key partnerships, collaborating with tech leaders like Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Google Cloud, and Nvidia. These partnerships introduced new integrations: → Meta’s Llama 3 integrated into SAP’s generative AI hub. → Microsoft Copilot combined with SAP Joule for advanced task management. So why are ECC to S/4HANA migrations still slow? Despite innovation, 63-70% of ECC customers have yet to migrate. 2 key challenges: 1️⃣ 68% of ECC Customers are concerned about high migration costs. 2️⃣ 73% of ECC Customers find SAP’s licensing structure unclear. #SAPpartners are helping… Partners offer: → Tailored solutions to reduce costs. → Simplified licensing guidance. → Better returns on SAP investments. With the right Partnerships, companies can navigate migration more effectively ahead of 2027. #CloudERP #sap #s4hana #data #erp #digitaltransformation #AI #GenAI

Vanguard turned 50. I sat down with Nathan Zahm to talk about CX Alpha: Their unique approach to 3 levels of journeys has helped them stay one of the top customer-centric brands. In fact they were ranked number one in J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Investor Satisfaction Study for self-directed investors. So how do they do it? They organize customer experience across three distinct layers: 🔹 Life Journeys These are decades-long narratives. Like planning for retirement, education, or legacy. - These require consistency, context, and care over time. As Nathan says: "You don’t optimize these in Figma. You orchestrate them over a long period of time:" 🔹 Moments That Matter Life events that shape financial decisions like getting married, changing jobs, having a child. These are emotional moments where trust is built (or lost). 🔹 Task Journeys → The everyday actions like moving funds, making a trade or opening an account. These should be simple, seamless, and stress-free. But here's the kicker: They are organizing teams around these journeys and coordinating action across them from the central CX Alpha team. They call them pods. You’ll have teams that are very deep and well suited to hit those tasks, but then also teams that are thinking through, what’s it look like to be here for many years, hopefully many decades. But whatever the horizon, each CX Alpha pod brings together an interdisciplinary team: Behavioral Scientist Data Analyst Financial Planner UX Researcher Designer Developer Product Owner The magic isn’t in any one expertise. It’s in how they work together toward a shared outcome: helping investors make better decisions with greater confidence. And did you see the detail? No 'CX Manager'. Customer Experience is a responsibility, not a team. Nathan lays out the playbook, including their 'Better Decisions' engine. 🔥 Check out the episode if you haven't.

I once visited a company whose CIO was quite outspoken: "𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘈𝘗 𝘌𝘊𝘊 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘈𝘗 𝘚/4𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘈". Their to-go SAP partner shared this view and continued to earn money selling ECC consultants for keep-the-lights-on activities. The CIO even mentioned that if SAP didn't come up with something significantly better, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘊𝘊 𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 2030. Meanwhile, the IT department and 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲. One glaring example was their MRP run: Back in 2003, when they first implemented SAP, the MRP ran twice daily. Over the years, however, complexity and data volumes skyrocketed, blowing up the runtime so much that now it only ran once a week—over the weekend. Despite massive investments in tuning (including disabling valuable features like alerts), the runtime stretched beyond the overnight window, so the customer IT had to switch to a once a week on weekend format. Consequently, planners came in on Monday to a “clean” dataset—only for it to grow stale already by Tuesday (no MRP!), making quick reactions to demand and supply changes impossible because: it was still 4 days till the next MRP run! SAP S/4HANA’s MRP Live would have instantly solved this problem and restored operational agility etc. And during a more thorough review, we discovered another dozen similar issues. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗜𝗢 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗔𝗣 𝗦/𝟰𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗔... This situation was like a Simpsons episode from the 90s in which Homer sits on the couch, complains about a dull show on TV, but then decides he’s not willing to reach for the remote, concluding, “𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗱.” All too often, the claim of “not finding a business case” 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. SAP and its partners often fail to engage in the necessary deep-dive of a customer’s situation to demonstrate how new capabilities can solve real challenges. This lack of hands-on motivation from all sides kills innovation and competitiveness across the board. 𝗦𝗔𝗣 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻). By rolling up their sleeves and working collaboratively with clients to uncover genuine pain points, they can showcase how solutions like S/4HANA directly address these issues. Once the tangible benefits are made clear, the “no business case” argument typically falls away—often quite quickly. Fun fact: The successor of aforementioned CIO started a SAP S/4HANA initiative immediately after taking over... 😎 𝐃𝐎𝐇!

Traditional email marketing is dead... And no, it wasn’t AI that killed it. It was inbox fatigue. We’re done with bland promos and one-way blasts. Now? We want to be entertained, educated, emotionally hooked. The best brands today don’t just send emails, they build experiences in your inbox. Here are 2 new types of email strategy that actually work: 1. Email as Entertainment: Let’s talk about NUDE PROJECT. They send chaos, in the best way possible. Their emails read like a group chat meets underground zine: chaotic storylines, Gen Z memes, interactive graphics, and cliffhangers. You’re not just reading, you’re part of the ride. It’s unpredictable, unfiltered, and totally them. ➡️Result? Passive followers turn into die-hard fans, eagerly waiting for the next episode. 2. Email as Education Now look at Gohar World. They’ve turned email into a museum. Every send is a beautifully crafted experience: whimsical guides, historical nuggets, product stories, and curated “world-building” moments. They’re not selling they’re storytelling. ➡️The goal isn’t conversion. It’s context. Because context creates curiosity. And curiosity builds desire. 🚫 The old “10% OFF, BUY NOW” formula? Dead. The new inbox? Story-first. Weird. Human. Visually rich. Emotionally sticky. Drop your fav newsletter below #EmailMarketing #NewsletterStrategy #BrandStorytelling #GrowthMarketing #DigitalInnovation #RetentionMarketing

SAP’s key message at Sapphire 2025 was clear ERP transformation doesn’t need to be disruptive, nor is it one-size-fits-all SAP is reshaping ERP with AI, making it more accessible and impactful for businesses of all sizes. SAP is integrating AI to meet ERP customers where they are, enhancing flexibility and productivity. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 🔹 AI Integration: SAP's Joule AI co-pilot is embedded across its software suites, including ERP, finance, and supply chain management. 🔹 Cloud Compatibility: Joule operates seamlessly across various cloud environments, including SAP's own cloud, Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. 🔹 Cross-Platform Collaboration: Joule can interact with other AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, enhancing flexibility for businesses using multiple software sources. 🔹 Data Utilization: SAP leverages anonymized data from over 30,000 customers to fine-tune AI models, improving accuracy and relevance. 🔹 Productivity Gains: SAP engineers have experienced a 30% to 40% increase in productivity through AI tools. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀: 🔹 Acquisitions: SAP acquired WalkMe for $1.5 billion to enhance user guidance and adoption. 🔹 Partnerships: Collaborations with tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, IBM, and Accenture to advance generative AI capabilities. 🔹 Ethical Commitment: SAP has committed to adopting UNESCO's 10 guiding principles in artificial intelligence ethics. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀: 🔹 Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs): SAP's initiatives focus on AI-driven enhancements across finance, supply chain management, and other enterprise functions, promising significant productivity gains. 🔹 Consulting Ecosystem: SAP's developer tools are being tested by firms like Accenture, Deloitte, and PwC, aiming to save 600 million working hours per year in productivity gains. SAP's approach to integrating AI into ERP systems is setting a new standard for enterprise software, making advanced capabilities more accessible and impactful for businesses worldwide. 𝗣.𝗦. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗔𝗣'𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀. Save 💾 ➞ React 👍 ➞ Share ♻️ Follow Alok Kumar for insights on SAP and AI in enterprise solutions.

We need to stop thinking about email as a “channel” and start treating it like an ecosystem. This isn’t theory. It’s coming from conversations with teams deep in the trenches of email marketing — the ones scaling programs, fixing what’s broken, and asking bigger questions about where this all goes next. What’s clear is this: while some brands are still sending templated newsletters, others are quietly rebuilding how email works from the inside out. 📌 The first big shift? AI isn’t just helping marketers — it’s replacing entire layers of decision-making. From subject lines to send times to content blocks, AI is doing what entire teams used to — but faster, and with real-time learning baked in. 📌 The second? Email is becoming interactive — not metaphorically, literally. Booking, browsing, polling, purchasing — all inside the email. The best teams aren’t linking out anymore; they’re building frictionless UX into the inbox itself. And here’s the interesting part: the tech isn’t new. Most of it has been here for a while. What’s changing is the mindset. The high-performers aren’t chasing trends — they’re rethinking what email can be. They’re building strategies where privacy, personalisation, and performance aren’t trade-offs, they’re requirements. Email is becoming more intelligent, more responsive, and more integrated into the full customer journey. It’s not a campaign tool anymore — it’s a core experience layer. #EmailMarketing #DigitalStrategy #CustomerExperience #AI #GrowthThinking

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚'𝐬 𝐂𝐗 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞! The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a paradigm shift in customer engagement, driven by evolving expectations and digital transformation. Despite efforts to improve, pharma companies face significant challenges in effectively engaging HCPs and patients, with only 𝟑𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐂𝐏𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. To bridge this gap, the industry is embracing AI-driven analytics, omnichannel approaches, and personalized content delivery, while also focusing on holistic patient journeys and cross-functional collaboration. 💡HCPs are 2𝒙 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 to prescribe from companies with excellent CX 💡74% of HCPs 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 💡According to McKinsey's 2024 Consumer Health Insights Survey, healthcare 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, and digitally-enabled experiences 🔬 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂-𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔: Imagine predicting patient needs before they arise! That's exactly what we are seeing happening at Top Pharma, boosting HCP engagement with AI-driven tactics. A mid-size oncology firm recently calculated a whooping 40% better medication adherence through personalized support analytics. 3 𝑲𝒆𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝑿 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 🔍𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎: Implement AI-driven analytics to segment customers, create tailored content, and develop personalized medication plans and support programs. 🔍𝐸𝑚𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑚𝑛𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙: Integrate CRM systems across departments, ensure consistent messaging across touchpoints, and implement real-time data sharing for seamless interactions. 🔍𝐹𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛: Develop comprehensive patient journey maps, offer support beyond medication, and create cross-functional teams to address holistic healthcare needs. #PharmaCX #DigitalHealth #PatientCentricity