“If you can’t think of a gift, get them an experience.”

You hear that a lot, and for good reason. People remember experiences, experiences stay with them. People remember their amazing holidays, the things they saw and did. They quickly forget about their swimsuits, their sandals, or their suntan lotion. They remember jumping out of a plane, but they forget about whatever parachute was used.

This principle is also true for what we do in the channel. Our tech is about delivering improved experiences for everyone, and working with partners is about building an environment of opportunity and experience. At 8x8, we’re already seeing more demand for solutions and features that help drive improved customer and employee experience—a lot of which is driven by AI and analytics. And our partner experience is evolving and growing, too. Soon, experience will be one of the biggest differentiators for us in all areas.

Customer experience investments are continuing

Although there’s a lot of economic uncertainty at the moment, when you look at the research, it turns out tech spending isn’t taking a holiday. Instead, it’s going to be increasing substantially.

According to Metrigy, 26% of companies are planning to increase overall spending this year, and half are planning on increasing tech spending. The biggest area of tech investment in 2023 is going to be customer experience (CX) and engagement tech—65% of companies are increasing their CX spend.

But why is there demand for more customer engagement and experience tech? I’d say it’s two things. The answer comes down to new AI capabilities paired with organisations’ increased desire to stand out and impress customers.

The capabilities of AI over the last six months have skyrocketed. A new potential has been unlocked, with improved efficiency and productivity AI, as well as next-level savings and revenue. Which is why we’ve released 8x8 Intelligent Customer Assistant, a friendly and powerful AI solution that uses the most advanced AI and machine learning to build self-service experiences across all channels. These game-changing technologies help create customer experience that will make them stand out, and according to 8x8 research, standing out using CX is one of companies’ biggest concerns for the near future.

That said, customers are still cautious with their money. Times are tough, and we need to be aware of that. That means we have to squeeze every drop of value out of our solutions for our customers. We have to go the extra mile, offer the extra support, and keep the customer front and centre.

The new world of work demands new types of employee experience

In the channel, we can’t become single-minded and focus on promoting customer experience solutions above all else. The people benefitting from our tech aren’t just customers, they’re employees too. Many companies are investing in employee experience and workplace collaboration tools, so we also need to be ready to help them use their investments wisely.

Customers are also looking for enterprise-wide solutions they can access through a single partner, rather than bundling several solutions together from lots of different partners. We know enterprise-wide platforms like 8x8’s XCaaS give the connectivity needed for the new world of hybrid and remote work, and those working patterns are made easier with a single platform with massive connectivity.

In our Future of Work: 2030 Vision research, we’ve found that CX and IT leaders believe these technologies will soon be needed to support other working patterns, like a four-day workweek. In fact, Metrigy’s 2023 EX Spending Outlook notes that two of the main reasons companies are investing in enhancing their employee experience is to keep a competitive advantage when hiring and to deal with the ongoing requirements of our teams. Focusing on employee experience can help retain, attract, and connect the new hybrid workforce.

Stronger partner experiences

To stay competitive,we need to keep building strong and lasting relationships with all our partners, while also reaching out to new ones.

At 8x8, what we’re currently seeing is there are many new and different types of partners wanting to work with us. There’s a much broader range of partners now in the mix.

There are many things we can do to keep improving the partner experience. For example, what we’re hearing from many partners is that they want to gain more expert product knowledge while also playing a role across the whole of the buying cycle. Our partners want to be closer to us and learn more about our products to better help their customers. This is why 8x8 continues to offer all the resources it can as part of 8x8 University, and why we’re continuing to promote and celebrate those partners who take part.

The big reason partners are demanding more?

  1. They want to be stickier for their customers.
  2. There are big shifts in AI technology.
  3. Customers are now increasingly looking for single-partner solutions.

We can also keep building a strong partner experience by focusing on the different models and methods of selling that our partners have. Some of our partners are working on a specific client niche, some of our partners are heavily focusing on Microsoft, and some are still in a more traditional telco position. To ensure we’re maximising our relationships with them and fostering a strong partner experience, focusing on these differences and continually working to accommodate and capitalise on them will be key.

Creating excellent partner experiences comes from building our partners up. When I first started at 8x8, I was working with Softcat for 18 months. We worked incredibly closely, the partnership developed, and they went on to win global partner of the year and fastest growing partner of the year, which is why Softcat has achieved Summit Partner status.

A lot is set to change—and fast. And keeping the human experiences at the centre can help us focus on the best of our products and partners.