International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed Samsung Electronics America as the Overall Winner of the prestigious 2023 IDC Future Enterprise Best in Future of Customer Experience North America Awards.
This annual accolade recognizes organizations that go the extra mile in delivering innovative customer experiences, centering on empathetic and value-driven outcomes for their customers.
Samsung Electronics America’s winning project showcased not only innovation but also highlighted a significant transformation in the management and execution of customer-related initiatives within the organization.
The runner-up in this distinguished competition is Aira at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, followed by the City of Houston Fire/EMS Department as the second runner-up.
The award presentation ceremony for Samsung Electronics America, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and the City of Houston Fire/EMS Department will take place at a virtual event scheduled for this fall.
Sudhir Rajagopal, the Research Director for Customer Experience at IDC, emphasized, “Each of the organizations recognized in this year’s Best in Future of Customer Experience North America Awards presented customer-centered, omni-channel experiences that delivered value-based, empathetic customer outcomes.”
He highlighted the growing importance of AI and automation in scaling such experiences, underlining the transformation achieved by leading organizations in a purposeful manner to prioritize both customer and business outcomes.
More about the Award-Winning Projects:
Overall Winner: Samsung Electronics – Samsung Care Digital Transformation Powered by SMS, Enhanced with AI
Samsung’s project focused on leveraging AI and SMS in three significant ways:
Unified Support: Integrating voice and digital support under a single 1-800 number, optimizing the consumer’s path using AI.
Enhanced Agent Efficiency: Improving agent efficiency by facilitating faster solutions and reducing the learning curve for new agents.
Emotion-Based Matchmaking: Matching consumers with the best agent based on their emotional state and specific issue, enhancing the support experience.
The project’s long-term objective is to shift support preference from voice to SMS, aiming for a seamless and less intrusive support experience for consumers. Key metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), weighted CSat Score (CSS), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Issue Resolution (IR) were monitored to measure customer experience improvements.
The transition to SMS as a preferred support channel was driven by its less intrusive nature and alignment with consumer preferences across various groups.
First Runner Up: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport – Aira at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
The project’s aim was to assist visually impaired passengers in navigating the airport through a mobile app developed in partnership with Aira. Unlike other airports, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport made the service available free of charge throughout all traveling areas, providing significant support to more than 44 million passengers in 2022.
Aira’s 24/7 service connected travelers with trained agents, aiding them in various tasks such as navigating the terminal, locating luggage, reading flight boards, dining, shopping, and arranging ground transportation.
Second Runner Up: City of Houston Fire/EMS Department – ETHAN (Emergency Telehealth and Navigation)
The City of Houston Fire/EMS Department showcased their innovative ETHAN (Emergency Telehealth and Navigation) program, aiming to provide virtual healthcare visits and manage emergency calls more effectively. This mobile integrated healthcare EMS program has significantly impacted prehospital patient management, diverting a considerable number of patients from Emergency Departments to alternative settings, reducing healthcare costs.
The program, managed by Dr. Gonzalez and utilizing data-driven analytics, has been highly successful in its mobile healthcare approach, leading to the development of a scalable web-based portal (internally named Synapse) connecting multiple healthcare facilities for improved patient care.
The IDC Future Enterprise Best in Future of Customer Experience North America Awards continue to spotlight organizations committed to enhancing customer experiences, showcasing innovative technologies, and prioritizing customer-centric strategies for a future of business resiliency and empathy at scale.
