Celebrating Sustainability Excellence: Sefas Receives Gold Medal from EcoVadis Sustainability has become a central focus for businesses aiming to make a positive impact on the environment and society. Companies are increasingly aware of the importance of ethical and eco-friendly practices in their operations, and Sefas UK is no exception. We are thrilled to share the news that we have received a Gold Medal for Sustainability from EcoVadis, a globally recognized platform for sustainability assessments. EcoVadis: Leading the Way in Sustainability Assessments EcoVadis is an independent and trusted platform that assesses and rates companies' sustainability performance across various industries. Their comprehensive [...]

AI has become a part of our daily lives rapidly over the last three to four years. With the rise of ChatGPT many people now regularly use AI and its powerful capabilities to get solutions to problems that they have. AI can process data at a rapid speed and provide quick solutions, so how can this support customer communications in the insurance industry? In this article, we will have an overview of AI in insurance, the benefits of AI for customer communications, current AI technology used for customer communications, and the possible challenges and considerations to consider with this. Read [...]

The proposed AI Act by the European Union carries significant implications for applying artificial intelligence (AI) within the insurance sector. This Act is designed to oversee the use of AI in different industries, including insurance, safeguard consumer interests, and promote the ethical use of AI technologies. The EU AI Act sets rules for how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in the insurance industry. Insurers must follow strict guidelines when using AI for underwriting, risk assessment, fraud detection, and customer service. The goal is to ensure that AI is used responsibly, transparently, and without bias. What is the EU AI [...]

In the fast-changing world we live in, utilities—like electricity, water, and gas providers—are using new technology to improve how they work and communicate with customers. One important tool in this change is called Customer Communications Management (CCM) software. It helps utilities better connect with customers and run their services smoothly. This article will explain why understanding CCM and the digital transformation of utilities is so important, showing how they improve operations and make customers happier. The role of CCM in enhancing customer communications Improving customer engagement CCM helps utilities engage with customers more effectively. By using personalised messages and easy-to-understand [...]

In today’s competitive market, maintaining customer loyalty is more challenging than ever. Effective Customer Communications Management (CCM) plays a crucial role in achieving this. By crafting communications that resonate with your audience, you can significantly enhance customer retention. Customer retention goes beyond preventing churn—it’s about nurturing relationships and delivering consistent experiences across all channels. Tailoring your communications allows you to strengthen connections with customers at every interaction. In this article, we’ll cover key CCM strategies, tools, and practical steps to help you improve customer retention effectively. Key strategies for effective CCM Personalised communication Customers feel valued when communications are tailored [...]

Customer journey mapping is an excellent tool that gives a visual presentation of the entire process a customer goes through when interacting with a business. From initial awareness to post-purchase advocacy, this map helps businesses understand and improve every touchpoint along the customer’s journey. By looking at this journey in detail, businesses can find insights into a customer's behaviour, identify pain points and create strategies to increase the overall customer experience.  In this article we will explore what customer journey mapping is, its importance, and the steps to create a map.  What is Customer Journey Mapping? Customer journey mapping is [...]

In the insurance industry, accessible and inclusive communications are critical. Without them, customers with disabilities may face difficulties understanding policies, filing claims, and receiving assistance, which could lead to frustration for all involved. It could even eventually lead to legal issues if you don't have the correct policies and procedures in place. To address this, insurance companies should adopt an all-inclusive approach: understand diverse customer needs, simplify language and design, provide multiple formats, use technology and train staff.  In this article we outline the practical steps to ensure clear, inclusive, and supportive communications for all customers. Understanding accessibility in communications  [...]

With the continued development of digital marketing, some new strategies have emerged. The ease of online marketing has made marketing accessible to many more companies both big and small, meaning that specific techniques need to be incorporated to stand out from the noise and generate results. One strategy that has become popular across industries is cross-channel marketing. But what is cross-channel marketing? In this blog we will be defining it, looking at some benefits and disadvantages, and explaining how you can incorporate an effective cross-channel marketing campaign for your business. What is Cross-Channel Marketing?Cross-channel marketing is a holistic strategy that involves [...]

Navigating the Digital Migration: Overcoming Challenges in Omni-Channel CommunicationsIn today's fast-paced digital world, organizations are constantly seeking ways to enhance their customer experience. Omni-channel communication stands out as a key strategy in this endeavor. However, the journey is not without its challenges. Here, we explore how companies can navigate these challenges to provide a seamless and consistent communication experience across various platforms like email, social media, phone, and interactive touchpoints.Staging the Omni-Channel Strategy: Four Key Themes1. Simplifying the ComplexChallenge: Managing multiple communication channels effectively can lead to complexity and risk, especially when dealing with different technology, processes, and business ownership.Solution: [...]

Over the last 2 years, four independent analyst companies have recognized Sefas as one of the global leaders in Customer Communications solutions.The Aspire Leaderboard (2023) describes Sefas as a leader and goes on to say “Sefas's omni-channel communications hub is a new vision, based on a single platform that can drive communication transformation across a variety of use cases. Sefas is in a good position to help its clients unlock benefits (of improved CX) by transforming critical communications produced on legacy systems and make them available in a digital-first omni-channel future.” Learn more here.In 2022 IDC’s Marketscape Cloud CCM report [...]

There has been a boom in customer expectations for businesses they purchase from recently. This simply comes down to the convenience of communications between customers and businesses in 2023. There is instant two-way communication available between customers and the companies that they purchase from. This means customers expect quick and instant reactions from businesses, they want regular communications regarding their orders, potential offers available to them, and more. This can be challenging for you to offer as a business, however. How can you automate customer communications in order to make the process as simple as possible? In this article, we [...]

When running a business, it is inevitable that you are going to have to collect customer data in order to provide a positive service to your customers. Whether it is email addresses, billing addresses, full names, payment details, and more. With this in mind, protecting customer data needs to be an important priority for your business. If you have ever seen the news when a customer data breach occurs, the results for the business involved can be expensive or even change the future of the business altogether.Regardless of what kind of business you are running, there is unfortunately a risk [...]

Running a business in 2023, more than any other time in history relies upon providing the best possible customer experience. Whether it is going above and beyond to offer additional support after a customer makes a purchase, or smiling through a particularly harsh bit of feedback to then offer an alternative solution. Managing customer experience is going to be one of the most important things for every business in 2023 and beyond. So how can you improve your customer experience management? In this blog, we will be covering 5 different ways that you can effectively manage your customer experience. So [...]

Customer Experience (CX) is a constantly evolving concept that tends to roll with the times. Often, businesses will innovate and provide improvements to their customers that expand the customer experience. These improvements will then move industry-wide and eventually even become a norm across a number of different industries. So how can your business remain on top of these trends and decide which ones to implement? In this article, we will be covering exactly what trends are going to be big for Customer experience in 2023 and which ones we think are the most important to get right primarily.Hyper-PersonalisationCustomer experience in [...]

What is an eCommerce Customer Journey?An eCommerce customer journey is the route that potential customers take from discovering your brand all the way to when they have completed a purchase and become brand advocates. Many different factors can impact this and it can be challenging to know where to begin when crafting a customer journey that will be effective for your business. In this blog we will be covering:The full eCommerce customer journey How understanding this journey can support your business Some simple ways that you can improve your customer journey How Sefas can support you with this What are the main stages of [...]

The digital banking transformation involves turning traditional banking services into online instantly accessible platforms for customers. The goal is to provide a positive user experience with omni-channel banking solutions that allow customers to access their financial information easily. Whether it is an online bank statement designed to save paper and provide extra security to the end user, or allowing customers to send a payment with secure authentication APIs in place. This evolution to online banking has been on the horizon for a while. So how can your business stay on top of the changes in the industry? To answer this [...]

What is CX in insurance?Customer experience (CX) can simply be defined as how the customer finds the process of interacting with a business. CX in insurance like in many different industries has encountered a number of different innovations in recent years. The insurance industry in particular has often been slower in this area, as it was often expected that there will be a churn of policyholders regardless of any positive CX implementations. However, consumers are becoming much savvier and have less time than ever before for needless and long communications processes. So as an insurance provider, how can you work [...]

FCA Consumer Duty Summary The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started to introduce a series of regulations as part of a new consumer duty. This new consumer duty aims to improve how firms serve consumers fundamentally. It will set higher and clearer consumer protection standards across financial services, requiring firms to put their customer's needs first. Consumers will need to be presented with accurate communications that they can understand, products and services that meet their needs, and the required level of customer support to make the best possible decisions. Some of the key FCA Consumer Duty regulations will require firms to:End rip-off [...]

What is an omni-channel customer journey?An omni-channel customer journey is simply a unified experience for your customers across platforms. Whether it is filling out a form on your website and receiving an automated email with their preferred information, or a customer reserving an item online to then go in-store and collect it. Creating an omni channel customer experience is vital for any business in 2023. With a traditional customer journey, each of these touchpoints would be separate and sometimes not even relate to each other at all. Brands are now linking each of these touchpoints together to create a much-improved [...]

Customer Communications Management (CCM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are two concepts built around how companies communicate and deal with their customers. CCM allows a business to manage how its communications are created and distributed with ease. CRM is focused on the collection of customer data during interactions, this data is then used to improve these interactions in the future.CCM Vs CRM - What Are The Key Differences?CRM FeaturesWith CRM software a business is able to store all of the collected information regarding their existing customers. This can then be shared across the relevant teams that need access to this [...]

As a modern business, it is important to make your customers feel valued through your customer communications. If you are curious about how to connect with your customers, we believe that CCM is a surefire way to do so. CCM stands for customer communications management which is usually a piece of software that enables a business to manage its communications across a variety of platforms. In this blog, we will be giving you some of the ways that you can use CCM to connect with your customers.How to connect with your customers using CCMSegment your customers into relevant groupsAn easy [...]

What Is Email Marketing CRM And How Can It Help Your Campaigns?Email marketing is a huge part of marketing strategy in business. Email marketing is an easy way to get your key business promotions out to your existing customers, as well as potential leads. However, if you are not careful with your approach you will potentially alienate your current customers and push them away. This is where email marketing CRM (Customer relationship management) can come in to help. Building a relationship with your customers that is based upon mutual benefit can be challenging. Using CRM can make this easy. Let's [...]

What are the benefits of document automation for your business?In 2024 we are seeing a real push towards a digital future in both our personal and working lives. With the rise of AI and the ever-changing digital landscape, it is important as a business owner that you are able to keep up with the times and on top of any big changes. One of these changes is the rise of document automation. Document automation allows businesses to automate the document creation process, which can often prove to be very tedious, error-prone and inefficient. Creating company documents is a process that [...]

How You Can Craft Your Ideal Customer Communications With EaseMany businesses are looking for ways to cut costs and make their processes more efficient. One way that they can achieve this is through CCM automation. This stands for customer communications management automation. Essentially, this will involve the business in question using customer communications management software to create their communications and then automating some of these processes to make their lives easier. Using CCM software is a great way to speed up the customer communications process in general.How CCM can support your businessCCM software will enable your business to create compelling [...]

With Black Friday now on the horizon, many businesses are preparing for an influx of sales and, hopefully, revenue. The last weekend of November presents consumers with the opportunity to purchase some high-end products and brands at reduced prices. However, this also allows a variety of SME's to provide a great offer to consumers and boost their sales. With strategic marketing and the right offer in place, many businesses can see an exponential increase in sales over the weekend. Using CRM across your company's communications can help your business  increase sales from within your current customer database.What is CRM?CRM stands [...]

Are you looking for a way to create the best customer communications for your business? Well then, in order to take your communications game to the next level you will need to pick up a CCM tool. But what is customer communications management? We have a blog that goes more in-depth on this however we will briefly define this for you now.  Customer communications management is used when you are looking to take charge of your customer communications. It usually involves creating a method for how communications will be created and released that is effective, simple, and on-brand every single [...]

Many businesses would love to argue that they use a customer-centric strategy. Of course, the main objective for a business is to ensure the customer has a good experience! Most business owners can see that this is the most important factor for a sustainable business strategy with room for growth. However, when you clearly define exactly what a customer-centric business strategy you will find that some need to head back to the drawing board. So within this blog, we will be clearly defining what a customer-centric strategy is, before providing you with 4 brilliant tips to get you going. Just [...]