DOCUMENT Spring 2025

WHERE EFFICIENCY MEETS EXPERIENCE

Chris Murphy

Jennifer Raml

Patrick Kehoe

As One Chapter Closes, a New One Begins

By Ken Waddell

As we turn the page to a new chapter in DOCUMENT Strategy’s journey, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose, fresh perspectives and a bold vision for the future. The business communications, information management and customer experience industries continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and we are committed to evolving with them.

Change is never without its challenges. After years of bringing the community together through the DOCUMENT Strategy Forum, the difficult decision was made to discontinue the event. While this marks the end of an era, it also signals the beginning of a fresh, reimagined approach to how we engage with and support the industry. Our commitment to delivering valuable thought leadership remains unwavering — we are simply embracing new ways to do so. This decision will allow us to streamline our operations and redirect our

resources to adapt to these changing industry dynamics and core business.

With that in mind, we are excited to introduce our newly appointed Advisory Board — an esteemed group of industry leaders and innovators who will help guide DOCUMENT Strategy through this transformative period. Their expertise and insights will be instrumental in shaping our content, uncovering emerging trends and ensuring that we continue to provide the most relevant, forward-thinking perspectives for our readers.

In the months ahead, you’ll see a fresh look and a revitalized approach to how we bring you the latest strategies, technologies and best practices. From deep-dive articles to exclusive interviews with industry pioneers, our goal is to continue serving as your trusted resource in navigating today’s ever-changing business landscape.

We’re excited about this new phase and invite you to join us in shaping the future of DOCUMENT Strategy. Thank you for being a part of this journey — we’re just getting started.

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Chad Griepentrog

publisher

Ken Waddell

managing editor

Erin Eagan [ erin@rbpub.com ]

contributing editor

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contributors

Gary Gregg

Patrick Kehoe

Bryan Matlock

Chris Murphy

Mia Papanicolaou

Jason Pothen

Jennifer Raml

Eric Riz

Liz Stephen

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Ken Waddell

[ ken.w@rbpub.com ]

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DOCUMENT Strategy Media (ISSN 1081-4078) is published on a daily basis via its online portal and produces special print editions by Madmen3, PO BOX 259098, Madison, WI 53725-9098. All material in this magazine is copyrighted ©2025 by Madmen3 All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Any correspondence sent to DOCUMENT Strategy Media, Madmen3, or its staff becomes the property of Madmen3.

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ADVISORY BOARD

Chris Canaday

With over 30 years of experience in print and electronic media, Chris Canaday is a grizzled veteran of the communications revolution. Over the past decade, he has been focused on helping Northwestern Mutual modernize its client communications ecosystem. Currently, Chris serves as the Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives within the Print and Digital Document Management (PDDM) function at Northwestern Mutual. In this role, he is helping shape the company’s Client Experience vision, expand digital capabilities and modernize legacy processes. Chris has held a variety of technical and business positions, including Information Architect, Senior Engineer, and Director of Transformation. He has also led numerous tech modernization, outsourcing and eDelivery acceleration initiatives, demonstrating his ability to drive innovation and efficiency for the enterprise. Chris previously served as an Advisory Board member for the Document Strategy Forum.

Aaron Horsfield

Aaron Horsfield, MHA, MPH, is an experienced leader in healthcare and insurance. As the Sr. Director of Plan Operations at UPMC Health Plan, he drives operational efficiency initiatives through transformation, change management, and transparency. His background includes health policy, transactional communications, insurance operations, and healthcare strategy. Aaron is a 2022 Pittsburgh Business Times and Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. 30 under 30 honoree, volunteer board meeting with Iowa Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership, United of Way of Southwestern PA, National Avairy, GOLD Leadership Group with the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, and advisory board member across the CXM industry. Additionally, he served as an Advisory Board Member for the Document Strategy Forum.

Jennifer Raml

Jennifer Raml, Information Technology Manager at Acuity a Mutual Insurance Company, is a strategic technology leader with over two decades of experience streamlining document workflows and customer communications in banking and P&C insurance industries. She has successfully led enterprise-wide CCM implementations and automation initiatives while building high-performing technical teams. Her expertise spans document strategy, business analysis, and process optimization, with a proven track record in modernizing customer communications.

Andy Young

Andy Keller

Andy Keller is the Domain Architect at USAA responsible for Operational Messaging at USAA. Andy began his career at USAA in 1984. For 41years Andy has been involved in USAA Communication technology, starting as a specialist in Printing, but over time expanding into Omnichannel. Andy provides technical direction for communications resulting from business transactions. This includes EMAIL, SMS, Mobile Messaging, Hosted Documents, and Print\Mail. USAA’s goal is to communicate with their members where and when they want. Additionally, he served as an Advisory Board Member for the Document Strategy Forum. Via this forum as well as other industry groups he has forged a level of expertise that the industry finds value. He specializes in eDelivery, Document Accessibility, and print vendor management while also maintaining a reasonable level of understanding of Document Archive and Records Management domains.

Andy Young, founder of Treeline Research, has dedicated his career to understanding how people communicate, and how to monetize those inevitable shifts in communication. His professional path has wound through all aspects of the communications spectrum. He grew up in print, working for businesses big and small, market leaders and entrepreneurs, frequently finding himself as a thought leader at the forefront of a market in transition, which starts with disruptive innovation to be successful. Treeline Research is a specialized market research firm focused on the transformation of paper customer communications into digital experiences within banking, general insurance, financial services and healthcare insurance sectors. Visit www.treelinepress.com.

What’s New

Catch up on all the news, opinions, and current events happening around the industry.

DNOW!® Announces DNOW! US with Strategic Focus on Customer Interaction Management

DNOW!® announces its North American (NA) expansion, a move designed to help PSPs unlock untapped potential in an increasingly dynamic and evolving market. With its proven success in international markets, DNOW!® US is bringing unparalleled expertise to NA, driving sustainable growth and innovation to PSPs.

The Benefits of Unifying Your Intelligent Automation Systems

You wouldn’t want to drive a car without a dashboard. You would be moving but wouldn’t have insight into your speed, fuel levels, or looming engine troubles. Similarly, for businesses that use multiple intelligent automation solutions built upon separate IDP, ECM, RPA and CSP components, a dashboard that consolidates data from all these applications and systems into a single view is critical to optimizing performance and avoiding dangers.

3 Critical Technology Trends Shaping 2025

Technological innovation marches at a rapid pace, so separating important changes from others that matter less can be tricky. Get help making sense of three important technologies shaping businesses in 2025.

Journey Mapping: Targeting

Effective Communications

By empowering organizations to discover how their customers engage with them, journey mapping illustrates how communications impact customer actions and responses. Armed with insights, companies can take control and transform their operations and communications, creating a new and improved customer experience that drives engagement

As we reach the midpoint of the decade, it’s clear that the 2020s are testing business leaders with a drive to leverage emerging technologies, evolving customer expectations and a more complex regulatory environment. These challenges have been tough on efforts to improve customer experience, particularly when it comes to the conversations organizations are having — or trying to have — with their customers.

Each year, we compile insights from our partners, vendors and industry experts on what they believe are the biggest trends impacting customer communications. Let’s explore three of those trends that companies need to keep in mind when adapting to this customer-first future.

Trend 1: Leveraging AI for CX and Personalization

2025 TRENDS OUTLOOK FOR DATA AND AI INITIATIVES

What to keep in mind when adapting to a customer-first future

By Chris Murphy

Businesses are turning to AI and data-driven insights to create hyper-personalized, seamless experiences in the evolving landscape of Customer Experience Managment (CXM) and Customer Communications Management (CCM).

Our research shows that 69% of financial service customers believe personalization is an essential factor in establishing trust. Financial institutions can leverage AI to refine risk assessment, and SaaS-driven Just-inTime financing solutions can ensure customers receive precisely what they need when they need it, improving efficiency and satisfaction. Additionally, Just-In-Time modeling could impact both the means and frequency that organizations are going to need to engage with their customers, including more frequent digital communications and updated data collection.

With AI making it possible for insurers to analyze vast amounts of data, they can look to offer personalized policies that lower costs and increase accuracy. For example, usage-based models for auto insurance calculate premiums based on actual driver behavior and risk analysis rather than factors like age, gender and location,

which can help personalize customers’ experiences and build trust.

For healthcare, AI is transforming patient engagement by tailoring communications, enhancing accessibility through multilingual support and streamlining personalized treatment plans.

AI-driven personalization is no longer at the bleeding edge of the tech stack — it’s a necessity for organizations looking to stay competitive, improve customer loyalty and ensure regulatory compliance. Companies in all industries can look to integrate elastically scalable solutions for cost-effective access to real-time data, insights and tools to improve customer responsiveness and satisfaction with personalized communications.

Trend 2: Enhancing Data Quality to Support AI Initiatives

We know that data is key to digital transformation, especially in regulated industries where data quality and governance are critical. Yet, according to Gartner, the average cost of poor data is still an eyewatering $15 million annually.

The acceleration of AI adoption exacerbates this issue. Many businesses are still burdened with issues around data silos, hidden biases, poor metadata and weak governance frameworks. These issues compromise the effectiveness and fairness of AI models, which could be detrimental to the customer experience as these features are rolled out.

Success in AI for customer communications and interactions depends on having clean, consistent and up-todate data. To ensure the information companies collect from customers is accurate and complete, they must start with secure and simple processes.

For insurers, data management processes and strategies should include strong governance, data audits, real-time validation and continuous monitoring to ensure not only better policyholder experiences but also to ensure their AI projects effective. Similarly, in the healthcare industry, providers with strong data governance can better minimize risk by protecting sensitive personal health information

and streamlining essential processes, such as claims processing, by keeping data accurate and up to date.

Ensuring high-quality, integrated data can help deliver exceptional customer experiences, especially as AI models become increasingly sophisticated. Companies must recognize that data quality and strong data governance are pivotal for unlocking the potential of AI and advanced analytics across industries. This is why strengthening governance and modernizing data collection with a single, centralized data collection solution that’s easy to use will help organizations boost data quality and accuracy with their AI initiatives.

According to Gartner, the average cost of poor data is still an eyewatering $15 million annually.

Trend 3: Recognizing Growing Concerns of AI: Data Privacy & Sovereignty

While 47% of consumers agree that GenAI has the potential to improve the communications they receive, many are concerned about security and ethics. The massive amount of sensitive data AI that models require increases the potential for risk, raising customer concerns about how that data is being used.

As a result, companies must reassure customers about security, fairness and how their data will be used, with a well-defined AI policy to outline that their data won’t be misused. This can also help organize information so the right data can be accessed securely and provide a higher-quality customer experience.

On top of customer concerns, regulatory challenges remain a top hurdle for AI adoption, especially in industries with strict oversight, such as insurance, healthcare and financial services, where new regulations are constantly

rolling out. In 2025, companies should expect to see more changes as regulatory bodies take a stricter look at how enterprises interact with customers and expectations rise around AI transparency.

The rise of consumer data privacy concerns and these stricter regulations necessitate careful data handling in 2025. Organizations must stay ahead of regulatory trends with proactive, well-documented AI governance that allows them to respond flexibly to changing compliance demands. Noncompliance and lack of transparency can lead to severe consequences, including hefty fines, legal actions and reputational damage to customers.

Establishing a strong data governance framework will enable organizations to build trust with their customers and help to create a clean audit trail for AI use, document provenance and AI disclosure requests.

A Customer-First Future

As AI continues to influence customer interactions and business models in 2025, data remains essential to unlocking its full potential. Companies must prioritize data governance and quality to ensure accuracy while establishing robust governance frameworks to stay aligned with rapidly evolving regulatory requirements. They should turn to automation to assist with tracking, audits and explainability while also improving customer experience quality and operational efficiency.

Regardless of the industry, these strategies can help organizations enhance customer relationships, build resilience in a complex regulatory environment and drive growth.

CHRIS MURPHY is Vice President of

Product Marketing for Smart Communications. He is currently responsible for the go-to-market strategy for its flagship product SmartCOMM™, a customer communications management solution. A frequent speaker at customer and industry events, Chris has over 18 years of industry experience and has held various positions at leading organizations including SalesLoft, IBM, and Silverpop.

THE FUTURE OF CCM : WHERE EFFICIENCY MEETS EXPERIENCE

A follow-up on striking a balance in technology implementation

By Mia Papanicolaou and Liz Stephen

In our previous article, “Striking a Balance,” we looked at the conflict between internal efficiency and customer experience when implementing new technology in Customer Communications Management (CCM). We often see businesses prioritize their operational gains to automate workflows, reduce costs and streamline processes, which can at times come at the expense of the customer.

The key question remains: Are we making things simpler for the business while making them more difficult for the client?

Gartner’s concept of customer productivity provides a useful framework for us. It emphasizes how efficiently and effectively end customers can achieve their intended outcomes when interacting with a company. This means reducing unnecessary steps, eliminating friction and ensuring that every interaction adds value rather than frustration.

Even though businesses are still adopting efficiency-driven technologies like GenAI, many of them are still predominantly seen through the perspective of internal cost-cutting.

According to Gartner:

76% of companies see increased efficiency and cost savings from GenAI.

40% report improved customer response times.

However, only 33% see a positive impact on customer engagement.

This data points to a gap: while efficiency improvements are clear, the effects on the customer experience aren’t consistent. The challenge is to close this gap by adopting technology that streamlines internal processes but also focuses on enhancing customer interactions.

Time Saved vs. Time Wasted: The Customer Perspective

A simple yet powerful way to evaluate new technology is through the lens of customer time. Every communication a company sends either:

1.Saves the customer time (e.g., making it easy to pay a bill in one click).

2.Compels the customer to spend unnecessary time (e.g., navigating a complex document with legal jargon).

3. Requires the customer to spend time in an easy to digest manner (e.g., understanding a new insurance policy).

In order to balance efficiency with experience, companies need to focus on reducing the time burden on customers while at the same time improving their engagement.

We can look at how this plays out with a few real-world examples.

Reducing Time Spent on Routine Tasks

One of the easiest ways to improve the time spent by customers on common tasks, is by eliminating unnecessary steps.

Example: One-Click Bill Payments

A perfect example is around online bill payments. Customers don’t want to spend time having to wade through multiple steps to make a payment. The best digital billing experiences allow customers to:

Click directly from an email or text message to pay.

Use stored payment methods for instant transactions.

Receive a confirmation immediately, without additional steps.

Companies like Venmo, Cash App and Apple Pay have set the bar for seamless payments. The expectation from

consumers is an easy and instant transaction, so any business still needing customers to log into a separate portal, retrieve an account number and manually enter payment details is falling behind. From a CCM perspective, including quick payment links that take users directly to the payment page from within digital bills or interactive documents, or even from a QR code on the mailed bill, can significantly enhance customer productivity while maintaining operational efficiency.

When Customers Need to Spend Time, Make It Easy

There are certainly times where customers must spend time with a document or communication. As an example, if they are reviewing a mortgage agreement or trying to understand changes to a health insurance plan. The aim is to create an intuitive and effective process for customers.

Example: Simplified Policy Documents & Digital Wizards

Reading through quite complex documents, in industries like insurance or healthcare, can be overwhelming. The focus should be on:

Using plain language rather than legal jargon

Breaking up documents into digestible sections that make sense to customers

Offering an interactive tool — like a wizard or guided walkthrough

A great example is the online quote tool offered by Progressive Insurance, which walks customers through each step, asking questions and offering explanations along the way. This is a far simpler process for users, compared to an overwhelming lengthy, static form.

AI and Automation: Balancing Efficiency with Customer Engagement

A challenge in CCM is making sure these regulated communications still feel personalized and relevant to each customer. CCM platforms are starting to incorporate AI, providing the ability to use predictive analytics and realtime data to customize messages.

A few examples of how this can be done:

Banks & Credit Card Providers: AI can help analyze transaction history giving personalized financial summaries or credit utilization tips in monthly statements, providing relevant insights rather than a generic document.

Healthcare & Insurance: Providing personalized benefit summaries with the help of AI, showing a patient or policyholder’s usage, can help them understand their coverage without wading through lengthy documents.

Energy & Utility Bills: Giving insights about usage patterns instead of expecting customers to interpret their bills each month.

Insurance Policies & Loan Documents: Some companies now offer interactive, AI-driven document summaries where customers can click through important sections or ask an AI assistant for clarity. No more drowning in legal jargon.

By automating personalization, companies can improve engagement with customers without increasing their own operational complexity.

Proactive Communication: Engaging Customers Before They Need Help Efficiency is not just about reacting faster, it’s also about anticipating customer needs.

Example: Real-Time Notifications & Proactive Support

Instead of making customers search for information, companies can send relevant, timely communications:

Home insurers sending disaster preparedness information based on areas prone to natural disaster, and information on how to make a plan should such a disaster occur.

Healthcare providers sending reminders for appointment scheduling or prescription refills (without over-communicating and causing more anxiety).

Utility companies notifying customers about service outages and estimated resolution times proactively.

Proactively sending useful information, means companies can also

reduce inbound inquiries and enhance customer trust.

The Future of CCM: CustomerCentric Efficiency

Finding the balance between internal efficiency and customer productivity is not about choosing one over the other. It needs to be about ensuring that technology investments benefit both the business and the customer.

As organizations continue investing in AI, automation and digital-first communications, the winners will be those who align cost savings with customer experience. The future of CCM is not just automation, it’s customer-first efficiency. Are your communications helping customers save time, or forcing them to spend it unnecessarily?

The answer to that question will define the success of your next technology implementation.

LIZ STEPHEN has a true passion for helping organizations identify their customers’ needs and consulting with them to satisfy those needs. She is an expert in Customer Communications Management (CCM) and helping clients utilize digital communications to meet their CX goals. As a true specialist in transactional communications, Liz has the ability to help companies make the needed microchanges now that will immediately impact the customer experience, all while putting the steps in place to make the longer-term step changes.

With more than 20 years’ experience in digital communications, MIA PAPANICALOU helps companies go paperless for transactional customer communications and works to improve those touchpoints through customized strategy and advisory services. She is a thought leader and as an expert in her field, shares her expertise through her consulting. Throughout her career, Mia has been an advocate for improving customer experiences through relevant, valuable and accessible communications. With a strong problem-solving mind-set, she is constantly looking for ways to improve critical customer communications. She is a regular speaker and blogger on digital customer communication, digital maturity and improving the customer experience.

A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT

How the implementation of generative AI is transforming document and forms management

By Jennifer Raml

Remember the last time you filled out a mortgage application? If you’re like most people, you probably spent hours wrestling with confusing forms, deciphering legal jargon and hunting down supporting documents. Now imagine if artificial intelligence could transform that experience into something as simple as having a conversation. That’s not just a dream — it’s happening right now as generative AI revolutionizes how we create, process and manage documents.

As an IT manager who’s witnessed the evolution of document management over the past two decades, I’ve never seen anything quite like the impact generative AI is having on our industry.

From healthcare waiting rooms to bank lobbies, organizations are reimagining every touchpoint where documents meet people. The possibilities are staggering, and we’re just scratching the surface.

Take healthcare, for instance. Hospitals are beginning to implement AI-powered intake forms that adapt as patients fill them out. When a patient mentions a specific condition, the form automatically expands to gather relevant information while skipping irrelevant

questions. The result? Patient intake time is reduced, and staff spend less time correcting form errors and more time on patient care.

In the financial services sector, we’re seeing similar transformations. Banks are rolling out AI-powered loan applications that feel more like having a conversation with a knowledgeable advisor than filling out a form. As customers input information, the AI explains complex terms in plain language and provides relevant examples based on their specific situation. What used to be a frustrating hour-long process now takes just minutes.

The insurance industry, traditionally buried in paperwork, is experiencing its own revolution. Claims teams are utilizing new AI systems that can transform a simple smartphone photo of car damage into a comprehensive claim report, complete with repair estimates and policy coverage details. Adjusters can then handle more claims while providing better customer service.

But it’s not just about customer-facing documents. Behind the scenes, AI is transforming how organizations handle their internal documentation. Manufacturing companies are deploying

AI systems that automatically generate real-time quality control reports. When specifications change, the AI updates hundreds of related documents instantly — a task that used to take their teams weeks to complete manually.

The Real-World Challenges: Let’s Talk Implementation

Now, before we get too carried away with the possibilities, let’s have an honest conversation about what it takes to make this technology work in the real world. Many companies are learning tough lessons along their AI implementation journeys.

First, there’s the data challenge. You know the old saying “garbage in, garbage out”? With AI, it’s more like “messy data in, chaos out.” Companies spend months cleaning and organizing document databases before they can even think about training AI models. It is tedious work, but skipping this step would be like building a house on quicksand. Many also make significant investments in the right tools and expertise.

Then there’s the governance piece. Financial services clients generating perfectly formatted documents from AI may notice the files accidentally

include outdated regulatory references. Implementing a review process can help, highlighting how critical it is to have strong governance frameworks from day one.

But governance extends far beyond just maintaining accurate content. Organizations must grapple with complex security and privacy implications. AI systems processing sensitive documents need robust controls to prevent unauthorized access and data leakage. Healthcare providers, for instance, must ensure their AI document systems maintain HIPAA compliance, while financial institutions need to protect customer financial data across every AI-powered interaction. This means implementing end-to-end encryption, access controls and audit trails — all while maintaining the speed and efficiency that makes AI valuable in the first place.

Building Your AI Dream Team

Here’s something that might surprise you: successful AI implementation isn’t just about technology — it’s about people. Organizations with modest budgets can achieve amazing results when they engage their entire workforce in the AI journey.

Some companies are creating ‘AI Ideas Portals’ where any employee can submit suggestions for process improvements. For example, in an insurance company, a claims processor might suggest using AI to pre-fill routine forms based on phone conversations with customers — an idea that could save thousands of work hours monthly. The key is creating an environment where everyone feels they have a stake in the AI transformation.

Organizations with modest budgets can achieve amazing results when they engage their entire workforce in the

AI journey.

Success comes from bringing together two crucial perspectives: the technical experts who understand AI’s capabilities and limitations, and the business process experts who live and breathe these documents every day. While your technical team can architect sophisticated AI solutions, it’s your business users who know exactly where the pain points are and can spot opportunities that technical teams might miss. The most successful implementations happen when AI engineers and analysts work side-by-side with department managers and front-line staff, creating solutions that are both technically sound and practically useful. This partnership helps ensure you’re not just building something impressive from a technical standpoint, but something that truly transforms how people work.

Making It Happen: A Practical Approach

So, how do you get started without getting overwhelmed? Begin with a “small wins” approach. Find one document-heavy process that causes consistent headaches and focus on that. For example, an HR department started by using AI to generate job descriptions.

It was a contained project with measurable results, and its success built confidence for larger initiatives.

Remember that spectacular failures often make the best learning opportunities. An early attempt at implementing AI-powered contract generation produced some hilariously wrong results. But those mistakes help refine the approach and ultimately lead to a more robust solution.

Looking Ahead: The Future Is Already Here

As we look to the future, it’s clear that AI in document management isn’t just another tech trend — it’s a fundamental shift in how we think about information processing. But success doesn’t require massive budgets or armies of data scientists. It requires something more fundamental: a willingness to reimagine how we work with documents and the courage to take that first step.

The organizations that are thriving in this new era aren’t necessarily the ones with the most advanced technology. They’re the ones that have found the sweet spot between innovation and practicality, between automation and human insight. AI isn’t replacing our document processes — it’s unleashing our people to do what they do best: think creatively and solve real problems.

The future of document management is being written right now, and AI is holding the pen. The question isn’t whether to embrace this change, but how to shape it to serve our unique needs and challenges. After all, the best document is the one you don’t have to think about — it just works.

JENNIFER RAML, Information Technology Manager at Acuity a Mutual Insurance Company, is a strategic technology leader with over two decades of experience streamlining document workflows and customer communications in banking and P&C insurance industries. She has successfully led enterprise-wide CCM implementations and automation initiatives while building high-performing technical teams. Her expertise spans document strategy, business analysis, and process optimization, with a proven track record in modernizing customer communications.

INTELLIGENT ORCHESTRATION

The future of interactive experience management (IXM)

By Gary Gregg

Seamless and personalized customer interactions are no longer just a competitive advantage — they’re an expectation. Whether a customer is applying for a credit card, opening a bank account, or onboarding with a new service provider, they expect the process to be frictionless, relevant and responsive to their needs.

Yet, many organizations struggle to deliver a connected experience. Communication gaps, redundant messaging and lack of real-time responsiveness creates frustration and leads to abandoned applications, lost revenue and disengaged customers.

This is where intelligent orchestration comes into play. As a core component of Interactive Experience Management (IXM), intelligent orchestration ensures that every interaction is timely, relevant, and action-driven — from the first touchpoint through the entire communications journey.

By combining rules-based orchestration with real-time decisioning, businesses can optimize onboarding, refine next-best messaging and drive meaningful engagement across the customer journey.

IXM in Action: Why Intelligent Orchestration Matters

The traditional customer journey —

whether in insurance, healthcare, financial services, utilities or telecommunications — often feels disconnected and inefficient. Customers may:

Abandon the process due to unclear instructions or unnecessary friction.

Receive generic follow-ups that do not reflect their engagement level.

Be inundated with redundant communications across multiple channels.

Receive delayed responses due to outdated workflows and manual intervention.

Experience ineffective engagement when follow-ups fail to reflect customer preferences.

Intelligent orchestration transforms this experience by coordinating interactions across systems, channels and teams to deliver personalized, proactive communications to every customer. Instead of relying on static workflows, organizations can use data-driven triggers and real-time insights to adjust messaging dynamically — ensuring the right message reaches the right customer at the right time.

Rules-Based Orchestration: Structuring the Onboarding Experience

At the foundation of intelligent orchestration is rules-based automation, which helps organizations establish

triggers, conditions and workflows that guide the onboarding journey.

A few examples of how rules-based orchestration works:

Financial Services (New Account Opening & Loan Applications)

Automated Follow-Ups: If a customer starts a mortgage application but doesn’t complete it, an email reminder is triggered within 24 hours.

Escalation Rules: If an applicant is flagged for additional verification, a human agent is notified to assist.

Compliance Triggers: Disclosures and consent forms are automatically sent and logged for audit purposes.

Healthcare (Insurance Enrollment & Patient Onboarding)

Eligibility Verification: If a new patient signs up for a health plan, an API checks eligibility and triggers next steps based on approval status.

Automated Documentation Requests: If medical records are missing, the system sends personalized outreach via email or portal notification.

Reminders & Escalations: If a patient doesn’t complete a required step (e.g., wellness exam scheduling), an SMS reminder is sent before manual outreach.

Utilities (Service Setup & Billing Notifications)

Service Activation Updates: When a customer sets up new service, realtime integration with the billing system ensures accurate first-bill estimates.

Payment Reminders: Automated alerts are sent before disconnection risk to help customers stay on track.

Escalation for High-Risk Accounts: If a customer with medical dependency risks service disruption, a priority review workflow is triggered.

While rules-based orchestration sets a structured foundation, it alone is not enough to optimize engagement. This is where real-time decisioning adds a dynamic layer of intelligence.

Real-Time Decisioning: Personalizing Communications at Every Step

Real-time decisioning enables businesses to go beyond predefined rules by analyzing customer behavior, engagement and propensity to act — adjusting interactions on the fly. This makes any action a customer needs to take smoother and more customer-centric.

Propensity to Act:

Predicting Engagement and Driving Conversions

By leveraging AI and behavioral analytics, intelligent orchestration can predict the likelihood of a customer taking action and adjust messaging accordingly.

High-Intent Customers: If a customer views a health insurance plan multiple times but hasn’t enrolled, the system prioritizes them for outreach with personalized plan comparisons.

Low-Intent Customers: If a customer browses but never engages, the system might adjust its approach by offering an educational article or customer testimonial instead of a direct call to action.

Hyper-Personalization: Making Messaging Relevant

Beyond generic automation, real-time decisioning enables personalized messaging based on customer life events and behaviors.

If an insurance policyholder gets married, they receive bundle discounts for spouse coverage.

If a customer has children, they may be targeted with college savings plan content alongside their new account setup.

If a customer has an upcoming milestone (e.g., anniversary with the company), the system can proactively offer loyalty rewards or upgraded services.

This level of hyper-personalization ensures that communications are not just automated, but meaningful.

Seamless Integration Through APIDriven Orchestration

The future of intelligent orchestration lies in API-driven integration, ensuring

that interactions between companies and their service providers are seamless.

Why API-Driven Orchestration Is Critical

Many organizations rely on multiple thirdparty systems (e.g., identity verification, credit scoring, fraud detection). Without proper integration, communication can become disjointed and inefficient. With API-driven orchestration, businesses can:

Sync customer data across platforms in real-time.

Trigger communications automatically based on external system updates.

Ensure continuity between service providers and in-house teams.

For example, in a credit card onboarding journey, API integrations might enable:

Instant Credit Decisions: If a thirdparty credit bureau approves the applicant, an automated SMS confirms approval within seconds.

Fraud Checks & Escalations: If an application is flagged for potential fraud, an API triggers an instant review workflow before sending any messages.

Seamless Account Setup: Once approved, an integration with the bank’s CRM automatically activates digital banking access, sending relevant onboarding materials.

This eliminates manual handoffs and ensures a truly connected customer experience.

Trend Analysis: Using Data to Optimize Future Interactions

Beyond orchestrating individual interactions, intelligent orchestration also analyzes trends over time to refine next-best messaging and engagement strategies.

How Trend Analysis Enhances IXM:

Customer Engagement Trends: If data shows that customers engage more with SMS than email, future onboarding sequences prioritize mobile-first messaging.

Drop-Off Patterns: If applicants tend to abandon onboarding at a particular step, businesses can optimize the

UX of that step or provide additional assistance.

Offer Effectiveness: If specific incentives (e.g., bonus points, fee waivers) drive higher conversions, orchestration engines can prioritize those incentives dynamically.

The Future of IXM: A Fully Orchestrated, AI-Driven Ecosystem Intelligent orchestration is more than just sending messages, it’s about creating a connected, seamless customer journey that adapts in real time. As organizations evolve their IXM strategies, we can expect to see:

More AI-Driven Decisioning: Machine learning models will continuously refine messaging based on customer responses and behavior.

Deeper API Integrations: Businesses and service providers will integrate more real-time data-sharing capabilities for a unified experience.

Smarter Trend Analysis: Organizations will use historical engagement data to predict and influence customer decisions proactively.

For organizations still relying on manual interventions, rigid workflows or disconnected systems, now is the time to rethink how they engage with customers. Implementing intelligent orchestration goes beyond efficiency and compliance; it includes creating more relevant and valuable interactions that build trust, reduce churn and strengthen customer relationships over time.

By investing in a smarter, more responsive communication strategy, businesses will not only improve customer satisfaction today but also future-proof their engagement models for the next generation of digital interactions.

GARY GREGG is the Chief Product Officer at OSG, where he leads product innovation in customer communications and experience management. With a deep understanding of AI-driven orchestration, he helps organizations create smarter, more effective communication strategies.

AI IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TRANSLATION IN COMMUNICATIONS

Create a more inclusive and equitable environment for non-English speakers, enhancing customer experiences and outcomes

By Patrick Kehoe

Across the globe, organizations are seeking to better cater to increasingly diverse customer populations. In the United States, for example, the number of non-English speakers has tripled over the last 40 years, with more than 67.8 million people now speaking a language other than English at home. This includes significant growth in populations speaking Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi and Tagalog. In regulated industries, written communications such as correspondence, policy documents and disclosures frequently contain complex legalese and other important information that customers need to understand in order

to make informed decisions. Providing this content in a customer’s preferred language helps to facilitate understanding and reduce confusion that can lead to poor consumer outcomes. It also can positively impact the bottom line. Research shows that 76% of consumers prefer to interact with businesses in their preferred language, and 40% won’t consider buying from those that don’t offer this option.

Most organizations rely on human-centric services for translation of documents and communications, which are both costly and time-consuming. Long, complex documents are typically translated at an average pace of just 300 words per hour. In addition, when dealing with different variations

of contracts or policies, translators taking a full document translation approach will wind up translating common clauses and content repeatedly. The process is highly inefficient, resulting in redundant translation work and introduces risk of inconsistencies in translations of common or regulated content.

Because of the cost and time involved, most organizations translate only the bare minimum of customer-facing materials — typically just enough to meet regulatory requirements — rather than proactively catering to the diverse language needs of their entire customer base.

Transforming Translation with AI

AI translation is advancing rapidly, opening up avenues for businesses to automate and accelerate translation and translation accuracy checks. Research from the University of Washington shows that AI, when combined with human oversight, can produce high-quality translations at just 5% of the cost of traditional methods. For large, regulated organizations, the decision should not be whether or not to adopt AI — instead, the question becomes: What is the best way to securely and effectively leverage it? There are several approaches available in the market today that can help organizations increase efficiency and accuracy, while reducing the cost of translation.

Standalone AI Platforms

Standalone AI tools like ChatGPT or DeepL may seem like the natural choice due to their effective translation capabilities; however, using them independently of the systems that document teams rely on to create and manage communications forces users to waste time copying and pasting content between systems. Additionally, they can introduce security risks when teams are given access to these platforms without robust guardrails in place. Users may inadvertently input proprietary information or sensitive customer data that is used to train public AI models, increasing the risk

of breaches, compliance violations and damaging leaks.

Automating Translation of Composed Documents

Another option for leveraging AI translation is a post-composition process in which AI translates completed documents from the original language to another after they are personalized and generated by an upstream composition system, but before being sent to members. This on-demand approach may seem appealing because it promises automation without touching the existing CCM architecture. However, it comes with significant limitations.

With many post-composition translation processes, there’s no way to precisely control what will be sent to customers. You can review sample translations AI produces, but the variable nature of AI algorithms means just because one sample appears accurate doesn’t mean each individual translation will be consistent. While glossaries and translation memory can help ensure specific terms and phrases are translated accurately, with variable data and dynamic content added in, achieving broader consistency would require building and maintaining such an extensive library of approved translations that it requires replicating much of the manual processes you’re trying to replace. This lack of control is particularly risky for regulated communications, where even minor translation errors can result in customers receiving incorrect information, compliance violations with fines and reputational harm. While AI translation has become incredibly sophisticated, it still requires oversight from people who understand the nuances of your industry, your company and your products and can validate approved content.

Another consideration is that because AI translates documents after personalized customer data has been added, sensitive PII and PHI will be processed by the platform’s AI algorithm. This makes it essential for users to ensure the platform has robust safeguards in place to prevent unintended exposure or data leaks.

Automating document layouts with AI can also pose risks to the visual integrity of communications, as different languages often require adjustments to spacing, pagination and design due to variations in text length. Without oversight, AI may produce distorted fonts, misaligned elements or missing content that compromise readability and brand presentation. Additionally, the on-demand nature of this approach— translating documents each time they are accessed or sent — can result in unpredictable and substantially more translations with high processing costs.

Research shows that

76% of consumers prefer to interact with businesses in their preferred language, and 40% won’t consider buying from those that don’t offer this option.

CCM Platforms with Integrated AI Capabilities

CCM solutions with integrated AI translation capabilities empower document teams to manage the entire authoring, translation and approval process within a single secure system. This approach offers distinct advantages over standalone AI platforms, including eliminating the inefficient process of transferring content to and from a separate AI translation tool. Translated content is stored alongside English versions for effective management and revision as required. Look for a platform built with the needs of regulated communications in mind, one that provides

safeguards to protect customer data and proprietary information from being leaked or used as training data by thirdparty platforms. These systems should also include granular permissions so administrators can control who can edit content and utilize AI translation capabilities, along with full audit trails of content changes in the system.

Unlike post-composition tools that require you to fully relinquish control to AI, these platforms can offer both automated translation accuracy checks and support a “human-in-the-loop” approach to enable corrections and human-led validation before documents are distributed to customers. By integrating these translation processes into a comprehensive workflow, you can automate translation as content is changed in the primary language, and quickly introduce new languages.

It’s critical to recognize that not all customer communications management platforms are created equal and that selecting the right platform requires closely examining how AI is implemented, the ability to ensure the security of your content and inject human led manual controls when needed. By applying AI to translation processes and choosing the right approach, businesses can improve the speed and cost-effectiveness of translating customer communications, freeing up resources to proactively cater to today’s increasingly diverse, multilingual customer base. In doing so, organizations can help create a more inclusive and equitable environment for non-English speakers, enhancing customer experiences and outcomes and improving trust, loyalty — and, ultimately, revenue.

PATRICK KEHOE drives product strategy in collaboration with the product development team at Messagepoint, a provider of customer communications management software. Kehoe brings to the company more than 25 years of experience delivering business solutions for document processing, customer communications and content management. For more information on Messagepoint, visit www.messagepoint.com.

DATA PRIVACY & SOVEREIGNTY

Navigating AI’s growing data challenges

By Eric Riz

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in an era of unprecedented data collection, processing and utilization. While this has propelled innovation, efficiency and convenience, it has also ignited serious concerns about data privacy, sovereignty and control. As organizations and governments grapple with these challenges, consumers are demanding greater transparency, protection and autonomy over their personal information. This article explores the intersection of AI, data privacy, and sovereignty, particularly examining the complexities of cross-border data transfers and evolving consumer expectations.

The AI-Driven Data Explosion

AI thrives on data. Machine learning models, large language models and predictive analytics systems rely on vast amounts of structured and unstructured data to function effectively. From social media interactions and e-commerce transactions to biometric records and behavioral analytics, AI continuously ingests, processes and refines data to improve decision-making and automation. However, the sheer volume and sensitivity of this data create significant privacy risks.

The primary concern is that AI systems often operate in opaque environments, making it difficult to track how data is collected, stored and utilized. With AI algorithms making increasingly

impactful decisions — ranging from hiring processes and credit approvals to healthcare diagnostics and law enforcement — questions about fairness, bias and privacy violations continue to arise. This has prompted regulatory bodies worldwide to reevaluate existing data governance frameworks.

The Challenge of Cross-Border Data Transfers

One of the most complex issues in data privacy and sovereignty is cross-border data transfer. AI systems and cloud computing infrastructures typically operate on a global scale, often requiring data to be transferred across multiple jurisdictions. This presents a regulatory quagmire, as different countries impose varying levels of data protection requirements.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one of the most stringent frameworks governing data privacy. It restricts the transfer of EU citizens’ data to countries that do not offer adequate protections, posing challenges for multinational corporations relying on AI-powered insights. The United States, in contrast, has a patchwork of federal and state-level data privacy laws, leading to inconsistencies in data protection approaches.

Meanwhile, countries like China and India have implemented data localization laws that mandate certain types of data remain within national borders. This complicates international data flows and challenges the operational efficiency of AI-driven enterprises. Organizations must navigate complex compliance landscapes, often resorting to contractual mechanisms like Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) to ensure lawful data transfers.

However, even these mechanisms are under scrutiny. The invalidation of the Privacy Shield framework between the U.S. and EU in 2020 exemplifies the fragility of cross-border data agreements. Without a harmonized global data privacy framework, companies must invest heavily in legal expertise,

compliance infrastructure and technical safeguards to mitigate risks.

Rising Consumer Demands for Data Control

Consumers today are more informed and vigilant about how their personal data is being used. High-profile data breaches, AI-driven misinformation and unethical data practices have fueled distrust in corporations and governments alike. As a result, individuals are demanding greater control over their data.

Several key trends highlight this shift:

1. Transparency & Consent – Consumers want clear explanations about what data is being collected, how it is used and who has access to it. Vague privacy policies and convoluted terms of service agreements no longer suffice.

2. Data Portability – There is a growing push for users to have the ability to move their data between service providers without undue restrictions. Regulations like the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have enshrined data portability rights, but implementation remains inconsistent.

3. Right to Be Forgotten – Many consumers advocate for the ability to delete their data from platforms entirely. This has legal backing in regions like the EU, but enforcement remains a challenge as AI systems continue to ingest and repurpose data from multiple sources.

4. Opt-Out Mechanisms – Users increasingly seek the ability to opt out of data collection, targeted advertising and AI-driven personalization. Businesses that offer granular privacy settings and consent management tools are likely to gain consumer trust.

The Path Forward: Balancing Innovation and Privacy

Addressing the concerns surrounding AI, data privacy and sovereignty requires a multi-faceted approach involving regulation, technology and corporate responsibility.

Strengthening Regulatory Frameworks

Governments must work toward harmonizing data privacy regulations to reduce friction in cross-border data transfers. While global alignment may be difficult, bilateral and multilateral agreements can help create a more predictable legal landscape. Additionally, regulators should adopt AI-specific privacy guidelines to address algorithmic bias, automated decision-making and explainability requirements.

Addressing the concerns surrounding AI, data privacy and sovereignty

requires a multifaceted approach involving regulation, technology and corporate responsibility.

Enhancing Technological Safeguards

Organizations must invest in privacy-enhancing technologies such as:

Federated Learning – A decentralized approach to AI training that allows models to learn from data without transferring raw information across borders.

Differential Privacy – A technique that introduces noise into datasets, making it difficult to identify individual data points while preserving analytical value.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs – A cryptographic method that allows one party to prove the validity of information without revealing the actual data.

Encryption & Anonymization – Robust encryption and anonymization protocols can minimize risks associated with data breaches and unauthorized access.

Corporate Accountability & Ethical AI

Businesses must embed ethical AI principles into their operations, prioritizing consumer privacy and responsible data stewardship. Adopting AI ethics frameworks, establishing independent AI ethics committees and conducting regular audits can help ensure compliance and foster consumer confidence.

The intersection of AI, data privacy and sovereignty presents both challenges and opportunities. While AI continues to drive innovation and economic growth, unchecked data practices can erode consumer trust, invite regulatory scrutiny and stifle international collaboration. Businesses, governments and consumers must work together to strike a balance between leveraging AI’s potential and upholding data privacy rights.

As the digital landscape evolves, those who proactively address privacy concerns and prioritize ethical AI development will emerge as leaders in an increasingly data-conscious world.

An established leader focused on corporate efficiency, strategy and change, ERIC RIZ founded data analytics firm VERIFIED and Microsoft consulting firm eMark Consulting Ltd. Over a 20-year career in the Microsoft space, Eric has worked extensively in the areas of document and records management, web content management, portals, digital business and process analysis, analytics, metadata, and data management. His outlook on Blockchain, WEB3, governance, and change management is welcomed internationally as a keynote speaker and author, offering thought leadership on data strategies and solutions, and shifting corporate focus to the organization’s specific needs. Email eric@ericriz.com or visit www.ericriz.com for more information on how to govern your data journey.

CCM IN-HOUSE OR OUTSOURCE?

The good, the bad and the ugly

By Bryan Matlock

In today’s complex and highly regulated customer communications management (CCM) landscape, organizations face a critical decision: Should they keep operations in-house or outsource them? The answer isn’t straightforward. Each approach — whether insourcing, outsourcing or leveraging a hybrid model — comes with its own set of advantages, challenges and trade-offs.

This article explores the good, the bad, and the ugly of different CCM models, including insource-to-outsource transitions, outsource-to-outsource shifts, hybrid solutions, and overflow/Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) and how the right partner can help businesses navigate any challenges.

The Good: Opportunities in CCM Management

1. Insourcing to Outsourcing: Focus on Core Competencies

Many organizations that historically managed CCM in-house are now considering outsourcing. Why? Because customer communications are evolving from a cost center to a critical customer experience driver. Outsourcing allows businesses to focus on core competencies while reducing operational costs, increasing efficiency and improving regulatory compliance.

Benefits of outsourcing CCM include:

Cost savings: Reduces capital expenditures on equipment, maintenance and staffing

Scalability: A third-party provider can scale operations quickly to meet fluctuating demand

Access to advanced technology: Outsourcing partners invest in the latest digital solutions, around document processing, multichannel delivery and analytics

Regulatory compliance expertise: Ensures adherence to industry regulations, reducing compliance risks

For companies struggling with legacy systems or regulatory requirements, outsourcing can provide immediate relief while improving customer engagement while boosting the organization’s access to CCM subject matter expertise.

2. Outsource to Outsource: Switching for Strategic Advantages

Some businesses already outsource CCM but are considering switching providers due to cost, service quality, or technology advancements. A change in vendors can offer:

Better service levels: A new provider may offer improved SLAs, real-time tracking or improved multichannel capabilities

Enhanced security: Cybersecurity and compliance are top concerns, and some vendors have more robust protections in place

More flexible contracts: Some vendors lock clients into longterm agreements with little room for agility, while others offer more adaptable service models

Shift to industry leaders: Identifying vendors that have evolved their service offerings that align with the businesses needs

Switching vendors is not without risk; it requires careful transition planning, process integration and thorough due diligence to avoid disruptions.

3. Hybrid Solutions: Best of Both Worlds

For some organizations, a hybrid CCM approach delivers the best balance between control and efficiency. A hybrid model means keeping some customer communications in-house (often for mission-critical or highly sensitive documents) while outsourcing the rest.

Advantages of a hybrid model:

Greater flexibility: Companies can retain control over key communications while leveraging external partners for high-volume or non-core communications

Risk mitigation: If an issue arises with the in-house process, the outsource partner serves as a backup

Technology enhancement: Organizations can combine internal infrastructure with vendor-provided digital enhancements, such as AI-driven document personalization

Hybrid solutions allow businesses to maintain oversight while benefiting from outsourcing’s scalability and innovation.

4. Overflow & DRaaS: Building Resilience

Customer communications must be reliable, even in crisis situations. This is where overflow and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) play a vital role. When a company’s CCM system reaches capacity, an overflow strategy allows for seamless scalability, ensuring communications continue without disruption.

DRaaS, on the other hand, ensures business continuity in the event of a disaster (cyberattack, natural disaster or IT failure). Many companies rely on third-party providers for redundant systems that:

Automatically activate when primary systems fail

Ensure regulatory compliance and security even in emergency scenarios

Support business continuity without requiring excessive investment in redundant infrastructure

For businesses that must maintain 100% uptime for critical communications, overflow and DRaaS provide invaluable protection.

The Bad: Potential Pitfalls and Challenges

While each model offers advantages, there are also challenges to consider.

1. Insourcing to Outsourcing: Loss of Control

While outsourcing offers cost and efficiency benefits, companies may experience:

Data security concerns: Sensitive customer data is being managed by an external provider, increasing the risk of breaches.

Dependency on vendor performance: If the vendor fails to meet SLAs, it can impact customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance.

Loss of flexibility: Outsourcing can tie you to a vendor and limit your options to transition in the future.

A well-suited partner can mitigate these concerns, by providing dashboards for transparency and insight, as well as conducting regular security audits.

2. Outsource to Outsource: Transition Complexities

Switching vendors can bring better services and cost savings, but it also involves:

Operational disruption: The transition must be carefully managed to prevent service interruptions.

Hidden costs: Contract termination fees, migration costs, and onboarding expenses can add up.

Integration issues: The new provider must seamlessly integrate with existing IT systems and workflows.

A well-planned transition with the right partner avoids costly disruptions through a dedicated transition team and delivers performance improvements.

3. Hybrid Solutions: Complexity in Management

A hybrid model provides flexibility but also presents challenges:

More complex governance: Managing both internal and external processes requires more oversight.

Potential inefficiencies: If not well-coordinated, a hybrid model can lead to redundant costs or operational bottlenecks.

Security risks: Data moving between internal and external systems increases exposure to cyber threats.

By working with a service provider that specializes in hybrid models, companies gain the benefits of both insourcing and outsourcing without added complexity.

4. Overflow & DRaaS: Cost vs. Necessity

While overflow solutions and DRaaS provide resilience, they come with trade-offs:

Higher costs: Maintaining backup infrastructure or outsourcing overflow capacity adds expenses.

Coordination complexity: Ensuring seamless failover between primary and backup systems requires rigorous planning.

False sense of security: If not regularly tested, disaster recovery systems may not perform as expected in a real crisis.

Having an experienced DRaaS provider becomes critical to balance cost with operational resilience.

The Ugly: Unintended Consequences

While companies adopt CCM strategies with the best intentions, failure to plan effectively can lead to severe consequences.

1. Compliance and Legal Risks

Data breaches: Poor vendor security can lead to exposure of sensitive customer data.

Regulatory fines: Failure to comply with industry regulations (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS) can result in substantial penalties.

Compliance limitations: Lengthy and expensive projects to adapt customer communications when regulatory or compliance requirements change.

This is where finding a service provider that maintains industry certifications (HiPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, etc), implements advanced security measures and conducts regular compliance audits is crucial.

2. Vendor Lock-in

Many companies find themselves trapped in rigid contracts that limit flexibility. Vendor lock-in can result in:

Escalating costs with no room for negotiation

Inability to switch providers without major disruption

Limited innovation due to reliance on outdated systems

Finding a partner with open APIs, modular and scalable solutions and clear exit strategies can mitigate this point.

3. Customer Experience Failures

Poorly executed CCM strategies can negatively impact the customer experience. Common issues include:

Delayed communications due to inefficient vendor processes

Inconsistent branding across multiple communication channels

Missed customer preferences leading to dissatisfaction

Look for a service provider with a focused multichannel strategy that delivers consistency across channels, tracking of all communications, along with an innovative approach to bring the right solutions at the right time.

In Conclusion

Making the Right Choice for CCM

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for CCM management. Each organization must evaluate its needs based on regulatory requirements, operational complexity, technology infrastructure and customer experience goals with the view that in many cases, finding the right strategic partner that aligns with a business’s goals can protect from some of these common issues.

BRYAN MATLOCK is a senior leader with a track record of building and leading high-performing sales and solutions engineering teams in the Commercial & Industrial Printing industry. He specializes in digital transformation strategies, enterprise communications processing, and customer experience management (CCM-CXM).

THE FUTURE OF INSURANCE COMMUNICATIONS

BY JASON POTHEN

As competition increases in the insurance industry, the market is experiencing saturation with products, options and competitive alternatives. This is leading to sophisticated buyers with a wider range of options to choose from.

To succeed in today’s crowded insurance marketplace, insurers need to understand that their business model must change focus. To compete, they must engage customers in real time

Using personalized video to lower churn and increase engagement

and most importantly, deliver a personalized and customized user experience.

Thankfully, there are lots of opportunities for competitive differentiation for forward-thinking insurance companies, as the insurance industry is not traditionally known for offering customization. For generations, customers have had to choose from the options insurance companies provided, rather than what they wanted, or needed.

By offering hyper-personal experiences, companies can increase

engagement in insurance, and in doing so, stand out from the crowd and become, or remain, their insurer of choice.

Personalization = Customer Retention

Personalized recommendations have become an ingrained part of our daily digital lives. Whether it’s Netflix suggesting movies or Amazon offering product specials, consumers are used to receiving personalized offers and customized solutions to meet their needs.

Although all the stats point to customer experiences being crucial in customer retention, many insurance providers are lagging and have not been able to deliver what their customers want in this regard.

Insurance companies can capture 40% more revenue from personalization tactics or actions.

Customers have come to expect a personalized approach in everything they do, and that includes their insurance. Customers want personalized offers, pricing and plan recommendations from their insurance providers. If a company can’t meet these needs, they may look elsewhere for a better fit.

Increase Engagement with High-Value Interactions

Insurers who want to deliver personalized services need to have a better understanding of customers’ behaviors and actions. They must focus on user experiences and use those insights to craft customized, frequent and highvalue interactions.

Some ways to offer a highly personalized customer-centric experience include:

Using more common words and less ‘insurance industry’ jargon. Not everyone understands the terminology, so this leads to less customer confusion and frustration.

Engaging with customers more often, throughout the year, not only at renewal time. This works to build more engaging relationships.

Add new channels to communicate with customers and offer a hybrid personalized experience that includes in-person and digital marketing. This is a great tool for customer education and answering questions about policies and claims.

Of these suggestions recently adopted by insurers, the last offers the most far-reaching benefits. Insurers that can reach their customers at the right time, with the right offering, can drive more leads, boost revenue and improve loyalty with results in lowered churn.

Increase Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty with Personalized Video

It’s time for insurers to jump on the personalization bandwagon. With personalization creeping into every aspect of our digital lives, the insurance industry has an opportunity to improve customer experience. From better customer service to more tailored offerings, there are numerous opportunities to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction.

As part of a personalized, data-driven approach to customer communications management (CCM), interactive videos can be used throughout the customer lifecycle to boost engagement and loyalty.

Video visually engages customers, and personalization is a powerful way to deliver information and offers that resonate.

From explaining supplemental insurance options to employees, offering customized insurance quotes, tailoring insurance bundles or streamlining highly relevant communications, personalized interactive videos can help move past transactional relationships to become trusted advisors’ customers want to hear from.

Personalized videos make it easier for customers to understand their insurance options quickly and easily. Simplifying complex information and enabling viewers to make informed decisions, increases engagement and acquisition,

WANT MORE PROOF?

72% prefer to watch a video rather than read text to learn about a product or service.

(Source: WebFX)

A majority (64%) of equity analysts indicate that technology modernization is one of the most important cost transformation levers for insurers.

(Source: Accenture)

Viewers are 35% more likely to continue watching a video if it’s personalized.

(Source: InVideo.io)

improves the onboarding experience, generates more online engagement and opportunities to upsell and cross-sell solutions to existing clients.

Visual engagement and real-time interactivity made possible through video provides the ‘personal touch’ that drives increased customer satisfaction, better engagement and high conversion rates.

JASON POTHEN has 22+ years of experience

serving a diverse array of industries, across a wide range of print and digital communication technologies. Prior to joining Doxim in July 2020, he was a Senior Client Services Manager at Taylor Communications. In his current position as Senior Vice President, Sales, Jason is focused on developing long-term client relationships to facilitate account growth and expedient conflict resolution. He possesses deep knowledge in communication management for regulated industries, with a particular focus on the Utilities, Insurance, Healthcare, and Consumer Finance sectors.

Aspire Leaderboard: Q4 Update

By Kaspar Roos

The last quarter of the year is always a busy time — both for us at Aspire CCS and for the vendors on our Leaderboard — and the last quarter of 2024 was no exception. Aspire has spoken with Customer Experience Management (CXM) software vendors and service providers across six continents, (and with enterprises from different vertical sectors), analyzing both the technical and the operational investments they’ve made to improve customer communications. What we found particularly interesting was the universal recognition that customer communications are no longer constrained to back-office operations producing transactional statements and payment invoices.

Feedback from the launch of our Interaction Experience Management (IXM) market segment earlier in 2024 has confirmed and solidified the market’s evolving view of customer communications as a holistic two-way dialogue that spans a customer’s entire relationship with an organization and its brand. Marketing, sales, service or product delivery, and support all involve customer interactions that must be efficient, coherent and consistent. At the same time, the proliferation of digital channels and expanding consumer choice has provided new opportunities for organizations to leverage customer communications as both a competitive advantage and an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

As a result, Customer Communications Management (CCM)is expanding beyond simple transactional communications and is increasingly being implemented in critical compliance processes throughout organizations, including onboarding, welcome communications, and KYC/AML verification processes. If you are interested in learning more about new advances in CXM technology and services, check out our most recent insight post where we review the latest updates from key vendors, including Compart, eGlue, Elixir, ENIT, Intense, kwsoft, Messagepoint, O’Neil Digital Systems, OpenText, OSG, Precisely, Quadient, Sefas, and Smart Communications.

WHAT THE ANALYSTS SAY…

New Comprehensive Research Study Coming from Aspire in 2025

Aspire is about to launch a new comprehensive research study for 2025 exploring enterprise approaches to customer communications, interaction experiences and digital transformation. This international study examines the crucial aspects of omni-channel strategy, content creation, accessibility, regulatory compliance, data security, digital delivery preferences, insourcing/ outsourcing practices, and trends in CCM-CXM-related IT purchases. We’ve also drilled down on enterprise adoption of emerging technologies like generative AI, agentic AI, and gleaned insights into the ways businesses are implementing artificial intelligence capabilities across various use cases. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact our Senior Research Analyst, Will Morgan at will.morgan@ aspireccs.com

The IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Intelligent Customer Communications Management 2024 Vendor Assessment

This report looks at nine cloud-based CCM application vendors and discusses the shift from traditional document generation to a more intelligent communication platform. Based on a rigorous framework, this IDC MarketScape helps tech buyers define their next-generation communications strategy. Organizations continually adjust their communication strategy to meet evolving customer expectations, and business leaders see potential for AI — and GenAI — to unlock new business value. IDC believes businesses must adopt AI-driven strategies to stay competitive and meet evolving customer expectations. GenAI has the potential to transform CCM, by enhancing customer engagement, optimizing data collection, and improving consistency.

So You Want To Buy A Customer Communication Management System

In the rapidly evolving insurance landscape, the adoption of Customer Communication Management (CCM) systems has become essential for insurers aiming to enhance customer engagement and operational efficiency. This report, serves as a companion to Celent’s earlier report, “Customer Communication Management Solutions: Global Insurance Edition,” which provides a comprehensive vendor evaluation of CCM solutions in the insurance sector. Together, these reports equip insurers with the insights needed to navigate the CCM market effectively. While the Global Insurance Edition evaluates various vendors and their offerings, this report focuses on the critical business and technology drivers influencing the selection and implementation of CCM systems. It highlights the transformative impact of customer expectations, competitive pressures, and regulatory requirements on communication strategies.

How to Transform CX with Advanced Analytics

Customer experience (CX) leaders should adopt advanced analytics to transform traditional feedback-driven CX programs into proactive practices for improving business performance. Advanced CX analytics involves implementing AI-driven analytics to deliver diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive insights currently underused in CX. Implementation includes creating a vision for analytics in CX, compiling CX data, generating actionable insights, and operationalizing these insights to enhance customer experiences. In this report, learn how to move from reacting to customer feedback to driving business performance improvements through these data-driven insights.

/ GARY GREGG /

Think About It

THE FUTURE OF CCM LIES IN OUR ABILITY TO REIMAGINE THE DOCUMENT AS MORE THAN JUST AN ARTIFACT OF COMPLIANCE. IT’S ABOUT CREATING DYNAMIC, ENGAGING AND ACTIONABLE COMMUNICATIONS

/ SHAWN PHILLIPS, JIM TINCHER /

JOURNEY MAPPING INITIATIVES

TYPICALLY INCLUDE INTERVIEWS WITH 30 TO 50 CUSTOMERS TO GET A BROAD RANGE OF CUSTOMER VIEWPOINTS.

69% of financial service customers believe personalization is an essential factor in establishing trust.

/ GARTNER /

The average cost of poor data quality for an organization is around $15 million per year. This is likely to worsen as information environments become increasingly complex — a challenge faced by organizations of all sizes.

/ PATRICK KEHOE /

Research shows that 76% of consumers prefer to interact with businesses in their preferred language, and 40% won’t consider buying from those that don’t offer this option.

/ CHRIS MURPHY /