CX Trends: From Contact Centre to Experience Hub

Introduction

2020 was a time of change based on great necessity. However, it also fuelled innovation and mobility. Strategies were turned over in a matter of days or weeks rather than being tied to monthly or annual plans.

According to Precisely, almost 90% of organisations have updated their Customer Experience (CX) strategies in response to the pandemic. Shifting to new models in real-time requires a foundation: business agility. In an increasingly hyper-connected world, consumers are demanding 24/7 multi-channel support and greater intimacy with brands.

Trust, visibility, and immediacy are key in a touchless environment.

Integrating flexibility into your overall CX strategies will enable your business to keep up with the pace of change. In 2021, Contact Centres have continued to evolve into true Experience Hubs as more effective methods of contact have been embraced to match fast-changing consumer behaviours and new technologies.

Understanding trends help companies anticipate. So, what can you do today to lead the CX transformation in 2021 and beyond?

Expand contact channels: omnichannel with digital focus

Investing in a cloud-based omnichannel Contact Centre as a Solution (CCaaS) will allow your business to expand contact channels and respond in real-time. Today, contact centres need to handle much more than phone calls. Customers seek support via messaging, self-serve, social media, email, video, etc.

You need to be ready to address customer issues and concerns quickly and in their preferred channel to create better experiences and, in turn, happier customers.

Social distancing has contributed to the wider adoption of digital as the channel of choice across all generations. Forrester predicted a 40% increase in digital customer service interactions this year alone.

To accommodate this demand, brands are adding more and investing in new channels. For instance, with emerging “smart tech” devices and the Internet of things (IoT), users no longer require a hand-held device to ask for support.

Digital plays a pivotal role in the customer experience and is vital to a brand’s customer service strategy. Brands that invest in cloud-based CCaaS not only access a suite of digital contact channels on tap but also provide endless automation opportunities.

Rely on technology and automation: efficiency through artificial intelligence

AI and Machine Learning are evolving rapidly. Chatbots, virtual assistants, interactive voice response (IVR) or natural language processing (NPS) have proved to drive efficiencies by automating more straightforward contact centre tasks that were previously managed manually by an agent.

Automation aims to successfully handle some of those interactions through intelligent algorithms without the interference of a human, leading not only to cost and time efficiencies but also enhanced customer satisfaction through speedy case resolution. According to an Uberall study, 80% of people who interacted with a chatbot had an excellent experience.

By implementing intelligent IVR solutions, CPM has seen up to 36% of consumers successfully completing the end-to-end CX process through self-serve. This allows live agents to handle the more complex queries while AI supports transactional cases.

Understanding human and virtual agents are co-workers rather than competitors is crucial to make the most out of CX technology. The potential opportunities of Machine learning are exponential, with some still unknown, and so the importance of harnessing digital and human contact strategies will be key in the coming years.

Optimise your resources: remote working and peak demand challenges

Work-from-home is here to stay, and companies should learn to manage decentralised teams. This can be a challenge when engaging employees, but it offers a positive side: flexibility.

Empowering agents to influence their working hours and environment can translate into lower agent turnover, higher productivity, and greater employee loyalty. Additionally, companies can maximise talent pool and access key languages in high demand while reducing costs.

Furthermore, remote working models offer contact centre scheduling flexibility and greater availability of agents to tap into during seasonal and unexpected peak demands. This dynamic resourcing approach works exceptionally well in times of crisis management, such as the peak customer service demand in industries like travel during the Covid-19 situation.

Resource optimisation is also achieved through the combination of human and digital forces. Self-serve must be managed together with human agents as one integrated workforce. For example, CPM achieved 50% headcount efficiencies for one client by blending complementary teams and introducing automation.

Analyse consumer behaviours: data leads to personalisation

Today, an increasing number of companies are employing customer analytics to better understand their clients and capitalise on that information. With increasing actionable data-rich technology, reporting and analytics enable brands to achieve a true competitive advantage.

Knowing what influences consumers, how they feel, and what they think help brands fill in the gap and play to generate the maximum impact and ultimately convert consumers to purchase. Real-time reporting speeds up that process by driving actionable insight and, in turn, continuous improvement in the end-user experience

CPM is investing in a wide variety of business intelligence tools, including emotional recognition, sentiment analysis, speech analytics, and predictive analytics, which enable data-driven personalisation. By understanding each consumer, we can deliver tailored services which provide added value and connect at a true emotional level.

Data-driven personalisation can also reduce acquisition costs by as much as 50% while improving the quality of the customer experience. According to Forrester, 25% of brands predict to achieve statistically significant advances in CX quality by the end of 2021.

Enhance employee experience: groundwork for improved customer satisfaction

Parallel to workforce optimisation, Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) is rising as a decisive CX trend in 2021. A Frost & Sullivan study on WEM found that 89% of companies improving contact centre engagement will significantly enhance the quality of customer experience.

By implementing tools that motivate, recognise, and engage employees, your company can nurture your workforce to become highly effective, knowledgeable, and committed. This includes learning and development, collaborative software, well-being initiatives and a strong company culture.

Moreover, as remote working becomes more mainstream, a greater emphasis on belonging is needed. Fostering this unifying force is the groundwork of diversity and inclusion policies that will boost a shared sense of purpose and, therefore, higher engagement.

Delivering an exceptional customer experience becomes the end goal for any brand, but a positive or negative brand experience comes from your customers' interactions with your employees. Happy and engaged agents create better experiences, which ultimately leads to more satisfied and loyal customers.

Customer experience is a crucial differentiator in today’s business and will continue shaping the competitive landscape in 2021. As a result, customer expectations are skyrocketing, and each interaction matters. How are you responding to that?

At CPM, we are already helping our clients transition from customer service into experience hubs. We are experts in designing optimal customer engagement strategies for developing and fostering relationships between brands and customers.

Contact us at infobcn@cpm-int.com to transform CX trends into a real competitive advantage and best–in–class customer experience.

From contact centre to experience hub

From contact centre to experience hub

Introduction

Expand contact channels: omnichannel with digital focus

Rely on technology and automation: efficiency through artificial intelligence

Optimise your resources: remote working and peak demand challenges

Analyse consumer behaviours: data leads to personalisation

Enhance employee experience: groundwork for improved customer satisfaction

How can we inspire you? Let's start talking

From contact centre to experience hub

From contact centre to experience hub

Introduction

Expand contact channels: omnichannel with digital focus

Rely on technology and automation: efficiency through artificial intelligence

Optimise your resources: remote working and peak demand challenges

Analyse consumer behaviours: data leads to personalisation

Enhance employee experience: groundwork for improved customer satisfaction

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How can we inspire you? Let's start talking