86 percent of global customers say a company is only as good as its service, according to a new benchmarking report from Genesys.
Yet, this is only one statistic from “The State of Customer Experience” study that showcases how little patience customers now have for poor customer service experiences.
Another suggests that 77 percent of consumers would switch brands after one to five negative service interactions. Just think about how quickly they get to five digital interactions today…
The biggest annoyances include dropped calls, dead ends, and customers having to repeat themselves multiple times during a service interaction.
The causes? Disjointed technology and poor journey design.
Thankfully, businesses can avoid many of these issues by reimagining CX through digital transformation, personalization, and employee engagement.
Making the following four shifts to reinvent the customer service experience may help, as surfaced within the report.
1. Connect Channels and Data to Transform CX
Consumers surveyed for the report say they want a speedy resolution to their issues, ideally during the first interaction. Siloed channels, data, and systems impede this. Providing seamless omnichannel journeys will help organizations meet these customer preferences.
Yet the survey finds that digital transformation is lagging. Just 13 percent of organizations have a fully connected, omnichannel approach.
In addition, more than half are taking a “multichannel” approach, which offers a variety of customer interaction channels that operate separately or have only partially connected underlying technology and data.
As a result, almost half of organizations can’t transfer customer context across channels, which means customers reach dead ends or need to repeat themselves.
Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that providing convenient and frictionless interactions is a top priority for business leaders. Indeed:
- Nearly three-quarters plan to implement a customer experience platform that integrates systems such as CRM solutions and unified communications over the next two years.
- Half plan to connect data and technology to deliver an omnichannel experience.
These changes will enable organizations to create fluid and personalized end-to-end customer experiences that continually reinforce loyalty while improving visibility into business performance and lowering costs.
2. Personalize Experiences Across Digital and Voice
More than 80 percent of consumers say they’d purchase more from companies that consistently personalize the service experience.
More than half, including two-thirds of Gen Z consumers –the planet’s largest population – would pay a higher price.
Yet, what does personalization mean to consumers? They believe it is most valuable for:
- “Receiving the services I need at any time and in my preferred channel of choice.”
- “Being connected straightaway with the right person to help me.”
This highlights the need for deep customer understanding; a fully connected omnichannel approach; fast, effective escalation paths; and highly trained, engaged employees who are ready to assist and equipped with all the information they need.
In today’s experience economy, anything else makes the customer feel as if they’re not a priority.
Other than making the complete shift to an omnichannel approach, organizations can leverage a suite of tools and technologies to deliver on these customer requirements.
The most important strategic priorities for CX leaders Genesys surveyed are:
- “Real-time insights, analytics, and reporting”
- “Data and AI for customer understanding and personalization”
Real-time insights enable organizations to optimize customer journeys in the moment, as well as provide agents with the information they need to resolve customers’ issues quickly and completely.
Meanwhile, data and AI for customer understanding and personalization allow organizations to deepen customer relationships and loyalty by providing more relevant, empathetic experiences.
Together, both equip them to deliver more personalization in digital channels and during interactions with agents.
3. Leverage Your Most Powerful Asset: Employees
48 percent of CX leaders say their organization currently does very little or nothing at all to make contact center jobs easier.
That figure highlights how employee experience has been a long-neglected domain. Yet, that is seemingly set to change.
Indeed, the study suggests that CX leaders now cite improving employee experience by deploying new technology or connecting existing tech as their top priority.
This includes customer experience platforms, customer data platforms, and unified agent desktops that simplify agents’ tasks and empower them with real-time insights.
Additionally, almost half of CX leaders surveyed cite workforce engagement management as a top-three strategic priority over the next two years.
4. Power Growth Through a Simplified Tech Stack
Delivering personalized, frictionless experiences and having a motivated and empowered team requires an agile tech stack that allows for connectivity, composability, and ongoing innovation.
Many CX leaders who recognize this are shifting to cloud-based customer experience technologies.
Operating a cloud-based customer experience platform enables them to move at the speed of the customer, personalize interactions and empower employees.
The leading benefit of the cloud is better access to data across channels, according to 57 percent of the CX leaders surveyed for the report.
Another top benefit is having the ability to add capabilities, features, and channels faster.
CX leaders also see value in using automation and AI technologies to deflect and resolve simple interactions, as well as to empower employees to handle high-value, complex, and personalized customer interactions.
Nearly half say capabilities such as agent-assist tools, predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, and AI-driven process automation are extremely valuable.
Conversational AI and automation allow organizations to coordinate and intelligently steer every step of every interaction — and that leads to fast, individualized experiences at lower costs.
More from “The State of Customer Experience” Study
Genesys developed “The State of Customer Experience” report after surveying 5,517 consumers and 646 senior CX executives worldwide.
In doing so, the vendor uncovered many more shifts in customer preferences and their experience across digital engagement channels.
To dig deeper into these and check out the full report, go to the Genesys website.
