Customer Engagement

Today, Engageware announced the results of our research on the state of the B2B buying experience, with data revealing deep dissatisfaction by B2B buyers over seller companies’ customer engagement strategies. Most notably among their concerns, B2B buyers cite a failure by B2B sellers to facilitate live interactions with knowledgeable employees regarding potential purchases. Indeed, “What […]

Social media messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have become a normal engagement channel for consumers to engage with businesses and we’re now seeing that spill into B2B Sales. Just like consumers, businesses looking to purchase technology and services from other businesses expect fast and knowledgeable service. But what do you do after hours? […]

Whether or not you think Amazon Prime Day was worth the hype, the entire retail industry was ready for it to kick-off on Monday at 3:00 pm. Prime Day is now cemented in the pantheon of shopping holidays – right up there with Cyber Monday and other leading e-commerce events. In true Amazon fashion, the […]

There’s a big difference between omnichannel and multi-channel approaches to retail in 2018. While the multi-channel paradigm requires retailers to leverage many different channels for communicating with customers and driving sales, a successful omnichannel strategy comes to life when retailers can effectively integrate the channels they use to reach their customers, creating a continuous interaction […]

The long-anticipated General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect on May 25, and European privacy groups are wasting no time leveling its enforcement provisions against the likes of Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Complaints against these tech giants could carry fines of up to $9.3 billion in total, so it’s important to get any last […]

For businesses that operate within the service industry or provide any form of customer service or self-service to customers, continuous improvement of service delivery is required to stay competitive. That’s why so many companies use customer satisfaction surveys to collect feedback about the service they provide – if you’re not capturing feedback from your customers, […]

Google Duplex not only represents the tech giant’s newest capability – it turns the page on how customers and businesses will interact going forward. Artificial intelligence (AI) has officially gone to the next level, and the relevant use case is directed towards a task that’s seminally indispensable to both businesses and consumers: appointment scheduling. In […]

Brick-and-mortar retail, we’re happy to say, is far from dead. Indeed, in-store shopping remains a mainstay, with 87 percent of US retail customers still buying in the store, according to Forrester Research. The nature of that in‑store shopping experience, however, is changing dramatically. Today’s brands are competing more on customer experience than any other element […]

Rising interest rates and digital alternatives to traditional banking have American banks facing unprecedented competition for market share. One Accenture study estimated that digital alternatives could capture up to one-third of traditional banking revenue by 2020! Executives at the nation’s leading banks understand that delivering an excellent customer experience provides a significant edge when it […]

Since the day Robert Stephens founded Geek Squad in 1993, he has been thinking about selling time. Robert formed Geek Squad with $200, a bicycle, and a vision. In 2002, Geek Squad entered into joint operation with Best Buy and opened “precincts” in all of Best Buy’s U.S. and Canadian stores. Robert left Best Buy […]

Today, we’ve launched our new whitepaper: “Intelligent Appointment Scheduling: What Is It and How Does Artificial Intelligence Power It?” Our aim is simply to show how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way customer-facing teams work by helping them engage potential buyers at the optimal moment of interest. This comes just as the first wave […]

It’s no longer necessary to visit a branch for many banking services, yet in-person banking isn’t going away. Instead, it’s becoming more important and more specialized and, as a result, the customer service experience a branch provides is increasingly vital to a bank’s success. This reality is supported by Engageware’s own recent study about the […]

Credit unions continue to win over consumers by positioning themselves as community-oriented institutions that provide a wide range of financial services. This success stems from credit unions’ early recognition of today’s on-demand consumers’ heightened expectations and their insistence on a better customer engagement paradigm. Through personalized services and a member-owned financial model, credit unions create […]

Among the many cool technologies and solutions we saw at NRF 2018 Retail’s Big Show & EXPO, one over-arching theme stood out: artificial intelligence (AI) can help retailers achieve their ultimate goal of intelligent customer engagement. This is true no matter what the interaction – mobile, online, or IRL (“in real life”). All the buzz […]

Create remarkable retail experiences that motivate shoppers to walk through the door and linger In case you haven’t noticed, it’s that time of year again. The big day is almost here! No, not Thanksgiving, although that’s coming too and it’s a pretty big deal for those of us who love turkey and all the trimmings. […]

Dreamforce is huge. Attempting to summarize an event with 170,000 people, more than 2,700 sessions, 50 parties, and a myriad of partner locations, special events, and extra-curricular activities is a challenge. From my perspective, Salesforce draws three main audiences to Dreamforce: investors, customers and partners. As an investor, wherever you went in San Francisco, you […]

When Bank of Oak Ridge implemented a self-service solution with 24/7 access across their digital channels, they had no idea how impactful it would be. The bank quickly saw their daily call volume decrease by more than 20 percent, while the account maintenance backlog dropped more than 66 percent. Customer satisfaction sky rocketed, and employees […]

Each year, Engageware conducts a survey of credit union members to take their pulse on issues related to the quality of service they receive when they visit a branch. The findings consistently show that credit union members still like to conduct their financial transactions at the branch, even with the increasing availability of online banking […]

You don’t have to work in a customer service or support job to have a pretty good idea that it can be quite challenging—on a good day! As consumers, we all have engaged with the customer service or support team at a company with which we do business. Many times, it’s a great experience and it leaves […]

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably familiar with Engageware and what we do. We’re in the business of helping all types of companies schedule meetings with their customers and prospects. And we strive to let them do this important task smoothly, quickly and easily. We proudly promote our omnichannel scheduling capabilities, as well as […]

Key Findings from the Engageware State of Retail 2017 Survey Report Consumers said they plan to shop in stores in 2017 as much (70 percent) if not more (14 percent) than they did last year, according to the new Engageware State of Retail 2017 survey report. But that figure is down 8 percentage points from […]

The Financial Brand published an interesting article this week titled “5 Major Emerging Trends in Retail Banking.” All of the points—from how consumers share data with their banks to which channels people use for online banking—were interesting. But the one that stood out to me was #4: “People Still Want That Personal Touch.” Since you’re […]

Once again, the world of retail has taken over the Javits Center in New York City for the annual NRF BIG Show. Engageware is there, of course, ready to demonstrate our unique approach to appointment-driven personalization. You’ll find us—with a crowd—in booth #2235. As the team here was preparing for the show, I started thinking […]

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy National Returns Day (it’s coming up on Thursday, Jan. 5—hope you’re ready). According to a recent article from Forbes written by customer service and experience expert Shep Hyken, this Thursday is expected to be the biggest day for consumers to return unwanted holiday gifts. UPS says […]

It’s that festive time of year once again. A time for families to gather for Thanksgiving dinner, followed by rich desserts, conversation, watching football and… at least some members of the clan racing away from the table to get in line for Black Friday sales. Ah, tradition. With some retailers opening Thanksgiving night and others […]

Millennials, those between the ages of 20 and 35, are fast becoming the most prominent and desirable demographic group for retailers and other businesses. As millennials mature, they are gaining more buying power and entering the stage of their lives where big-ticket items—including home mortgages and financial planning for retirement—are increasingly important to them. This […]

Did you know that it’s Customer Service Week? Each year, thousands of companies across the United States and around the world mark this international celebration of the importance of customer service and of the people who serve and support customers on a daily basis. Customer service is more crucial than ever to every business. A […]

On October 5, BAI will launch its all-new BAI Beacon conference, and the Engageware team will be there in Chicago to share how we help leaders in the financial services industry create conversations that drive their business. Events such as BAI Beacon are a great opportunity for attendees to discuss best practices with colleagues and […]

Did you know that 89 percent of consumers agree that good service makes them feel more positive about the brands they engage with? In the Age of the Customer (as Salesforce, Forrester Research and many others call it), it’s not just about focusing on customers, it’s all about how you treat customers. It’s about your […]

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all,” – Michael LeBoeuf In today’s on-demand economy, consumers have nearly limitless choices of where to purchase products and services. With choice comes power, and few would argue that in the majority of industries, consumers, not businesses, now hold the power. Taking this one step further, […]