In this inaugural TreelinePress interview, I sat down with Henri Dura, former Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Neopost (now Quadient) to discuss one of the biggest transformations in our industry: the shift from Customer Communications Management (CCM) to Customer Experience Management (CXM).
Henri has had a front-row seat for this evolution, helping lead Neopost’s transition from a hardware-driven mailing business to a global software and services provider. Our conversation covered the major forces shaping this shift, including the rising expectations of digital-first consumers, the evolving role of print, and the growing impact of AI.
Here are a few highlights:
Expectations Have Changed the Game
Customer experience isn’t necessarily declining, it’s that expectations are rising. As Henri put it, “We now know what good looks like.” Companies like Amazon, Apple, and digital-native fintechs have reshaped what consumers expect from any interaction. In that context, legacy communications especially in regulated industries like banking, insurance, and utilities—often feel broken or out of sync.
The benchmark isn’t the local bank anymore. It’s the one-click Amazon experience.
The End of Batch and of Print’s Role
Henri and I discussed the long transition from batch output and legacy document workflows to more personalized, interactive communication models. Print still plays a role especially for regulatory and generational needs, but it has a limit.
“There’s a treeline,” I told Henri. “Just like trees won’t grow above a certain altitude, print won’t go past a certain level in this customer experience journey.”
Henri agreed: interactivity, responsiveness, and real-time context define the future and that’s a space where paper struggles to keep up.
GenAI Will Reshape the Industry
Of all the technologies impacting CCM and CXM, Henri sees generative AI as the most transformative. He outlined how it’s already being used to:
Simplify and personalize documents
Translate content to meet language compliance requirements
Automate tone, structure, and content creation
And it’s not just about automation, it’s about freeing up communication teams to focus on higher-value work, while still meeting regulatory and brand expectations.
A European Perspective on the U.S. Market
Henri also shared perspective on how U.S. and European markets differ. In short:
Europe has moved further and faster toward digital communications
Many European firms outsource to service providers more aggressively
The U.S. remains more paper-centric, due in part to USPS scale, regulation, and legacy infrastructure
Still, we agreed that rising postage rates and declining mail performance are pushing even the most print-reliant businesses to reconsider.
What PSPs and Vendors Need to Do Next
We closed our conversation with a discussion about the future of print service providers (PSPs) and CCM vendors. Henri and I both believe that:
The next wave of innovation will come from outside the traditional CCM space
PSPs are well-positioned if they can partner with the right platforms
Purpose-built solution stacks especially those focused on vertical use cases—will replace the patchwork systems of the past
Continue the conversation: What part of the CCM-to-CXM transition is your organization struggling with the most? Comment below or join us on TreelinePress Chat.
Thanks again to Henri Dura for joining me and kicking off this new series.
Andy
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