It’s easy for customers to feel a lack of control given the current situation businesses – and society in general – have found themselves in. Enduring lockdown after lockdown as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic not only has an effect on the economy, but also the consumers at the very heart of it. Customers are battling an array of different emotions such as anger, frustration and anxiety while attempting to juggle their own lives, whether that be working remotely in a demanding role while home schooling children or maintaining relationships.
Customers are reaching out to organisations in whatever ways suit their personal circumstances. This is fantastic because it shows businesses are using the power of omni-channels to offer hyper-personalised customer experiences. But many businesses are still playing a game of catch-up with their CX solutions and as a result of the adoption of new tech being catapulted some five years into the future due to the pandemic, many contact centre agents and their supervisors feel their work life in general has become an act of plate spinning.
With that in mind, CX Today introduces leading call management software provider Akixi’s Colin Gill, Head of Product and Solutions, and Hilary King, Head of Marketing, who in an exclusive interview reveal what they believe 2021 has in store for the CX world and their roadmap designed to offer businesses that all-important stability at a time when life is anything but.
Roadmap to Success
“We’ve always focussed on giving customers the freedom to do what they want to do with the product. I’ve always viewed it as a big bag of Lego, in that it’s not canned reports it’s a ‘build what you want’ solution, which is fine if you know how to build Lego,’ Gill explains.
“But now, we’re saying ‘you’ve got your Lego but here are some extra models to help get you going’ and make them your own just to give customers a better starting point.”
It’s hard not to share Gill’s passion for the Akixi Roadmap. The model aims product enhancements coming this year will aim to make it simpler for customers to build and maintain data useful to them using the Report templates and Wizard functions. The enhancements were designed with one word in mind – relatability – and uses functions such as natural language to improve the flow of communications. Another feature is self-billing, which again puts control in the hands of the users.
King explains: “It’s all about making it better out the box. At Akixi, we’ve always been proud about the fact that we’ve had over 400 different metrics in the Akixi platform, which is fantastic and because it’s completely customisable, and people our customers don’t just buy an analytics platform and are forced to deal with what they’re given. There’s lots of opportunity for them to customise the reports to suit their exact business requirements.
“But by that consequence it may be a little complicated perhaps for those who need to get up and running very quickly due to the pandemic. So that’s why we’ve looked at doing the more templated Reports and the Wizards to help people get the best start and get them moving along the way.”
Akixi was founded in 2008 and since then has exploded onto the CX market. During the COVID-19 pandemic the company expanded their workforce by 3035%. Previously, their benchmark product had been the Akixi 2000, which was designed for call centre agents and focussed solely on calls. But the company is now throwing its weight behind the new Akixi 3000, the omni-channel offering that brings customers features such as email activity reporting and webchat integrated with LiveChat Inc, selected due to the array of plug ins and bolt-ons.
“It’s really about not trying to reinvent the wheel but instead to do something that’s familiar for anybody that uses Akixi, while bringing in new channels and methods of reporting as well,” Gill explains.
Beauty in Vulnerability
Personalisation is at the heart of Akixi products, Gill and King say. They add it’s a trend they feel will be extremely prominent throughout 2021 – and perhaps even into the following year too.
King says: “Personalisation will become more of a priority, in not just personalising those customer experiences but making them authentic too. It will become extremely valuable with so many of us working from home and missing that human interaction.
“In terms of firing off those quick messages and methods of contact I don’t think people are expecting polished content as much as they did before the pandemic. In terms of vendors and suppliers wanting to send a video message out on behalf of their brand or business, perhaps record a quick personal message from your laptop, or drop them a video call., I don’t think it matters anymore if the doorbell rings or the dog jumps up on your lap, I think that vulnerability makes it all the more personal and it goes to show we’re all human.”
At a time when personal interaction is lacking in the day-to-day lives of customers there really is something to be said for Akixi’s efforts in keeping businesses genuinely connected. And with features that also enable business leaders to monitor their agents’ wellbeing, the company remains one step ahead in its ability to not only offer up an incredible level of connectivity, but to truly care for its customers on another level when COVID-19 may have left them susceptible, defenceless and exposed.
