The IBM Customer Experience Suite: Building A Better And More Profitable Web

I mentioned in a blog post from Tuesday that IBM would shortly be making an announcement that would help reshape the Web experience.

Drum roll, please, maestro.

Today, at four events held around the globe and also live on the Web via LiveStream (the NYC event can be watched live starting at 12:30 E.S.T. today, September 16, 2010),  IBM is unveiling new software designed to help organizations reinvent the way they interact with consumers over the Web and through mobile devices.

This software features analytics, social software and commerce capabilities that helps organizations create dynamic and interactive Web experiences to better target consumers and increase brand loyalty.

Before I get to the nitty gritty details, let me first provide some more background on what has led to and informed this announcement.

We Webizens know that online transactions continue to grow at a rapid pace.  Today, eight out of 10 consumers shop online at least twice a week, and ABI Research estimates there will be 20 times more data and 40 times more mobile transactions by 2015.

The report adds that mobile online shopping is expected to triple annually and rise to $119 billion in the same timeframe!

Web Metrics That Mean Business

But it’s important not to get caught up only in the upside opportunity in terms of new traffic and ways of accessing businesses and conducting transactions via the Web.  We’re way beyond just counting Web clicks and visits.

There are more business-oriented metrics that IBM is seeing companies realize through more effective uses of the Web after they’ve adopted IBM technology.

By way of example, in today’s Web-centric world, on-line banking has become “the norm,” pushing financial institutions to look for new tools to create personalized experiences for its customers in order to remain competitive.

Through the use of blogs, chat forums, videos, social networking, rich media and mobile capabilities, a financial institution can deliver a more personalized Web experience resolving customer issues more quickly while fostering customer loyalty and improving satisfaction.

According to Forrester, in today’s online and mobile consumer era, organizations that deploy sites with superior user experience can achieve as much as a 400 percent increase in conversion of Web visitors to sales leads.

The IBM Customer Suite being introduced today is targeted to address the need for well integrated Web tools.  Using IBM’s current portfolio of portal and Web content management software, IBM has seen clients achieve:

• 23 percent increase in on-line prescription refills at a cost of $.25/refill compared to $3/telephone refill.
• 33 percent of patients are less likely to cancel appointments when using online service.
• 30 percent of all customers rated self service higher than help desk.
• 75 percent reduction in the time to roll out new customer oriented applications.
• 30 percent reduction in call center field support calls.

“Our data shows an increased number of visitors to Cars.com from a mobile device,” says Brent Laufenberg, Director of Enterprise Architecture, Cars.com, a business unit of Classic Ventures. “To make the experience easier for our consumers, we are increasing our social networking Web activity and personalization, as well as incorporating more rich media into the site.”

There’s No Better Way to Fly…or Surf…The Web

Lufthansa is another IBM customer that has gained favorable business advantage and improved customer satisfaction using IBM Customer Experience technology.

Lufthansa currently has a Web site supporting multiple brands, including Lufthansa.com, WeFlyHome.com and Miles-and-More.com. Its Web site supports important service functions such as online ticket sales and check-in.

Lufthansa.com: More than two billion page impressions, 16,000 check-in transactions and an average ticket booking every ten seconds!

The underlying IT solution supports more than two billion page impressions, 16.000 check-in transactions and in average a ticket booking every ten seconds. Now Lufthansa is working with IBM to improve its Web presence to reach more airline passengers over the next several years.

“Working with IBM on improving our site Lufthansa.com has made us more competitive and has led to significant operating cost reductions. As a result, we have renewed our contract with IBM and will continue to improve our Web presence together for the next several years,” said Gunter Friedrich, vice president, Information Management and Sales Processes, Lufthansa Passenger Airline.

New IBM Software Suite Can Help Accelerate On-line Sales Leads

Alistair Rennie is the general manager, IBM Collaboration Software.

At the New York City launch event, Alister will speak to the broad spectrum of impact that new capabilities like social and mobile computing are having on expectations customers have, and how those expectations have helped shape the IBM Customer Experience Suite.

“Collaboration and social software have the power to transform an organization’s Web presence reinventing how they relate to their customers on the Web,” said Mr. Rennie in a press release prepared in advance of the event.

IBM consulting services will also be available to support the assessment, development and use of new and enhanced Web experiences. And IBMi (IBM Interactive) consultants will collaborate with clients to deliver the Customer Experience Suite to enable increased differentiation, revenues, productivity, efficiency and reduced costs through an optimized user experience.

“We are aligning the breadth of IBM capabilities — services, support, and software including commerce, social software, business intelligence, predictive analytics, portal, Web content management and web analytics — to help our customers embrace the web as their primary channel for customer engagement,” added Rennie.

IBM is also teaming up with dozens of its business partners including Ascendant, Gemini, Infosys, Ixion, and Perficient on this initiative.

The new IBM Software suite is another piece of IBM’s expanding portfolio of solutions designed to help organizations improve their marketing presence on the Web.

IBM’s recent acquisitions of Sterling Commerce and Coremetrics, and the intended acquisition of Unica, will enhance the company’s ability to support clients’ needs in this growing market.  This new IBM Software suite is an extension of IBM’s $100 million Research investment in advancing mobile services and capabilities for businesses and consumers worldwide.

Visit here to learn more about the IBM Customer Experience Suite core offerings and add-on modules, and for details about new WebSphere Portal 7 and Lotus Web Content Management 7, available now.