Episode 54: Solution Spotlight with Lisa Pignataro-Meath – Addressing Technology, People and Process

Matt: I'm Matt Swain and you're listening to the "Reimagining Communications" podcast. This is the fourth edition of a multi-part Spotlight series that will run through the end of 2021, where I'm speaking with key leaders within our Broadridge Customer Communications digital team about the current market dynamics and how the modular approach to our communications cloud is helping clients modernize their communications ecosystems, and ultimately improve customer experiences. Today, I'm joined by Lisa Pignataro-Meath, head of strategy for Broadridge Customer Communications. Lisa, thank you so much for joining me today.

Lisa: Thanks, Matt, for having me. I'm excited to be here and participate in these ongoing podcasts. So, thank you.

Matt: Certainly. Lisa, you are a returning guest, Episode 19, if I remember correctly.

Lisa: Correct. Yes.

Matt: I'm excited to have you back. Your role has changed a little bit since Episode 19. So, maybe a little bit of background on you and what you're doing at Broadridge today?

Lisa: Sure. So, I come from the communications industry. I've been working for a multitude of years now from technology companies to consultancy organizations, both publicly and privately held, all really assessing the communications environment and how to improve print and digital experiences for customers. In my current role, as mentioned, I head up BRCC, our Broadridge Customer Communication strategy. And I'm really focused on driving next-gen digital experiences and initiatives for our customers, as well as our overall solutions platform strategies. And so, this is really to help focus on kind of next new in the marketplace and looking at potential partnerships and M&A opportunities as well to round out our solutions portfolio.

Matt: Lisa, in some of the other episodes in the Spotlight series, we've been talking specifically about the modules of the Broadridge Communications Cloud and how a client might leverage one of those. I know that from the work that we've done together, you're very passionate about the communications assessment, and stepping back before solutioning, let's understand the baseline, let's rationalize the efforts across various lines of business to ensure that the solution we're putting in place benefits the future state, the roadmap for the organization. Can you speak a little bit more to the communications assessment and why that's so critical for our clients today?

Lisa: Yes, I definitely can. And it's something I am, to your point, very passionate about. We've done this, as you know, in multiple client environments across verticals. And it's a very valuable approach and methodology to working with our clients. And the reason why is many of our client environments are siloed, fragmented through, be it mergers and acquisitions, or continuous built-out of their organizations. They run on a multitude of platforms. They each run with their own solution sets, their own providers, and so on. And as clients evolve, and really try to drive more of a cohesive experience for their customers, to be able to drive to more robust omnichannel strategies, it's critical to look at what's underneath the hood, and to see how to best address the technology, the people, and the processes associated with the environment, from data to document creation through output, be it print or digital, to really maximize the roadmap and the implementation of the solutions to drive those improved customer experiences.

Matt: And, Lisa, the work that we've done in this space, I think about what you just provided for an overview and a client might say, "Well, that's great, but I have this immediate need. I have a fire drill. I have to support this immediate need." How do you react to that when the client is so focused on, "But I just need a solution for this problem?"

Lisa: So, how I like to look at that is yes, that we can solve, we have the solution sets, we have the Broadridge Communication Cloud modules to address your point solution. However, if you're looking to really enhance your capabilities long-term, and to address, be it optimized costs, be it to address the overall improved customer experience holistically, to look at how to optimize the different account views of a client into more of a holistic view, you can put in a point solution, but the bigger picture is going to be the benefit of looking at it, basically from soup to nuts, under that. And you don't have to stop all initiatives to be able to do this communications assessment, or approach, or methodology, it can be done in conjunction with where the client is now, or how to help build, enhance, and drive to some of those digital objectives that the client may have to improve their overall environment.

Matt: Excellent. And, Lisa, when you're talking about that, I'm also thinking about all the conversations that I'm in because you know we're both pushing forward on how we best support the client need from a consulting perspective, from a business strategy perspective, and ultimately, to your point, we can do these things in tandem with some of the decisions being made. But hopefully, we're front running the longer-term decisions. You're putting out a fire today, but we can help you make sure that whatever you're establishing is going to help you for the long-term, not just to put out that fire.

Lisa: Correct. And I think that's what's important about when you think about our infrastructure at Broadridge. We have an in-depth consulting practice, we have the business strategies, we have the solution capabilities and functionalities across the board. And I think it's the power of aligning those with our clients to really help them with their digital roadmaps, to help them meet their objectives, to help them drive their digital adoption strategies, to help them streamline and optimize their workflows, and their environment. It's critical how we work with them as partners in that whole approach for their overall business impact.

Matt: Great points, Lisa. And as I've done with some of our other Spotlight Series episodes, I want to feed a couple quotes to you, some snippets from our webinar on modernizing communications ecosystems, and get your take. The first one is from Rob Krugman, Chief Digital Officer at Broadridge. And he's talking about how companies can embrace or should embrace a platform approach.

Rob: One of the things that's become fairly evident is this move towards open platforms and open ecosystems. Where, I think that the industry, and regardless of what industry you're talking about, it could be healthcare, it could be financial services, it could be brokerage, it doesn't really make a difference. There's a recognition that's been a long time coming, that, I cannot always make my customers do what I want them to do, right? I used to always call it this come-to-me complex, where I want everyone to come and use my tools and communicate with me how I would prefer. I think we've finally hit a tipping point where there is a recognition that I need to solve for my customer's needs and communicate with them and interact with them how they prefer, whatever channel that may be.

Matt: So, Lisa, thoughts on Rob's comments and how they tie to what we were just covering relative to communications assessments?

Lisa: Sure. I always appreciate Rob's comments. He always has great points within the consumer perspective. So, when I think about his statement around the open ecosystem, open platforms, it is very critical to think about our Broadridge Customer Communication Cloud solution set. It is an open platform solution. And it's critical when we look at our client environments through the communications assessment to see what modules and what elements can help afford the open platform, to be able to deliver the critical solutions to the customers based on how and when they want to receive that information, which truly is helping to accelerate the customer experience. It's helping drive the digital adoption strategies. It's really helping them with the modernization and the transformation of those communications requirements via the openness of the capabilities.

Matt: Great points, Lisa. And if I move on to a slightly different topic, the theme of in-house to outsourcing, which does also feed the storyline of the support and the platform approach and scalability over time. We had John Wilcox, who I know you know as an insurance industry executive. He also participated in the webinar. And he had this to say about what he's seeing within the insurance industry and thoughts about going forward.

John: I think insurance companies have to get comfortable with the fact that they can't do everything themselves, and they need to think about what is really differentiating about what they do in the marketplace that they want to manage. And what are the things that they can comfortably partner and outsource or think about tapping into a broader ecosystem to advance their capabilities to where they need to be.

Lisa: Sure. I really respect John as a leader in the insurance market. And as we think about the comments about the insourcing to outsourcing strategies, I think one of the critical areas that companies across the board, be it insurance or other verticals, is, as they're looking to modernize their platform solutions and to be able to deliver the enhanced omnichannel experiences with clients, it goes back to the point we were making upfront. What's under the hood in their environment to be able to deliver those capabilities? And, you know, with the investments that are needed in the technologies, with the investments that are needed to stay abreast of all the CX solutions and so on, it is an important area that when we talk about that communication assessment is to look at the business case and to look at the validation of, should this be more of an outsourced strategy so that organizations are working with the lead technology providers in the marketplace, and help mitigate their investments into the ongoing infrastructure costs, to not only help to modernize their platforms but also to help drive holistic capabilities to be able to deliver the solutions to their clients.

Matt: So, one more for you. And this one is from Rob Krugman, again, he's talking about the importance of good design. And, again, he's thinking from the experience perspective, and I'd like to tie it back to some of what we've been talking about the ecosystem. So, let's listen to Rob here.

Rob: I think design cures all ills. I think that if you focus on design as your first step, you can create an experience that's going to drive much more engagement. And then, it gives you time to unlock the underlying data assets that you need to evolve that experience. But get something out there, improve the design, and be really honest with yourselves. If you receive the communication that looked like this, what would you do with it, right?

Matt: So, Lisa, you heard what Rob just said. I actually challenged him on this point because he was saying that a good design is everything. And my point was if you don't have the right technology and processes in place, you can't deliver that well-designed experience.

Lisa: Matt, I know you and I have had a multitude of conversations about this. And I agree on the challenge. I think it's the power of the components working together. I think that there is the importance of the design and the customer-facing experience is crucial. However, to have that experience, you need to say like, what's the intel inside? What's it powered by to be able to drive that? And that's why I think it's really important when we think about the overall data to document creation through output, and the ultimate experience aspect, how important it is to understand all the different components of the capabilities and the functionalities that are going to help truly drive that experience aspect. So, once, again, I think it's the power of all working together, but I think it's crucial to understand what's underneath the hood, to be able to align, to remove the silos, and so on, to be able to help drive those experiences.

Matt: So, Lisa, last question for you. With your strategy hat on, I know you're watching what's happening in the market. How do you think the communications market continues to evolve in the coming years?

Lisa: I think we're at an exciting stage of the communications world right now. Obviously, as we all know, the last year and a half with all the drivers of our new world, with COVID, etc., have really accelerated the transformations across the board. And I think as we continue to watch this, there's going to be enhancements around more of the conversational aspects associated with AI and so on. And really, truly more enhanced omnichannel capabilities and delivery will continue to be drivers across the board. And we're still going to have print, that's definitely a component of the equation. But I think we're going to see the overall transformation of the communications on this next-gen strategy, to be more beneficial to the customer aspect in the sense of having the more holistic account views or more consolidated summary of statements and so on, so that the customer has clear, concise information on a go-forward basis.

Matt: Well, Lisa, thank you for joining our Spotlight Series and it's great to have you back again.

Lisa: Thank you, Matt. These are phenomenal series and I appreciate you having me on. Thank you.

Matt: Certainly. I'm Matt Swain, and you've been listening to the "Reimagining Communications" podcast. If you liked this episode and think someone else would too, please share it, leave a review, and don't forget to subscribe. And if you're ready to reimagine your customer experiences, consider the Broadridge Communications Cloud, an end-to-end platform for creating, delivering, and managing omnichannel communications and customer engagement. To learn more about Broadridge, our insights, and our innovations, visit broadridge.com or find us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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