The Interactive Customer Experience Summit announced winners of the 2024 Elevate Awards Tuesday evening during the annual summit in Charlotte, North Carolina.
One of the top events at the annual Interactive Customer Experience Summit, taking place this week, is the Elevate Awards, which honor innovators in customer experience technology.
The summit is being held in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Sept. 9 to 11, with the Bank Customer Experience Summit‘s awards ceremony, which honors innovators in banking.
Top performers in the expanding interactive customer experience space were honored Tuesday. The awards program aims to inspire and educate companies on how technology can be used to create exceptional customer experiences and to recognize those who are leading the way in this field.
Five winners were selected by a panel of judges with one submission additionally recognized as “Innovator of the Year.” Winners are chosen based on their innovative use of technology to improve customer satisfaction, engagement and loyalty.
Presenting the awards were Cherryh Cansler, vice president of events for Networld Media Group, and Judy Mottl, editor of RetailCustomerExperience.com.
Here are the 2024 Elevate Award winners:
Innovator of the Year: Mayo Clinic Food Service
Mayo Clinic Food Service introduced delivery robots, called ‘cobots’ in three areas of operation: food delivery in the senior living center dining room, the patient retail café and material transfer in retail operations.
The goal was using the ‘cobot’ to help with staff shortages and staff turnover and at the same time improve the customer experience. The cobots handle bussing at tables, provide an additional order point and eliminated beverage refills that were done by staff.
Patient survey results found 97% called the cobot interaction favorable, and 87% surveyed found the cobot provided faster service. After implementation, 95% of orders were delivered under the 10-minute total experience goal and overall staff satisfaction increased 8.6% due to a decrease in walking. Cobots traveled over 400 miles over all three implemented areas in 2023.
Judges call the tech “very, very cool” and a “perfect use case for this innovation.”
CS Connect: Immersive menu AR
The CS Connect AR menu solution lets diners visualize food in lifelike 3D, enhancing the decision-making process and reducing menu anxiety. By scanning a QR code, customers can view, rotate, and zoom in on 3D images of each dish, ensuring they know exactly what to expect.
The platform leverages advanced AI algorithms to rapidly and accurately generate high-quality 3D models of menu items, eliminating the need for costly photo shoots and extensive manual input. This not only enhances the customer experience but also sets new standards for menu visualization.
This visual engagement not only delights customers but also drives higher sales conversions, as diners are more likely to order when they can see exactly what they are getting.
Judges called it a “great example of leveraging emerging tech to benefit CX.”
OnQ: Sony Digital Imaging Best Buy Totem Interactive Kit
OnQ worked with Sony to transform its existing Best Buy totem structure into an interactive shopping experience where customers can self-educate about Sony’s expansive digital imaging portfolio.
The centerpiece is a vertically oriented 27-inch touch-interactive screen that serves as an important inspiration touchpoint where customers learn how Sony’s digital imaging products can help them realize their creative aspirations. The effort also included a custom UX/UI to guide the customer experience.
In addition to self-educating customers shopping on their own, the interactive totem display also serves as an assistive tool for sales associates to help guide customers to their ideal digital imaging solution.
Sales lift at stores with the new totem displays outperformed stores with the legacy displays. Feedback from sales associates has been very positive — it’s a powerful assistive tool when they’re helping customers, and they appreciate that customers can self-educate during busier times when there are more customers than they can tend to at once.
Judges called it “customer-centric, informative and engaging,” and “good use of digital display for easy access to a lot of information.”
Talkdesk: Retail Experience Cloud: Transforming Retail CX with Generative AI
Talkdesk Autopilot for RetailTM is a virtual agent using large language models to handle customer inquiries with human-like interactions across channels; it can automate questions related to orders, deliveries, shipments and returns and connect customers to agents when needed. It unifies the customer journey across digital and physical channels.
The platform feature enables live agents with a real-time view of customers’ shopping carts, aiding in upselling and improving transaction values. It can now assist customers with finding a specific physical location and getting information about it during a conversation, saving time while encouraging seamless transitions from digital to physical customer journeys.
Talkdesk Retail Experience Cloud integrates generative AI and intelligent automation into every aspect of customer service operations.
Judges called it “a cool unified experience focused on the customer, a connected journey from end to end,” and a technology that improves the customer experience.”
InMoment: Jack in the Box: enhancing guest experiences with advanced AI tools
By partnering with InMoment, Jack in the Box aimed to leverage advanced AI capabilities to gain deeper insights from customer feedback across all customer touchpoints, be it in store, on the website, or through the mobile app. This comprehensive approach has enabled them to make data-driven decisions, enhance operational efficiency and drive customer loyalty through personalized experiences.
Jack in the Box uses digital listening and advanced AI from InMoment’s XI Platform and Spotlight application to foster convenient and personalized customer experiences across all customer touchpoints, be it in store, on the website, or through the mobile app.
The AI solution has allowed Jack in the Box to uncover valuable guest insights, proactively surface feedback, and act on it swiftly to enhance the overall customer experience across online and in-store channels. The AI-driven technology empowered Jack in the Box to create a seamless,omnichannel experience for their guests.
Judges called it a “super interesting way to leverage AI and user data without overstepping,” and a solution that reduces noise for users and increases their satisfaction, and called the features for improving customer feedback in surveys “awesome.”
The winners of the 2023 Elevate Award were Elo Touch Solutions, OnQ, Vuse, LG and Parla Retail Ltd.
About Networld Media Group
Founded in 2000, Networld Media Group is a leading media communications company specializing in digital media, events and associations in the technology, restaurant, banking, and retail industries. It’s media brands include ATMmarketplace.com, DigitalSignageToday.com, FastCasual.com, KioskMarketplace.com, QSRweb.com, RetailCustomerExperience.com and RewardsThatMatter.com. Events under the Networld umbrella include the Fast Casual Executive Summit, the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit and the Self-Service Innovation Summit.
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