Veeva Systems Announces First Customer Win for Still-Unreleased Solution
Veeva Systems, the California-based cloud computing company specializing in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry applications, says in a recent announcement that its as-yet-unreleased Vault CRM solution has already notched its first customer win.
The identity of the customer has not been disclosed but is described by Veeva as an “innovative” oncology biotech firm. According to Veeva, the Vault CRM early adopter plans to go live in the fourth quarter this year, starting with its field medical team.
Vault CRM is being billed by Veeva as its next-generation customer relationship management solution. Slated for general release in April 2024, Vault CRM is part of Veeva Commercial Cloud, a family of software, data, and services to advance commercial excellence in the life sciences.
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The new solution is optimized for new therapies and new models for the life sciences, Veeva executives say. Built for the unique needs of complex therapies and service-centric engagement models, Vault CRM will enable key capabilities for field teams, including customer profiling, territory and account planning, sampling, and recording field engagement.
To be included with Vault CRM is Service Center, a new functionality providing call center capabilities that inside sales and hybrid sales teams can use to support the service-centric engagement strategy necessary for today’s more complex therapies.
Veeva says Vault CRM will be its “go-forward product” for all new customers by next year after the solution becomes publicly available. It will replace Veeva CRM, the company’s current offering that is built on the Salesforce platform. Veeva CRM will then enter stability mode following a final functional release scheduled to take place in December this year.
The company says it intends to support Veeva CRM until September 2030.
Forrester’s FeedbackNow Helps Road Ranger With Cleanliness and Satisfaction Goals
Research company Forrester with its FeedbackNow system is the customer feedback solution of choice for truck stop and convenience store company Road Ranger. After successfully piloting the technology in five stores, Illinois-based Road Ranger has rolled out FeedbackNow in restrooms and at coffee stations at all of the chain’s 47 convenience stores across seven states.
In the initial trial launch, Road Ranger deployed Smiley Boxes containing an optional QR code for gathering comments in its restrooms and coffee stations. The company was seeking to collect customer feedback on the cleanliness of its restrooms and to determine the level of customer satisfaction with its coffee selection.
Throughout the 2-month trial launch, Road Ranger collected more than 21,000 votes from the five stores to identify the times for which satisfaction rates declined. FeedbackNow devices collected input and then correlated the data in one platform to show immediate and actionable ways of improving CX in real time. Overall, the data revealed a correlation between satisfaction levels and the number of cleanings performed by the hour. Using that information, Road Ranger then adjusted cleaning schedules, resolving multiple issues that had been identified by consumers in their comments.
“Every Road Ranger location is unique and requires detailed variances,” says Ryan Arnold, vice president of marketing at Road Ranger. “Our partnership with FeedbackNow allowed fact-based evidence on traffic patterns from store to store, varying geographically. We’ve learned from our customers the most ideal times to schedule cleanings and how to efficiently communicate with our team members when alerts to cleanliness arise.”
Founded in Switzerland in 2011, FeedbackNow was acquired by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester Research in 2018. The company’s namesake devices measure and analyze CX feedback across both physical and digital touchpoints along the customer journey.
Avaya Helps Outsourcing Firm Kura Elevate Contact Center Services
Avaya, the North Carolina-based provider of business communications solutions, is collaborating with UK independent outsourcer Kura to transform its CX offering. Using Avaya Enterprise Cloud, Kura will offer clients seamless inbound and outbound contact center services with the added flexibility to tap into advanced features like speech analytics, digital and social channels, and secure payments conforming to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard.
Enterprise Cloud will be delivered to Kura as a contact center as a service (CCaaS) solution via a dedicated cloud deployment, with the ability for Kura to scale up its use of the program as the company grows or expands clientele.
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Janine Hunt, client partnership director at Kura, praises the Avaya solution for its ability to integrate with external platforms and to add or remove features on demand. “We are very excited about the difference Avaya Enterprise Cloud is going to make to our business. It will enable us to deliver the advanced features that are really beneficial to clients because they take their customer experience to the next level.”
Steve Joyner, vice president at Avaya UK and Ireland, says Avaya serves as a conduit. “Contact centers know that they, their clients, and their customers will all benefit from the innovative features that are only available in the cloud but are often hesitant, as digital transformation can be disruptive to business,” Joyner notes. “At Avaya, we offer a pathway that provides a seamless hybrid cloud experience that combines the best of on-premises and cloud solutions to minimize disruptions, maximize ROI, and drive innovation.”
Avaya emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year with approximately $650 million in liquidity after successfully restructuring its debt obligations. It was the second time that Avaya sought to restructure its finances, having plunged into bankruptcy for the first time in 2017.
InMoment Partners with La-Z-Boy to Elevate CX
InMoment, the Utah-based software company and developer of CX solutions, says its Experience Improvement (XI) listening platform has been selected by La-Z-Boy to bring products to a new generation of customers, as the popular Michigan-based manufacturer of reclining chairs and sleeper sofas aims to drive greater customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Using the text analytics engine and deep learning AI mechanism of the XI technology, La-Z-Boy will be able to listen, learn, and act on all the data signals it is receiving. The breadth of those signals—coming from websites, call centers, chat, social media channels, and the supply chain—will enable La-Z-Boy to better understand customers and pinpoint areas where the company should focus its time and resources.
“In today’s tumultuous world, we understand the importance of creating a company that is dedicated to delivering products that contribute to positive “me” time and “we” time for family and friends,” says Jorge Calvachi, director of insights at La-Z-Boy. “Our collaboration with InMoment allows us to understand, in greater detail, our customers’ wants and needs, and helps us know how they feel so we can capture the hearts of our customers by creating superior experiences and products.”
Approaching its 100th year of operation, La-Z-Boy is reinvigorating its brand into aligning more closely with consumers by creating a CX hub that integrates customer data across all channels. The company hopes the initiative will help provide a more consistent CX, eliminating friction points in the customer journey and paving the way for a clearer grasp of La-Z-Boy customer sentiment and intent.
Mehul Nagrani, managing director at InMoment North America, remarks on the pivotal role that customers play. “Analyzing customer feedback, both in-store and online, is critical to understanding what customers value most and what business improvements should be made,” Nagrani says. “Our AI-powered technology gives us the ability, like never before, to help La-Z-Boy make more immediate and informed business decisions about customer interactions and touchpoints that influence customer loyalty and satisfaction.”
MoEngage Flies High With Saudi Travel Firm Almosafer
Customer engagement firm MoEngage is teaming up with Almosafer, the Saudi Arabia-based travel agency, to offer more personalized service in the region.
Founded in 2012, Almosafer handles domestic and international travel bookings mainly for sojourners in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a bloc of contiguous nations occupying the Arabian peninsula in the Middle East that also makes up the political and economic alliance known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Almosafer will leverage the omnichannel platform of MoEngage to create personalized messaging for customers of the agency, in hopes of ensuring uninterrupted customer engagement for travelers in the area. Almosafer will also deploy San Francisco-based MoEngage’s capabilities in advanced segmentation, automation, and personalization, which will enable the agency to craft relevant campaigns for target audiences.
“We understand the importance of trust when it comes to booking travel services,” says Pallav Singhvi, vice president of consumer travel at Almosafer. “Our customers can rely on us to deliver on our promises, ensuring they receive the services they booked with confidence and peace of mind.”
Sweta Duseja, director of customer success at MoEngage, says the company is happy to assist Almosafer. “We are excited to join hands with a leading brand that focuses on engagement across the customer journey lifecycle. Establishing a sound customer engagement strategy can lead to a long-term relationship.”
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
