Release Date: December 2024

CX Manager

Communications

• We added the ability to rename communication threads on Cases. This will allow you to more easily differentiate between multiple threads on a Case. To rename a thread, click on the name of the active thread, change the name, and save.
• We added additional logic when our communication services get disconnected to pull the latest message history when it reconnects to ensure that no messages or chat tiles go missing when the service is reconnecting.
• We fixed an issue where pressing Enter would not properly send a text message from the communications panel (only clicking the Send button would send the message). Now pressing the Enter key will properly send an outbound SMS message.
• We fixed an issue where including a line break in an outbound SMS messages from the Communications Panel would result in the message not being sent. Now you can include line breaks in your messages and it will properly send all parts of the message.
• We fixed an issue where sending an outbound email from the popped out composer would display the Communications Panel with the composer extending to the top of the screen after clicking Send. Now the composer will be the standard height after sending an email from the popped out composer window.
• We fixed an issue where vertically expanding the composer for chat and SMS messages would not give the user the full space to type.

Cases & Navigation

• We improved the type-ahead functionality on our picklist fields in CXME. You can now search for options with partial matching and you can match words on any order rather than needing to find results by an exact match.
• We updated the display of blank Date and Date/Time fields to not show any value when they are have no value. Previously they would display all zeros when the field data was blank.
• We updated the browser tab titles throughout the application. The tabs now follow the pattern, "{Current Screen Name} - OvationCXM". This will make it easier to identify your tabs when you have multiple tabs open.
• We added a new 404 screen in the application. Users will be directed to this screen in the future if they try to navigate to a bad URL.
• We fixed an issue where a user could be logged out of CXME due to inactivity while a report was being downloaded in the background. A user will no longer be logged out automatically while waiting for a report to download.
• We fixed an issue where clicking ‘No’ when asked to confirm the cases you selected to merge would result in an endless spinner. Now clicking ‘No’ will return you to the previous screen.
• We fixed an issue where if a user returned directly back to My Work after cloning a Case from My Work, it would result in an endless spinner. Now you can navigate back to My Work after cloning a case and it loads correctly.
• We fixed an issue where The Action > Assign modal was displaying two Owner Team fields for Work Orders.

Journeys

In addition to launching APIs and Canvas, Paths, Selection Action, Journey Close Out, Parallel Steps, Parallel Actions, we also fixed several bugs across Jourenys builder and timeline:

• We fixed an issue where adding a Journey to a Case could temporarily hide the display of the communications panel
• We fixed a bug where dragging a Step to a blank area of the canvas would add a new Step.
• We fixed a bug where Stage and Steps in the Journey Timeline would show as Completed when the first Action within them was completed.
• We fixed a small bug where clicking Cancel after adding a Parallel Steps container failed to cancel the node. 

Integrations & APIs

We launched our Hubspot Connector and you can read more about it here.

Reporting & Dashboards

• We added new date/time fields to our dashboards so now you can add a single fields on tables that show the date and time in one cell rather than needing separate fields for date and time. We will be rolling this update out to all existing dashboards.
• We are continuing with the migration to our new dashboards and expect the migration to be completed before the end of the year.

Admin & Settings

We fixed an issue where the team name wasn't appearing in the 'Route issue to Team' field on the Messenger configurator when first accessed.

In addition to being able to execute multiple Steps at the same time as described in the Parallel Steps post, we have also added the ability for journey builders to decide if they want to start Actions within a Step in a defined order (sequential) or all at the same time (parallel). We call this Parallel Actions.

Previously, all Actions within a Step had to be run in sequence where each Action would only begin after the Action before it was completed. 

Now if you have a set of Actions that all need to be complete before progressing the Journey, but it doesn't matter what order they are completed in, you can have them all start at the same time. This means that if you have three Tasks in a Step that is set to a Parallel Action Order, all three Tasks will start at the same time and can be completed in any order. Note that the next Step will not begin until all Actions within the first Step are complete.

By default, all Steps are created as Sequential (they will start the next Action only after the previous Action is complete). But you can change a Step from Sequential to Parallel by simply adjusting the Action Order toggle at the top of the Step form. With either Action Order option, the next Step will still not start until all Actions within the current Step are complete.

An example of Parallel Actions would be when you have several Tasks assigned across various teams that need to be completed before progressing the journey, but the order that they are completed doesn't matter. This allows all Tasks to be created and assigned out at the same time, which reduces the amount of time that people are waiting for their Tasks to show up in their queue. For example, three teams need to approve a legal agreement and the order of approval does not matter. The approval Tasks can be sent out to all three teams at the same time and the journey will only progress once all approvals are received.

The latest update in Journeys is the ability to execute Actions within multiple Steps at the same time. We call this Parallel Steps. 

Historically, all Steps had to be run in sequence where each Step would only begin after the Step before it was completed.

But what about when you have two teams or two work streams that need to be completed but are not dependent on each other in order to get started? This is where Parallel Steps come in.

You can now drag multiple steps into a Journey side-by-side so they can run at the same time. These Steps are placed into a Parallel Steps container so they all start at the same time and the Journey only progresses when all Steps within the container are complete. This allows teams to complete work faster while ensuring active work does not get ahead of any dependencies.

An example of Parallel Steps would be when you have two separate teams working to onboard a new customer, but in completely different capacities. For example, one team is helping the customer upload the menu for their restaurant while another team is helping to build a custom integration. This work can happen at the same time, but you can’t progress to the Go Live Stage until both of these work streams are complete and the customer has finished the software configuration.

What other capabilities would you like to see within the Journey Builder? We would love to hear your feedback.

You now have the ability to manually or programmatically close out a Journey that did not successfully reach the end.

Not every customer journey is a successful one. Sometimes processes fail, interactions go stale, applications are denied, or customers churn. In these scenarios, the journey did not reach the desired outcome and will need to be closed out.

Closing out a Journey marks the overall Journey as Closed so it will no longer show as Active in Analytics. It will also close out any active or pending Actions that are still open in the Journey so you don’t have Actions left in a limbo state.

There are two ways to close out a journey, manually and programmatically.

Manually Close Out a Journey

We added a button to the top of the journey timeline that allows users to manually close out a Journey that is still active. Selecting this action will immediately move the Journey to A Closed status and it will no longer be editable.

This is helpful when a customer is on track to complete a journey, but stops responding or churns. Something happened that was not expected and requires human intervention to resolve.

Programmatically Close a Journey

The other way a Journey can get closed out before reaching the end is when a customer hits an intentional dead end within a Journey. This can happen within a Path where one of the conditions leads to the Journey being closed out.

For example, if a customer is going through underwriting and they are rejected, that may be the end of this journey for that customer. Or if a customer does not accept your Terms and Conditions, that may remove the customer from an onboarding process. You may take additional actions before closing the Journey such as sending them an email or running an automation to close out their account. The final Close Out Action will automatically end the journey for you when it is reached.

Finding Friction Points In Your Customer Journeys

When a Journey gets closed out - either manually or programmatically - we flag that Action and can display it within your analytics dashboard so that you can identify where customers are falling out of journeys in order to focus on the areas that need the most work to improve the overall experience.

We successfully migrated our file hosting infrastructure to Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This upgrade will bring improvements to the performance, reliability, and scalability of how you add, access, and download files and images.

We now have a unified file hosting service for all of our data center locations and environments, which will lead to a more seamless experience when interacting with files across all of our products and services.

This transition is part of our ongoing efforts to improve our infrastructure and provide you with the best possible experience. If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to our support team.

Thank you for your continued trust.

We recently introduced the Selection Action to the lineup of Actions available within the Journey Builder. 

What is the Selection Action?

The Selection Action allows teams to build manual decision points into a Journey and progress a Journey down a specific Path based on that decision.

How does it work?

In the Journey Builder

When building a Journey, you can add a Selection Action to a Step and define the possible options for the user to select. The options will appear as a single select picklist on the Journey Timeline.

In the Journey Timeline

When a Journey instance gets to a Selection Action, the Journey will pause and wait for a selection to be made before progressing to the next Action.

The selected option is saved down to the context data of the Journey and can be used later in the Journey.

Using Selection Action Data

A common use case for a Selection Action is have the Journey instance owner make a decision and then a specific Path is selected based on that decision. This can be done by adding the Selection Action output to the Condition of the Path.

If you have any questions or feedback on the Selection Action, please let us know.

We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to the OvationCXM platform – the HubSpot Connector! This powerful integration bridges the gap between HubSpot’s CRM and OvationCXM, creating a seamless workflow for teams to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Key Features of the HubSpot Connector:

    1. Sync Customers, Contacts and Cases Effortlessly

Automatically sync customer information and interactions between HubSpot and OvationCXM. This ensures your team has a unified view of customer data in real-time, eliminating the hassle of manual data entry and improving data accuracy.

    2. Automated Case Creation

Convert HubSpot activities, such as form submissions or ticket updates, directly into Cases in OvationCXM. Streamline your team’s workflow and ensure that no customer request or inquiry falls through the cracks.

    3. Custom Field Mapping

Use our intuitive field mapping to align custom fields between HubSpot and OvationCXM. Map properties like deal stages, ticket statuses, and more to match your unique business processes.

    4. Real-Time Updates Across Platforms

Any updates in HubSpot—whether a contact is modified, a ticket is updated, or a deal closes—are instantly reflected in OvationCXM. Keep your teams aligned and your data always up-to-date.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re interested in leveraging the HubSpot Connector to enhance your customer experience workflows, reach out to your account manager today for early access.

Questions about setup? Our support team is ready to assist you every step of the way. Let’s take your customer experience to the next level with OvationCXM and HubSpot working together seamlessly!

We're thrilled to announce the full public launch of Paths, our new feature designed to empower you to create dynamic, personalized customer experiences like never before. With Paths, you can easily design tailored journeys that adapt to your customers' needs, behaviors, and preferences. Ready to unlock the full potential of your customer engagement? Let’s dive into the powerful features and benefits.

What are Paths?

Paths allows you to create dynamic customer journeys based on specific criteria, such as customer behavior, demographics, or anything else that you track. By using Paths, you can deliver highly relevant experiences to each user, leading to stronger relationships, improved satisfaction, and higher conversion rates. 

Paths leverage conditional logic to send customers down specific parts of a journey. Once a Path is complete, the customers return to the main track of the journey headed toward the desired outcome.

Key Features of Paths

Dynamic Journey Mapping:
With Paths, you can design multiple journey paths within the same customer experience. Customers can automatically or manually be routed down different paths based on actions they take or manual decisions that you make.

Advanced Segmentation:
Use customer attributes such as location, products, or status to trigger specific paths. This helps you deliver more targeted content, messaging, and workflows that resonates with each individual.

Real-time Decisioning:
Paths allows you to make decisions in the moment, offering customers a personalized experience based on the actions taken during the journey. Whether they just entered a journey or are near the end, you can provide specific paths for each interaction they have.

Easy-to-Use Drag-and-Drop Interface:
No coding required! With our intuitive, visual editor, you can design and refine your customer journeys without the need for technical expertise. Drag-and-drop elements and basic data field logic conditions make it easy to create powerful workflows in minutes.

A/B Testing & Optimization:
Paths can also be used to design and implement A/B testing within your Journeys. You can test different paths, analyze customer responses, and optimize the journeys to continually improve your results. Find the path that works best for your audience and refine your approach based on real-time data.

Get Started with Paths Today!

The future of customer engagement is dynamic, personalized, and data-driven. With Paths, you now have the tools to create smart customer journeys that adapt to your audience’s needs in real time. Whether you’re aiming to drive sales, boost customer loyalty, or enhance user experience, Paths will help you get there.

Ready to take your customer journeys to the next level? Start creating personalized paths today and see the difference in engagement, conversion, and overall customer satisfaction.

Release Date: November 15, 2024

We are migrating organizations to a new drag-and-drop canvas for our Journey Builder along side of a new API version.

While this new canvas is not drastically different than the previous one, it does provide a few new enhancements, including:

1. Easily zoom in and out to better focus on the part of the journey you are working on or to visualize the big picture.
2. Better alignment and flexibility of the lines that connect each of the nodes in your journeys.
3. A quick action to realign the canvas to center to get you back in case you get too far zoomed in or out.
4. You can now view the names of Conditions on Path lines and click on them to open and edit the conditional logic of a Path.
5. Updated functionality and alignment of the +Step and +Path buttons that appear below each step in the canvas on hover.
6. Fixed a bug where the lines would sometimes remain on the screen after leaving the Journey Builder. 

This canvas sets a new foundation that we will continue to build on to enhance journey flexibility and the overall builder experience. If you have any feedback on the new builder, we would love to hear it.

We are in the process of updating our dashboards to a new cloud-hosted dashboard that will provide better performance and ultimately more flexibility for insights and analytics.

In the short term, you will not notice many changes to your dashboards except for a few styling updates and that data is updated more frequently and consistently.

Long term, we will be able to provide additional types of visualizations for your data and will be able to move towards real-time analytics across multiple objects.

The migration to the new dashboards is underway and will take place over the course of November and December 2024.