The Digital Transformation Summit was chock-full of great insight and ideas to carry out. BDX hosted over 250+ attendees, including 19 speakers and panelists, and 13 sponsors. Here’s a quick recap of each session in case you were unable to attend:
Let’s Talk About CEX
What’s AWE? BDX’s very own, Melissa Morman, inspires attendees with her talk on customer experience. She states that customer service is your brand and that customer experience is everyone’s job. Her keys to success? Just listen, constantly try, analyze data, and don’t buy into BS. Melissa even talks about her favorite brand that embodies customer experience to a T – Cirque Du Soleil, where their mission is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world.
Managing Your Adjacent Possibilities in a Connected World
Tim Costello, President and CEO of BDX, immerses us into a world full of adjacent possibilities, including both the successes – Ketchup bottle, Apollo 13, Moneyball – and the failures – 9/11. He reiterates what marketers need to know – managing your adjacent possibilities begins with expanding what we know, improving access to the knowledge, expanding our networks, and activating the network.
Vision of the Future
Paul Zeckser, Sr. VP of Product Dev at HomeAdvisor, identifies three trends coming to the home services online space – artificial intelligence (AI), on-demand delivery, and big data. The home is getting extremely connected as big brands are entering the home – think Google Assistant or the Amazon Echo. Home owners want access to on-demand services, including same-day availability, and companies have the ability to use accessible data (lot size, HVAC, appliances, etc.) to channel what customers want and need.
Buy It Now! The Home Buying Experience of the Future
Jimmy Diffee, Co-Founder of The Bokka Group, talks about the home buying journey and how reviews are disrupting the industry. His take? Stop fearing reviews and embrace them! Jimmy also goes into depth about implementing a voice of the customer (VoC) program in order to collect customer feedback. He states that a VoC program is a journey that starts with establishing the program, creating a CX committee, mapping the journey, setting benchmarks and goals, and lastly, setting up a software platform.
Research Insights Panel
Jeff Meyers of Hanley Wood/Meyers Research, David Brown of Metrostudy, and Peter Brumme of BDX gave us some insight and updates into the state of the housing industry. Jeff mentions that the spring selling season is doing better than expected and that millennials are looking to buy as they don’t want to be renting forever. David spoke on the different markets and market shares across the United States. Peter concludes the panel session by discussing the shopper persona, including the friction points that shoppers encounter.
Geospatial Analytics for a Dynamic World
Kevin O’Brien, Chief Business Officer at Orbital Insight, talks about how satellite imaging can help manage things in real-time. For the home building industry, this allows builders the ability to figure out the best areas to build new homes, how many homes are currently in a residential area (framed or completed), and even complete a retail competitive analysis.
Creating a Personal Connection Using Chat and AI
Chat bots are changing the way we communicate. Bassam Salem with AtlasRTX and Mark Law with BDX talked about how messaging is the application. In the home building industry, getting a fast response is key. In the next few years, 80% of businesses will have some sort of chatbot automation implemented. Both Bassam and Mark also mentioned that BDX is partnering with AtlasRTX to make chat-bots readily available on NewHomeSource.com.
Managing Change – A Panel Discussion
Tim Costello with BDX, Mike Duncan with Clayton Homes, Diane Morrison with Mattamy Homes, Dan Morman with Praxis Innovation, and Derek Schairer with Opendoor started off the second day of DCX talking about change through three lenses: builder, disruptor, and consultant. They mentioned that nothing changes until people change and that change is inevitable within an organization.
The Economies and Threats of Modern Phishing and Malware
We may not have to worry about a physical attack in our area, but Tom McNash with Cyren talked in depth about cyber-attacks and how they occur. The two most common cyber threats are phishing and malware. As of 2018, 70% of organizations surveyed had experienced at least one attack, which means that cyber-attacks can successfully penetrate corporate defenses. Tom also went into detail on how companies can defend themselves, including employee training, testing breach procedures, and using multi-factor authentication for sensitive accounts.
The Now Generation – Living the Smart Life
Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials – we’ve all heard of these generations. However, Kathy Sheehan with GfK Consumer Life talked about the rise of a new generation, Now Gen. With ages ranging from 14-21, this generation is the complete opposite of the one before them. They are socially tolerant of others, savvy and pragmatic shoppers, and are more likely to value privacy above all else. The key takeaway from this session? The teens/young adults in the Now Generation are the consumers of the future. So, if you haven’t give them a thought before, you might want to start.
The Nordstrom Way to Customer Experience Excellence
Author Robert Spector ended DCX on a high note. Have you ever heard of the department store Nordstrom? They’re known for delivering exceptional customer service and that’s why there’s a book called The Nordstrom Way. Robert brought up the fact that most customer service strategies are meant to benefit the company and not the actual customer. A company’s values should always stay the same while strategies must change. And if you’re wondering what The Nordstrom Way is, it revolves around three principles: stay true to the values of the culture; attract people who share the values; and teach and train based on the values.
