Evolving Customer Experiences in the Digital World with Telia's Head of E-commerce
--------- EPISODE CHAPTERS --------- (0:00:18) - Challenges and Personalization in Digital Sales(0:08:44) - E-Commerce Boosts Telia Sweden's Omni-Channel Sales --------- EPISODE CHAPTERS WITH SHORT KEY POINTS --------- (0:00:18) - Challenges and Personalization in Digital SalesEllen shares her experience in NY and Stockholm, exploring digital sales challenges in Swedish B2C telecom, website personalization, and data protection. (0:08:44) - E-Commerce Boosts Telia Sweden's Omni-Channel SalesEllen Lundstrom shares her experience with initiatives to improve customer experience, potential of AI and personalization, and advice for aspiring e-commerce personnel. --------- EPISODE CHAPTERS WITH FULL SUMMARIES --------- (0:00:18) - Challenges and Personalization in Digital Sales (8 Minutes) We discuss the changing digital customer experience with our guest, Ellen Mellon Lundstrom, Head of E-commerce at Telia. Ellen shares her experience working in New York and Stockholm and the cultural differences between them. We explore the top challenges in digital sales in the Swedish B2C telecom sector and how Telia Sweden approaches website personalization. Ellen explains website personalization and the importance of protecting customer data. (0:08:44) - E-Commerce Boosts Telia Sweden's Omni-Channel Sales (11 Minutes) Ellen Mellon Lundstrom, Head of E-commerce at Telia, shares her experience with initiatives like the Store to Home Initiative and video calls to stores, which make the customer experience smoother and more consistent. We explore the potential of AI and personalization to revolutionize the customer experience in the future. Finally, Ellen provides insight into what aspiring head of e-commerce personnel should avoid in order to be successful.--------- HIGHLIGHTS --------- 0:01:23 - Cultural Differences in Work Environments (105 Seconds)0:07:02 - Explaining Website Personalization (101 Seconds)0:13:34 - AI in Customer Service (73 Seconds)0:16:55 - Testing and Leadership in E-Commerce (96 Seconds) --------- HIGHLIGHTS WITH TRANSCRIPT --------- * Cultural Differences in Work Environments | 0:01:23 - 0:03:07 (105 Seconds) 0:01:23 Daniel PaulSo because I was thinking like you've worked in New York and you've worked in Stockholm, so are there any cultural differences or shock that you had when you were actually working in New York? 0:01:38 Elin Melin LundströmYeah, absolutely. I think, like the first one, that was the most obvious to me was that I was definitely the early bird. I think that, working in Scandinavian countries, we tend to show up at the office 8.30 sharp, and when I did that in the New York office I was turning on the lights, there was no one else there and I had the first hour to myself, so that was definitely a difference. Then, I think another thing that I really appreciated was that they had lots of snacks in that office. So, there were Friday bagels, there were a lot of these very nice things that I really appreciated. And then, finally, I think that Americans, they are very nice and they are very open and friendly, and that is something that was a difference, because I think that the Scandinavian culture is a little bit, might be a little bit, more restricted sometimes. So all in all, that was a big difference as well and I think that actually impacted me, and I've seen this from other times that I've travelled as well, but when I come back, I am more open and social and might start talking to strangers, and that's not really part of the Scandinavian culture. So that's interesting. 0:03:00 Daniel PaulThe travelling changes your perception, doesn't it? Definitely it gives you like I can do this back home, right? ---------------------------------------------- * Explaining Website Personalization | 0:07:02 - 0:08:43 (101 Seconds) 0:07:02 Daniel PaulYeah, this is something that I want to ask because you know and I know what is website personalization. But for people that are listening to this, if you could explain that in simple words, what is website personalization? Looking for a customer like the difference between an unpersonalized and non-personalized website and then a personalized website, Can you explain this a little bit please? 0:07:27 Elin Melin LundströmWell, this is basically that we make sure that, especially when you're logged in or an authenticated customer on our website, we make sure that you get the right solution for you presented. So, basically, the big difference is that, instead of getting the generic messages, you get the message adapted to you, and I think that this is something that customers are actually quite used to these days, but maybe they don't think about it. But just thinking about all the different different places where you might have an account For instance, spotify is doing this really well where they have personalized playlists so this is really just translating that into a website world where we try and make sure that you get the relevant recommendations for you. 0:08:17 Daniel PaulAnd you, as the head of headcomers, do you track these datas to personalize it even more and grow that over a period of time? 0:08:26 Elin Melin LundströmYes, I mean, obviously this is again. We want to take this from the customer perspective. So this is that we're looking at how can we improve the customer experience all the time and make it more personalized and relevant for you. So obviously we're doing that. Yes, Brilliant. ---------------------------------------------- * AI in Customer Service | 0:13:34 - 0:14:48 (73 Seconds) 0:13:34 Daniel PaulPiggybacking on the word AI, because AI is a buzzword and a terminology that every company is using these days. So, let's say, another five years. Do you think hypothetically, because it's future? Do you think like if I'm a customer of telia, I can just use AI voice recognition or AI recognizes what I need and suggest me personalized product based on my last five purchases and say that, hey, this is for you and you get this today. You have a special discount. We deliver in the next six hours. Is that possible with AI? 0:14:16 Elin Melin LundströmI think it's really hard to know what the future will look like in five years, because we're seeing such rapid development right now and I think a lot is happening. I think we're going to see a lot happening already within a year. So hard for me to answer that question, but I mean, obviously we have a lot of new opportunities to really improve the customer experience here and we will experiment and make sure that we do use these opportunities in the best way. 0:14:48 Daniel PaulLove it. ---------------------------------------------- * Testing and Leadership in E-Commerce | 0:16:55 - 0:18:32 (96 Seconds) 0:16:55 Elin Melin LundströmAnd thirdly, I think that the cool thing about working with digital in general is that it's so easy to test. So I would really encourage to to do a lot of testing, test everything and try not always to test doesn't always have to be so perfect. You can also try and test things and it's just to really quickly learn, because it's a really, really powerful method and also really fun method to work with. So I would really encourage to do a lot of testing. 0:17:32 Daniel PaulAnd the part that you said about you know, get the experts who are really good at what they're doing. It kind of reminded me of what Steve Jobs and Apple said we hire you not to, you know, take orders from us. We hire you to tell us what to do. So that's the mindset that I see in here. So, which also comes to another question, you, as a head of e-commerce, you manage a lot of people, so how important is people management skills when it comes to this role? 0:18:00 Elin Melin LundströmI think it's very important. Of course, I think that, as I said, we really need to make sure that we bring forward our experts and that they are the ones leading the way, because they have the knowledge I come from. So my leadership has developed in an agile setting and that's really how I view leadership, so I think that those skills are really important, definitely. ---------------------------------------------- https://www.giosg.com/podcastYour feedback matters to us, so feel free to leave your comments and suggestions. If you enjoyed this episode you enjoyed, please subscribe episode, to our podcast and share it consider leaving us a review with your network. Stay tuned by subscribing to our podcast. Remember for more interesting conversations on digital, your feedback helps us deliver the content you transform, customer service, and want to hear. Stay tuned leadership. Until next time!