It's been another busy quarter at Aspire, most recently with the appointment of Amanda Beesley to Vice President of Consultancy. We're thrilled to welcome Amanda on board; a well-known figure in the CCM world, she brings a wealth of knowledge and strategic consultancy experience in the field of CCM-CXM, and further strengthens our commitment to being the premier global advisory firm for helping businesses transform their CCM into CXM. We took the opportunity to catch up with her in our 'Professional Spotlight' feature below so keep scrolling.
In other big news, we're excited to announce the launch of the new Aspire Relationship Consultant program. This comes following a number of conversations with external consultants that wanted to be accredited and use our AMA methodology, while acting as Aspire branded consultants. It's a significant step for us as we look to empower likeminded external consultants with our AMA Online tool, alongside the latest Aspire research findings. For more information on the ARC Program click here.
On the topic of research, you'll be pleased to here that work is underway on Aspire's latest primary research projects: The State of CCM-CXM Transformation, and The Future of AI in Customer Engagement. Staying in tune and at the forefront of the evolving CCM market is paramount to our position as trusted advisors in this space. These in-depth global studies will provide the latest update on the evolution of the communications market from CCM-CXM and offer industry professionals relevant, in-depth perspectives of an evolving AI/ML opportunity that could transform the wider Customer Engagement space respectively. Read more in a blog from Kaspar on the research, here.
The Future of Generative AI in Customer Engagement; A New Landmark Study from Aspire
Kaspar Roos presents Aspire's latest research study, "The Future of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Customer Engagement." Find out what it will cover, who it's for and when it'll be available.
What is the biggest lesson you've learned so far in your career?
The importance of embracing change and constantly challenging yourself to do so. I’m a big believer in the theory that it’s not the challenges you face that define you but rather how you navigate them. I’m fortunate in that I’m naturally a very positive person and so I will always seek out the upsides in any given circumstance. I also think learning to be calm in a crisis is important – it is inevitable that things will go wrong and stuff happens you don’t expect, but rarely is it as bad as it first appears, most things can be resolved and those that can’t will change soon anyway. Panic, negativity or playing the blame game are all a waste of valuable energy in my view. During my career I have worked with many leading UK and International businesses and have witnessed first-hand that those organisations who successfully establish an organisational structure and ethos which truly embraces change and acts on it in an effective way, gain market share. Standing still is not an option for growth and we have all seen numerous “Blockbuster” examples to prove it. To quote Warren G Bennis “In life change is inevitable, in business it’s vital”.
What excites you about the CCM industry right now?
Where to start, I’ll pick out just two areas as I could go on all day about this one! ChatGPT launched last November and already we’re seeing the huge impact it’s having. To some extent, like many game changers, it’s a solution looking for a problem but I think it is going to have a seismic impact on the CCM industry. One of the big areas is inevitably going to be around the migration from legacy platforms. Historically this has proved extremely challenging for organisations due to the sheer scale and complexity of transitioning. With LLM we can see a future where the ability to migrate and rationalise high volumes of templates in a very short timescale will be widely accessible and with it the vastly accelerated pace and scale of change in the technology underpinning CCM.
The other key area which I find fascinating is the inevitable shift from CCM to CXM and TXM. I have long held the belief that regulatory communications are a critical area of consumer engagement but over the years they’ve been managed very operationally by the majority of organisations. Viewed as a regulatory cost rather than, I would argue, the most important touchpoint enterprises have with their customers. There has also been a very binary, cost focussed drive to digital transformation and adoption within the regulatory space. Anyone lucky enough to find a contact centre number is often greeted by interminable messages about how it would be so much better (for the company) if they went onto the website instead. Thankfully we’re now seeing a shift to focus on the experience and outcomes for the consumers across all of their touchpoints, rather than just internally focussed business drivers shaping the engagement strategy and investment. We now know that those organisations who embrace the CXM approach are achieving significantly higher levels of loyalty and growth.
What are you most looking forward to in your role at Aspire?
After 25+ years in the CCM industry I am passionate about using the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years to support clients and providers in the CCM market, transform their approach to customer engagement. I am also very excited to be part of a highly specialised global consultancy team and I am looking forward to getting close the challenges of the different international markets and learning a lot from Kaspar and the team about the deep analysis and research they have undertaken on global levers for CCM/CXM transformation as well as the more regional perspectives. At a crucial time like this, when we find ourselves at such an inflection point it is more important than ever to shape business strategy on evidence, insight and analysis.
Consultancy Services
Aspire is a global analyst, market research and consultancy firm with offices in the U.K, U.S and Europe, providing independent insight and trusted advice to the Customer Communications Management (CCM), Customer Journey Management (CJM) and Customer Experience Management (CXM) industries.
Aspire empowers Enterprises, CCM-CXM Software, Services and Solution providers, Business Advisories and Private Equity Firms and other investors, with unbiased guidance and actionable insights delivered through a variety of highly specialized services.
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