Keeping your edge by delighting customers

Unbeatable video quality and intelligent content discovery are two key elements of a great customer experience.

Online video is a competitive market, with many different companies providing similar services. But there’s one way that businesses really can stand out – and that’s by providing a memorable customer experience.

Making it easy and enjoyable for viewers to watch high quality video sounds simple enough. But rapid growth in this field is creating new challenges.

Cisco research predicts that by 2020, video will make up four fifths of internet traffic, and it will be watched using 11 billion connected video devices. So there’ll be more and more people watching video, using more and more different devices. To keep their edge in the future, service providers will need to be at the top of their game.

Maintaining high standards in a world of increasing complexity

Until now, most service providers have distributed video along fragmented pathways, with broadcast, cable, on demand and over-the-top content all kept separate. But as the demands for video content become larger and more sophisticated, this model is going to be increasingly difficult to keep going with. Legacy systems will not be able to cope with either the sheer scale of the demand, or the growing expectations for seamless access across different devices and networks.

The Cisco Infinite Video Platform uses virtualisation technology to bring these different pipelines together, helping telecoms businesses meet the challenges of the future.

Its cloud-based software as a service model gives providers visibility across the whole system, and the ability to analyse it in real time. This allows them to manage video quality and network usage effectively. So they can reliably distribute a wide range of great content, including ultra high definition 4K video.

Content discovery – a key differentiator

High quality video is an essential element of a great user experience, but it’s not enough on its own. It’s becoming increasingly important for service providers to act as aggregators, bringing lots of content together into one place. With so many programmes now available, customers need user-friendly discovery tools to find a rewarding path through them.

The rich data and analytical power of the Infinite Video Platform make it possible for service providers to help people find what they want – and make recommendations if they aren’t quite sure. You can make services truly personal, increasing customer satisfaction and reducing churn. And our technology makes it possible for businesses to come up with ever more innovative ways of navigating content. In Germany, for example, Vodafone is using the Infinite Video Platform to power a voice-enabled search for its GigaTV service, creating a more human way to access their service.

Exceeding expectations

This may only be one part of the customer’s experience, but when all of these details come together, they really help a company to stand out. And the importance of that should not be underestimated. According to experts from McKinsey, “brands that can improve the customer journey see revenues increase as much as 10-15%”.

As online video grows more complex, it becomes even more important to do the simple things well. But success is also about going beyond people’s expectations. Cisco technology can help you meet both these goals, providing services that customers can depend on – and that delight them.