delivering on the promise. customer experience and crm in ...€¦ · a key consideration when...

1MOZAIC: CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CRM IN HIGHER EDUCATION

DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE.

Customer Experience and CRM in Higher Education.


As universities increasingly turn their minds and efforts to thechallenges of a rapidly evolving market; many are looking for ways toleverage CRM to deliver the experience students and others have cometo expect.

To get CRM right however, we must look beyond ‘installation’ ofsoftware to implementing solutions that tie directly to the delivery ofexpected outcomes. Universities can increase their ability to deliver anexceptional user experience and expected outcomes, through anincreased focus on:

§ Clearly and concisely articulating the problem to be solved andthe outcomes sought; ensuring they are complete, measurableand proactively managed.

§ Designing for the target state before leaping into development.

§ Ensuring experience design takes a holistic view across theenterprise and caters for the diverse needs of audience groups atdifferent stages in their journey; both on and offline.

This paper provides insights to help organisations navigate several keychallenges and avoid some of the common mistakes we have seen inCRM and customer experience implementations.


Be clear on the problem you are trying to solve.

Systems implementations can take on a lifeof their own - losing sight of the strategicintent (why are we doing this? Whatproblem are we trying to solve?) and thetarget state (where are we headed?). In theabsence of clear strategic direction, projectteams are inclined to focus their attention onwhat is immediately in front of them;typically functionality and screen design, atthe expense of delivering the full range ofbenefits and outcomes expected.

Key drivers will vary across institutions andare typically well understood at theexecutive level. A disconnect can occurwhen this strategic intent is not translatedfor project teams and key stakeholders, whoare often unclear

unclear on the key problems or challengesthe organisation is trying to address and thespecific outcomes sought.

Clearly articulated and measurable strategicintent:

§ makes concrete the vision andexpected outcomes of CRM

§ can be translated into clear goals forproject teams

§ informs design

§ gives shape to the target state

§ allows for prioritisation of outcomesand the development of a roadmapthat balances risk and reward.


Consider the target state.

There are many well documented cases of projectsthat have gone awry due to piecemeal investmentsin siloed solutions; caused by insufficient focus onthe target state architecture. Eager to capture“quick-wins” – project teams often pay insufficientattention to the essential first steps: designing anddocumenting the architecture needed to supportthe expected outcomes.

This short-sighted approach can lead to a host ofissues including:

§ functional duplication;

§ data redundancy;

§ poor data quality;

§ prolonged project timelines;

§ clunky integration; and ultimately,

§ a disconnected user experience.

Organisations that take the time to design for target statearchitecture up front, have a much greater success rate indelivering the expected benefits of CRM.


processes from multiple transactional platforms. Dataintegration and synchronisation considerations are alsoparamount; including ensuring the ‘source of truth’ forstudent and prospective information is understood andclearly documented.

Internal and external organisational drivers inform the target state architecture. Consideringbusiness, information and application architecture in unison is key to enabling the development ofa superior user experience.

Key internal and external organisational drivers are the firstconsideration – how can CRM contribute to organizationalobjectives? What are the key drivers? How can we maximiseeffectiveness? (e.g.: implementing across the organisationwherever customer touch-points exist – not just in isolatedareas).

These key drivers and objectives should inform the targetstate design for business, information and applicationarchitecture; ensuring strategic alignment across theorganisation.

Business, information and application architecture supportand inform each other and should be designed in unison toensure alignment of objectives and outcomes across eachdomain.

A key consideration when designing target state architecture,is how best to achieve a seamless, ‘omni-channel’ integrationof process and data across various platforms.

CRM should be the 'experience platform' that managescustomer touchpoints and orchestrates data and ‘experience


Key architectural considerations for CRM implementations in higher education.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTUREBUSINESS ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

§ What will be the source of truth forstudent & prospective student data ?

§ How will a single view of student andprospective student be achieved ?

§ How will student and prospectivestudent data be synchronised across allstudent related systems ?

§ What parts of the student journey willbe digitised ?

§ Will there be multiple service channels ?If so, how should they be harmonisedand integrated to provide a seamlessexperience ?

§ What functions are best provided viaself service ?

§ How will integration be achieved fromboth a process and data architectureperspective ?

APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE

§ What functions should be in the coreCRM solution versus other systems ?

§ Should workflow be provided via thecore CRM platform or via a specialistworkflow tool ?


Documenting the target state should include developing anarchitectural roadmap that highlights the key activities to transitionthe business and IT architectures from current to targetstate. Uncovering these transitional activities in the early phase of theproject, facilitates timely identification of potential risks and issues;reducing the likelihood of unexpected delays during implementation.

A pragmatic architectural governance regime should also beinstigated to ensure the program stays true to the architectural intentand product releases and business changes are converging towardthe target state.

Sample architecture (simplified) and roadmap for CRM and related systems.


Take a holistic approach to experience design.

The importance of experience design is escalating at aphenomenal rate, with expectations as to whatconstitutes a ‘good experience’ rapidly evolving. Digitaland social design innovations, spearheaded by majorbrands such as Uber, Apple, Netflix and Amazon, aredominating the market and the minds of consumers.These brand experiences are now the benchmark for allindustries and are what consumers compare theirexperiences to.

Higher education students are savvy digital consumerswith high expectations of service and accessibility.Information on-demand, across multiple channels anddevices and tailored to their needs is expected. At thesame time, the higher education industry is undergoingrapid change, with enrolments increasingly comprisingoverseas students.

The power dynamic is shifting, with prospective studentsneeding to be treated as customers to be ‘won over’, in aglobally competitive market.


The work of experience design commences withidentifying and understanding the perspective andexperience of multiple audience groups, factoring inthe diverse needs of key higher-education segments:

§ Different student cohorts, including; domestic- current school leavers; domestic - mature ageand international students.

§ Students at different stages in their academicjourney, including; first-time students; studentstransferring from other courses/institutions andpost-graduates.

§ People and organisations acting on behalf ofstudents, including agents and parents.

§ Institutional partners.

§ Employees.

Whilst there are a variety of design techniques at ourdisposal, when it comes to creating a superior userexperience for service delivery, Human-CenteredDesign (HCD) plays a central role. HCD is oftenmisunderstood or too narrowly applied; with an unduefocus on techniques and processes, at the expense ofstaying true to the core principles of HCD.

Well executed HCD and related user experience designtechniques should ensure:

§ All people impacted by the service/process arecentral to design considerations and decisions.

§ The right problems are being solved. Avoidingthe pitfalls of focusing on ‘symptoms’ inisolation that do not necessarily address theroot cause of the problem.

§ The whole system is factored in – breakingdown organisational silos, isolated processesand platforms to enable a holistic, seamlessview of the end-to-end experience.

What does it take to design and implement acompelling customer experience that meets expectations?


Experience is only as good as its weakest link. If the employee

experience is fragmented; so too the student and external

customer experience will be. Multiple touchpoints within the

institution and poor continuity of service, leads to frustration for all

concerned and represents a significant cost and lost opportunity.

Looking at the experience for each engagement and each audience

group holistically (on and offline), holds the key to a better

understanding of how to unlock the true value of CRM.


Mapping the experience for each keyaudience group must go beyond thebounds of online transactions. Toooften what is missed or underestimatedin this process; is the relationshipbetween the experiences of differentgroups and what happens ‘off screen’.Design and mapping is often focusedalmost exclusively on the student’sinteraction with digital platforms – theonline steps they go through to applyfor a course. This is of course, a centralconsideration, however it fails torecognise the interplay of relationships,emotions and offline steps thatcontribute to the overall experience anddecision-making process.

Ensuring a seamless and engagingprocess across multiple segments andsteps in the journey is essential and

should be mapped and designedholistically; including designing for atruly seamless experience acrossmultiple channels.

A common mistake made byorganisations as they rush to be mobile;is the creation of stand-alone apps thatfurther fragment the user experience.Being mobile isn’t enough – fullintegration across multiple channels isessential.

To be effective, we must conduct thismapping process with representationfrom each of the key segmentsinternally and externally; consideringand resolving pain points and thedesired target state; where-everpossible anticipating the needs beyond‘now’ and looking to the foreseeablefuture.


Translating the outworkings of experience mapping intoworkable solutions that optomise user experience; also involvesapplying design thinking and human-centered designtechniques to quickly test and adjust proposed solutions. Thisprocess can be enabled using a variety of techniques including:

§ Prototypes in various forms (wireframes or actual webscreens) in rapid cycles to test design variations with thetarget audience.

§ Launching 'beta' releases to limited live customers, toidentify further improvements from real-world conditions,before further modifying and release to all customers.

These techniques not only contribute to the design of asuperior user experience, but also lay the foundation forbuilding momentum and buy-in with internal and externalstakeholder groups.

Tailored experiences can often be designed for multipleaudience groups by providing different access andvisibility levels, whilst sharing the same automatedprocesses; both parties operating seamlessly under thesame environment rather than silos.


Devising solutions to key organisational challenges, compels us to lookbeyond the implementation of software and take a holistic approach.CRM can be the catalyst for true transformation and has the potential todeliver significant benefits. By ensuring the solution:

§ aligns with the organisation’s strategic intent§ is designed with the target state in mind§ Is based on a holistic, human-centred approach

universities have the opportunity to unlock the true potential of CRM andimplement a superior experience for students, partners and employees.


ABOUT MOZAIC.

We are a collective of experienced professionals

committed to finding pragmatic solutions that

deliver true value every time; partnering with ourclients to implement business and IT change.

Find out more about how Mozaic can help and explore some of our insights.

www.mozaicmgt.com.au

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