235: Unveiling the Trends from Broadridge's 6th Annual CX and Communications Consumer Insight Survey with Debbie Miglaw

Navigating the Customer Experience

Debbie Miglaw is Head of Digital Solutioning & Business Development at Broadridge. She and her team of digital sales specialists, solutions architects and business analysts are responsible for consulting with clients to define the digital solutions that support their digital transformation and customer experience goals.

The team of experts work with clients’ business and technology stakeholders to map the solution from ideation to implementation. Debbie has extensive experience in helping clients with their print-to-digital transformations. Prior to her current role, Debbie was responsible for designing and executing the product vision and strategy of Broadridge Customer Communications omni-channel solutions.

Questions

· Now, could you start off by sharing with our listeners a little bit about your journey, how it is that you got from where you were to where you are today?

· Could you share with us a little bit about the results from that survey, maybe some key things that came out of that survey?

· In the customer experience space, what do you think are some trends that will continue? And maybe even some new ones that you're hoping to see evolve? Or even get more prominent?

· What's the one online resource tool website or app that you absolutely can't live without in your business?

· Could you also share with our listeners one or two books that you've read, could be a book that you read recently, or even one you read a very long time ago. But it has had a profound impact on you whether personally or professionally.

· Now, could you also share with our listeners what's the one thing that's going on in your life right now that you are really excited about? Either something you're working on to develop yourself or your people.

· What would you say as a leader is maybe two or three things that you believe is critical to kind of raise a team members competencies up, especially as it relates to their behaviors in developing leadership skills?

· Where can listeners find you online?

· Now, before we wrap our episodes up, we always like to ask our guests do you have a quote or saying that during times of adversity or challenge, you will tend to revert to this quote if for any reason you get derail or you get off track, the quote kind of helps to get you back on track. Do you have one of those?

Highlights

Debbie’s Journey

Me: Now, could you start off by sharing with our listeners a little bit about your journey, how it is that you got from where you were to where you are today?

Debbie shared that she’s been here quite a while; it started believe it or not 26 years ago, within the Broadridge space. She started with the company it was considered USCS International, which was acquired by DST Systems. And in 2016, Broadridge acquired the DST output business. And as part of that, they really brought together the best of the customer communications business across all vertical markets. And along that journey, she spent the majority of her time heading up and leading the product organization to deliver solutions across print and digital services and she continue on in that in the last 3 years, really help focus on as you said in the intro the solutioning and helping their clients find the right solution to solve for their business objectives.

Key Insights from the Recent Survey: Understanding Trends and Findings

Me: Perfect. Now, one of the reasons why we were very intrigued to interview I believe, when we started this conversation, it would have been Matt Swain was about the report that was shared with me when the interview request was presented on your 6th Annual CX and Communications Consumer Insight survey. I understand the survey covers the overall consumer sentiment around CX within different industries. So, could you share with us a little bit about the results from that survey, maybe some key things that came out of that survey?

Debbie shared that they're very excited with the 2024 results that they've published out in the market. And one of the most prominent things that they found in the data is really that in the last 5 years, you could say 6, as most people know, 2020, they didn't do the survey. But over that time span, the number of consumers, the percentage that are dissatisfied with customer experience and believe companies need to improve that experience has doubled.

So, it's gone from 35%, having a sentiment that is saying needs to be better to 70%. So, it's pretty significant in terms of the fact that the expectations continue to grow, but the companies aren't necessarily achieving it at the same rate. So, that's probably the first one that she would say stands out a lot.

They also still see some things around personalization. So, when they look at the information, they find that 90% of consumers think that it's important for companies to honour their preferred communication method and a personalized communication. But only 31% think the companies are doing a good job of honouring those preferences and making it a personal experience.

And then the other third point, she would say is really around data security. That's continued to be there, she’s not sure that will ever change in her personal opinion, however, that consumers continue to crave that better experience but more than half, 54% are willing to share personal data if it's going to improve experience, so, that's really telling.

And then she'll say the last point, she would say is that they did ask this year about AI because it's definitely out there in market. And one of the things that they found is varying feedback, of course, but Gen Z out of all the groups are particularly optimistic about the use of AI and 76% are actually saying that they have used it in some fashion and 46% say it's actually improved their experience. So, it's just a little tidbit maybe not the top three kernels that she previously mentioned, but something for us to keep an eye on.

Me: Very fascinating. So, the study was done across different industries, right? Could you share with our listeners, like maybe the sample size? And what specific industries were covered when the survey was done?

Debbie shared that this was a North American survey, it's about 75% in the US and 25% in Canada, there were 4010 residents that were 18 years and older that was doing this study, it was executed in November of 2023. So, that's the high-level background.

And then they do actually ask about the types of industries that are providing the best experience and around the communications, and so, those industries vary from banking, credit card, utilities, health care, health insurance, telecommunications, investments, retirement, insurance loans, and then you could say, like, maybe an other for those that don't have answers, but they typically hit those. She thinks it's 10 particular industry standouts in their report.

Me: Perfect. So very, very good insights, especially for those of our listeners that are in the United States and Canada, we do have a lot of listeners that are outside of that region. But it's still fascinating information to keep into consideration, because probably the same execution could be done for your region if you're listening to this, and you're not in North America, you could possibly do something similar to what Broadridge did. Because the industries exist in these regions, they just probably don't have the data to support it. So, thank you so much for sharing, Debbie.

Emerging Trends in Customer Experience

Me: Now, Debbie, based on your own experience in the whole customer experience space, because you have a lot of background in that, especially working with Broadridge and your previous experience. And of course, seeing that were basically halfway through 2024. What do you think are some trends that will continue? And maybe even some new ones that you're hoping to see evolve? Or even get more prominent?

Debbie stated that that's a good question. She would say that trends that they see is really a combination of how do we accelerate that digital transformation and improve the customer experience, and also lower costs and so especially more so probably in the US than some of the other areas like Canada and such, the postal rates increased dramatically. So, top of mind for companies, is to actually reduce that paper and try to get to digital quickly. But also, how do you do that? So, paperless adoption strategies is going to continue to be one of the top initiatives and trends that we see that will not change she doesn't think anytime soon.

But she thinks really what's happening is companies out there in the industries, they're really looking to figure out how do they best do it? We sometimes talk about especially you've talked to Matt Swain in the past, and it's the carrot versus the stick often comes up. And they're seeing a mixture of trial and error in there, especially with the stick.

They're really looking at how do people actually accelerate that customer experience in a way that potentially doesn't have that heavy IT cost to do it. So, she thinks they're starting to also see a trend around the make, buy, build kind of conversation. Do you build, do buy, do you partner? And so, seeing a lot of that in order to actually accelerate that transformation.

App, Website or Tool that Debbie Absolutely Can’t Live Without in Her Business

When asked about online resource that she can’t live without in her business, Debbie stated that that's interesting, for her, she uses so many, their company probably from a perspective of she'll say, their research uses a variety of different tools. They all use LinkedIn as one source. But more than anything, when they're looking at customer experience, they look at things like UserTesting, as a way to gauge what the consumer sentiment is against the communication experience. So, that's definitely one, especially in the customer experience, and communications and consulting area. So, they definitely rely on that. And believe it or not, they like to just go out and essentially see and experience the experiences for themselves. So, meaning they might actually go to a lot of companies that they're either talking to as prospective clients or existing clients to get a sense of competitive landscape of what the best customer experiences are. So, a lot of times that personal research is the best tool that we have.

Books that Have Had the Biggest Impact on Debbie

When asked about books that have had a great impact, Debbie stated that that's a good question and shared that she now can't remember the name of the book, unfortunately. But it was quite some time ago, there was a book that was really around innovation and the way we think, and what innovation means. And a lot of it had to do with the small startup business and it really made her think how you can actually have that startup mentality and how you apply it into a larger corporation. And she thinks that's one thing she has the privilege of working with the team that does a lot of that innovation for Broadridge in terms of the innovation lab and R & D. And so, their Chief Digital Officer, Rob Krugman spends a lot of time going out and exploring these different opportunities. And so, she thinks the creation of that particular unit within their company in the last couple of years has really helped kind of expand the opportunities that they might be able to bring to market.

What Debbie is Really Excited About Now!

Debbie stated that that’s good question. She thinks right now, their focus short term happens to be the end of their fiscal year. So, they have a very aggressive sales goals from that perspective, it's there. Ironically, when she talks about end of year, the personal side of that is it's the end of the school year going on right now so they're in the week of things like her daughter's 8th grade graduation, kind of those activities. So, it's kind of interesting that the timing of their fiscal is also the end of school year activities. And so, they're really aligned on staying focused, getting through all the activities that are there. So, very much a streamlined set of activities, both personally and professionally.

Fostering Leadership Competencies: Strategies for Elevating Team Members’ Skills and Behaviors

Me: Now, you do a lot of work as a leader, Debbie in your organization. And I imagine, as a leader, you have to kind of hone and develop other people's skills so that they can become truly functional in their role, but not necessarily from a technical perspective, but also from a development perspective, meaning they have the ability to motivate and inspire others. What would you say as a leader is maybe two or three things that you believe is critical to kind of raise a team members competencies up, especially as it relates to their behaviors in developing leadership skills?

Debbie shared that for me, a lot of it is empowering the employees to essentially try and do and a lot of times, that's what creates the growth. So, a lot of the approach that she’s taken as a leader over the years is, after we've done sort of, like you said that a technical type education and product knowledge, some of those kinds of things the company is then they do a lot of, say, ride along. So, ride along with a meeting to listen, hear how it's actually executed, especially if it's like a sales or product related meeting. And then giving the opportunity for that person to actually lead where you sort of follow on. So, you're there as a safety net to help. And she thinks that really empowers people to let them be the experts when a leader or someone that might have more experiences on the phone. Because a lot of times what happens is people naturally defer to the person with more knowledge. So, she’s found that that's a really good way to raise that confidence, and give them experience.

And again, a little bit of a safety net to get there and typically, those folks that have the aptitude, really just run with it. And before you know it, basically they're running it on their own, and they don't necessarily need you there. So, that's a great thing to see as a leader.

And she thinks the other is really kind of coaching around the communication aspect, and that really varies. She knows for like in her product role a lot of times in the past it was very technical you could say right, the accuracy what you're saying, and then trying to balance that when the right opportunity is there.

Do you need to be a little bit more optimistic and sales oriented?

Do you need to be more practical, here's what's real?

And guiding people through that process of understanding the situation that you're in, in order to convey the right message right? And it's not about accuracy of the information, it's just more about that influential speak when it's appropriate, when it's not type situation. So, those are a couple of things that really stand out for her.

Where can listeners find Debbie online?

LinkedIn – Debbie Miglaw

Website – www.broadridge.com

LinkedIn – Matt Swain

2023 CX and Communications Consumer Insights Survey

Quote or Saying that During Times of Adversity Debbie Uses

When asked about a quote or saying that she tends to revert to, Debbie shared that she does, her quote is “The best is yet to come.”

Me: Do you like to elaborate a little bit on it for our listeners?

Debbie shared that for her view, it's tough when you're in it, and a lot of times we forget to look ahead and how we're going to get past a difficult situation. And so, she thinks if we just have that little bit more optimistic view that on the other side, things will get better. And so, it's kind of funny, it comes up in other panels that she’s spoken on in person. And she always say it's also a song, so it's kind of you can have it as a motto, a song, a saying, but the best is yet to come. So, whether it is in your personal life or in work, she could say the best customer experience is yet to come, right. The best for her daughter's future is yet to come. So, kind of looking at it from that angle.

Me: Very nice. Alright. Well, Debbie, thank you so much for jumping on this podcast and sharing the great insights that you did about the report that Broadridge did, as well as in your own function and capacity in terms of leading your team and some recommended trends that you believe will continue as well as evolve in the space of customer experience. The conversation was extremely insightful, and I'm sure our listeners gleaned quite a lot of information from our conversation, so that thank you so much.

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