Data-Driven Work Cultures: Yaron Morgenstern of Glassbox On How To Effectively Leverage Data To Take Your Company To The Next Level

An Interview With Pierre Brunelle

Marry data with AI to get the “why”. Many business professionals feel overwhelmed by the amount of data at their fingertips, which makes it difficult for them to gather insight and effectively use that data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is instrumental in solving this issue. AI-powered tools can help manage, sort and analyze millions of data points in minutes, providing companies with valuable insights. AI not only helps teams understand ‘what’ is happening (i.e. a drop in conversions), but it can determine the ‘why’ (i.e. a glitch that may be impacting many customers on a product page).

As part of our series about “How To Effectively Leverage Data To Take Your Company To The Next Level”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Yaron Morgenstern, CEO of Glassbox.

Yaron Morgenstern is an experienced CEO, advisor, and board member having been part of several financial, data analytics, and customer experience organizations. He has been the CEO of Glassbox, a leading provider of digital experience analytics, since 2015 where he is well versed in digital strategies that companies in industries from finance to travel should implement to optimize their customer experience. He is currently a member of the Forbes Technology Council and Young Presidents Organization, a global leadership community of over 30,000 chief executives sharing their experiences and developing their skills.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

Of course. I grew up in Israel, where I developed an interest in technology and engineering at a young age. I received my BSC in Industrial Engineering from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2001, and my MBA in 2005. Right out of college I got my first job, with a communications software company called Amdocs. It was at Amdocs that I began to sink my teeth into strategic leadership and realized I had a knack for implementing forward-looking ideas. I stayed at Amdocs for eight years, working my way up to Director of Corporate Development and Strategy. After leaving Amdocs, I was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Operations at NICE Systems before joining Glassbox as CEO.

I have always gravitated toward advisory and strategy roles, leveraging my expertise across financial, analytics, and operations industries and looking at the big picture. My passion has also recently led me to take on the roles of board member at Lucinity and a member of the Young Presidents Association.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

About 20 years ago, just after graduating from University, I started working on a project for an important client- a very large US telecommunications company. The work consisted of a massive software implementation and we worked like hell to complete it. We’d work 21 hours non-stop for days, which led to many mistakes and mishaps. The experience taught me two important lessons:

1. Be obsessed with customers and remain committed to them. If we weren’t committed, the project would never have gotten done and we would have lost the client.

2. One should plan carefully in advance to avoid working like that- it’s simply not effective and can increase your chance of making errors- which you’ll have to work harder to clean up down the road!

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I recently read the book No Rules Rule, by Reed Hasting, a co-founder of Netflix. It discusses the unique culture he built at Netflix. The key principles he adopted really resonated with me- especially his commitment to empowerment and transparency, which allowed Netflix to thrive and innovate while scaling quickly. I incorporated those principles into my own leadership philosophy and company culture.

Are you working on any new, exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

My recent focus has been at Glassbox, making meaningful improvements and expansions to the platform. Our mission at Glassbox is to empower organizations to create frictionless digital journeys for their customers. I am currently working with my talented team on features that will enhance the Glassbox platform and provide businesses with even more crucial insights about their digital platforms.

We are hosting our Digital World Summit at the beginning of June, where some incredible speakers will be joining us from incredible brands such as iHeartMedia, Western Union, Kayak, Logitech, AWS and more. We’ll be making some exciting announcements at Digital World- I’m very excited about our advancements around Voice of Customer (VoC) integrations and a new User Timeline which will serve as a unique capability of Glassbox’s Digital Experience Intelligence (DXI) platform.

Additionally, I’m always on the lookout for other businesses that would make great partners. With every project I take on, I ask how this will help improve the customer experience and help people navigate the digital world more seamlessly.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about empowering organizations to be more “data-driven.” My work centers on the value of data visualization and data collaboration at all levels of an organization, so I’m particularly passionate about this topic. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly it means to be data-driven? On a practical level, what does it look like to use data to make decisions?

Excellent, I’m very passionate about this topic as well. Being data-driven means that an organization is using data and analytics to inform business decisions, and that organizational strategy is heavily (if not entirely) influenced by data. To become a digital data-driven organization, digital businesses must capture 100% of all data from activity on their digital platforms, and they must do so automatically.

The data captured and analyzed will often be internal (i.e. customer information, employee activity, financials), but businesses can also look at external data such as industry trends or threats. This approach allows businesses to be confident in their decisions, knowing they are backed up by verifiable facts and numbers, rather than biased opinions.

On a practical level, as an example, an online retailer may be experiencing a drop in sales but aren’t sure why, or what to do to increase revenue. By gathering and analyzing data from customer interactions on digital platforms, the retailer can pinpoint and address any points of friction that are affecting conversion. The data enables teams to make decisions quickly and to prioritize efforts where revenue is most impacted.

Similarly, the data can be used to make broader strategic decisions about launching or discontinuing a product or service based on customer response, and can be used by marketing teams to help them understand the success of their messaging. Data truly has the power to drive decision making and add value in all parts of a business.

Which companies can most benefit from tools that empower data collaboration?

90% of business professionals say that data and analytics are key to their organization’s digital transformation initiatives. As digitized businesses become the norm, companies across sectors can benefit greatly from tools that empower data collaboration. For digital businesses, lack of comprehensive, actionable customer data is an enormous hurdle to growth. Only a tenth of organizations globally say that they understand their customers’ digital behaviors and 47% of digital customer experience executives say that data silos and fragmented customer data are the biggest obstacles to providing an excellent customer experience.

The industry that has most widely and rapidly adopted digital analytics tools is retail. In fact, 62% of retailers have reported that information and data analytics gives them a competitive advantage. The tools allow businesses to more deeply understand the needs of their customers and tailor the customer experience to meet customer preferences.

The travel industry, financial services institutions, health care and insurance businesses can also benefit greatly from tools that empower data collaboration and data-driven decision making. Currently, these organizations are using data and analytics to improve the customer experience, to market more effectively, and to increase profits.

We’d love to hear about your experiences using data to drive decisions. In your experience, how has data analytics and data collaboration helped improve operations, processes, and customer experiences? We’d love to hear some stories if possible.

I have seen data analytics and data collaboration help businesses of all sizes and industries. Data enables faster decision making and increases productivity. This creates valuable efficiencies that improve overall operations. Through data analytics and collaboration, cross-departmental decisions are improved, confidence in strategy increases. Additionally, data can reveal opportunities for revenue growth and/or savings, allowing companies to move proactively and outpace competition. On average, each enterprise that uses digital analytics platforms like Glassbox saves $5 for every $1 they spend on the solution per year.

Data analytics and collaboration can also improve operations and processes by rallying teams around a shared vision. The data serves as an unbiased, uniting intelligence source that eliminates competitive silos, increases employee confidence in business strategy, and energizes them to work toward a collective vision.

Most exciting to me are the ways in which data has improved customer experience and enabled brands to immediately address issues impacting customer experience. For example, an international chain of warehouse clubs owned and operated by one of the largest retailers in the world hosts millions of online shoppers every day. When reports of login issues increased, it was clear that mobile app users were heavily impacted, leading to a drop in in-app conversion rates. The company utilized digital experience data and analytics to quickly resolve the issues, improving mobile customer experience and saving the company $1 million in at-risk revenue.

Has the shift towards becoming more data-driven been challenging for some teams or organizations from your vantage point? What are the challenges? How can organizations solve these challenges?

For some organizations, especially those in legacy industries with long-held traditional practices, it can be difficult to update systems to allow for a data-driven strategy. Most often, the resistance and challenge stems from departmental silos within the organization — different departments have different metrics and competing priorities- making it difficult for all departments to get on the same page. Finding a holistic data and analytics platform that serves as a single source of truth can help break down those silos.

Cost and unknown ROI can be a concern for some organizations as well — why would they spend the time and money to implement data and analytics tools if they’re not sure they will see a return? Many studies have confirmed that the investment will pay dividends- according to McKinsey Global Institute, data driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable. Even if the transition seems challenging, business leaders can be confident they’re making the right decision that will support the longevity of their business. To help mitigate implementation costs, businesses can consider introducing the data-driven structure in portions, prioritizing technology that offers insights on the customer experience.

Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are “Five Ways a Company Can Effectively Leverage Data to Take It To The Next Level”? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Implement a single source of truth. I’ve mentioned this throughout this interview– to successfully leverage data within an organization, all teams and all departments must be working from the same data. This can be achieved when companies move from point solutions (a session replay platform, a A/B testing platform and a web analytics platform) to a holistic platform that can “do it all” and can analyze the end-to-end digital journey. This ensures data is being leveraged most effectively. If all teams own different data, it creates hurdles and conflict that impact efficiency, collaboration, and ultimately revenue. For example, sales teams and marketing teams are famously competitive, as they can view themselves as “fighting” for the same prospects. This “us vs. them” mindset distracts from business mission and strategy. If those teams are working from shared data, they are more likely to avoid competitive behavior. Additionally, if a business discovers a problem with the customer experience, teams (IT, engineering, UX design) can more quickly resolve it if they are working from the same data/insights.
2. Capture and analyze 100% of customer interactions. To effectively leverage data to improve the customer experience, businesses must capture and analyze 100% of customer interactions on online platforms. If they are only looking at a fraction of the customer journey, they may be missing growth opportunities, be blind to points of friction, and fundamentally misunderstand their customers — all of which are incredibly costly risks. 100% visibility is the only way to guarantee nothing is overlooked. For example, we (Glassbox) worked with a bank who captured 100% of customer interactions and used that data to see where customers are clicking when applying for a loan. They realized that a significant number of customers were clicking the “arrow down” button, looking for loan amount options below the lowest amount listed on their site, indicating a high demand for smaller loans. The bank used this information to develop a new line of business — microloans — with the potential to substantially increase monthly revenue.
3. Real-time monitoring. In today’s world, data moves fast and customers are impatient. To be most effective, data must be analyzed in real-time. This way, systems can detect anomalies and technical glitches that may be impacting the customer experience, and teams can address the issues before they escalate. Businesses cannot afford to wait to analyze their data and identify issues– a 2-second delay on a webpage results in abandonment rates of up to 87%. For example, a popular North American fashion brand with annual revenues totaling $1 billion developed a mobile app adoption strategy in 2021, in an effort to increase revenues. The brand distributed vouchers with discount promo codes that were only redeemable in the mobile app. Over time, they noticed a gap between the number of vouchers distributed and the number redeemed. Using digital experience data and analytics, which was monitoring digital platforms in real-time, the company was able to identify that the promo code was invalid due to a programming error, which increased abandonment rates by 30%. Had the brand not been monitoring in real-time using DXI, they would not have caught and resolved the issue early, and would have lost out on sizable in-app revenue.
4. Marry data with AI to get the “why”. Many business professionals feel overwhelmed by the amount of data at their fingertips, which makes it difficult for them to gather insight and effectively use that data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is instrumental in solving this issue. AI-powered tools can help manage, sort and analyze millions of data points in minutes, providing companies with valuable insights. AI not only helps teams understand ‘what’ is happening (i.e. a drop in conversions), but it can determine the ‘why’ (i.e. a glitch that may be impacting many customers on a product page). For example, a telecommunications company may see a surge in visitors who are reaching an “HTTP 404 error” page. Using Google Analytics, the business leaders can see the increase, but they cannot see where those visitors are trying to get to and the true source of the error. Using AI-powered digital analytics tools, teams can quickly find and resolve the issue’s root cause. Without AI, identifying the source of the error — the “why” — could take weeks and cost the company millions in potential revenue.
5. Data Privacy and Security. It is imperative that businesses take every effort to protect their customers’ data. Large-scale cyber attacks are increasing in frequency and severity–companies cannot afford to be lax with security measures. A data breach or cyber attack could significantly damage a brand’s reputation and lose customer trust. At the same time, customers are expressing concerns about how their personal information is being used.

Businesses must develop through processes and protocols that ensure customer data is handled carefully and that client date remains private. This approach should also inform digital customer experience design. For example, digital platforms can be reworked to center customer journeys around privacy, consent and security, making the business’s commitment to protecting customer data a highlighted feature that builds customer trust and satisfaction.

The name of this series is “Data-Driven Work Cultures”. Changing a culture is hard. What would you suggest is needed to change a work culture to become more Data Driven?

Data-driven work culture starts at the top. From the CEO down to marking teams, engineering, customer service- data needs to be a core part of everyone’s job and everyone’s decision-making. Business outcomes are very likely to radically improve if all team members are using data in their strategy. In order for this to be most effective, all teams need to be working from a single source of truth- the same data/analytics information. The single source of truth will help break down silos and ease collaboration, enhancing the data-driven work culture.

Additionally, shared objectives and shared metrics (tracked and measured by shared data), can help unify teams, minimize unproductive cross-departmental competition and change the work culture to be more data-driven.

The future of work has recently become very fluid. Based on your experience, how do you think the needs for data will evolve and change over the next five years?

The future of work may be ever-evolving, but there is no question that a key part of that evolution will be continued digital transformation of businesses across industries. As more companies digitize their operations, they will have access to exponentially more data, making efficient, meaningful ways to manage and analyze data even more urgent.

I predict that in the next five years, we will see a broad democratization of data- whereas data was once controlled nearly entirely by data scientists, business leaders and departments will be able to access and own more data. To support this, more businesses will invest in technologies that will give employees better access to data and analysis tools, including data fabrics, which will also help manage unstructured data. Simultaneously, more systems and roles will be put in place to track and improve the quality of data.

Additionally, more companies will become reliant on AI-powered tools to manage and rapidly analyze the mountains of data at their disposal, gleaning actionable insights. It will soon become impossible for businesses to manage their data without machine learning assistance.

Data privacy and security will increase in importance in the coming years — tightening regulations and customer preferences will influence the ways in which businesses are collecting customer data and, in turn, the ways in which digital journeys are built.

On digital platforms, providing a frictionless experience is crucial, but customer needs are expanding. Customers now expect a personalized customer experience. To remain competitive, brands will need to tailor digital experiences to each individual customer. To do this they will need targeted customer data.

Does your organization have any exciting goals for the near future? What challenges will you need to tackle to reach them? How do you think data analytics can best help you to achieve these goals?

Glassbox is at a very exciting time in our history– we are rapidly expanding our global footprint, growing, increasing the capabilities of our platform, and establishing ourselves as a true leader in the customer experience analytics space. In the near future, using our momentum, we will innovate new ways to provide an all-encompassing service for our clients that gives them a competitive edge. We will attract and retain many clients due to our effective, inventive solution.

We will continue to expand our impact across industries, reaching new industries and becoming crucial to the digital transformation of legacy industries. Specifically, we expect to see notable expansion in global financial services, retail and insurance markets.

Our vision is to enable any organization around the world to manage the entire lifecycle of clients and customers using digital channels, and to address the needs of any stakeholder in the organization, helping them to grow their digital business. We call this DCM (Digital Customer Management). Our goal is to become the CRM of the customer digital lifecycle.

A vast competitive market is the largest challenge we will face in the near future, but we are confident in our differentiated services. Data analytics will be crucial in us achieving our goals– and not just because analytics is the core of Glassbox’s platform. We will use data analytics to understand our customer’s needs, to continually improve our product, and to identify opportunities. Data will lead the way to further innovation from Glassbox.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Readers can keep up with me via LinkedIn, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaron-morgenstern-0b85941/#

They can also keep an eye on Glassbox-related updates on Glassbox’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/glassbox-solutions

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!