Recent Metrigy research revealed that almost half of companies (48.2 percent) currently using cloud-based platforms (either CCaaS or hosted/managed cloud dedicated servers) are changing, planning to change, or considering a new provider for 2024.
But what’s causing this worryingly high dissatisfaction rate? And how can providers improve their customer loyalty?
As has been the case with many technological solutions over the past few years, the root cause can be traced back to COVID and the subsequent pandemic.
With customer service agents housebound, contact centers rushed to the cloud to ensure they could provide some level of service to their customers – acting out of survival rather than a pre-planned decision to upgrade their systems.
In discussing COVID’s impact on CCaaS, Simon Adnett – VP Sales UK&I / EMEA at Enghouse Interactive – told CX Today:
“People didn’t have time to do the level of due diligence that they would normally expect with that kind of a transformation project.
“People were making technology-buying decisions out of necessity. They were suddenly finding that their entire operation couldn’t function. They had no mechanism for this workforce of agents that were sat at home to use the technology they had.”
With many of these three-year ‘COVID contracts’ recently coming to an end, it is unsurprising that companies are beginning to shop around a little more.
And, having become familiar with CCaaS systems, they now have a better understanding of what they need from their providers and are no longer entering negotiations from a point of desperation.
However, COVID is only one reason for the constant changing of providers. Others stem from CCaaS disappointment – with the three following dissatisfaction drivers likely at play.
1. Ongoing Support Misses Expectations
A major driver of CCaaS dissatisfaction is the dwindling levels of support that many customers have received from their providers.
Adnett explains how many customers feel that - during the initial phase of purchasing and integrating a tech solution - they are given a lot of support and attention. However, this has died off over time – resulting in customers who are unable to maximize their products because they are not getting the help to do so.
“It’s a big danger around our space that people think you sign up for a service or you buy a technology, and that’s the transformation project done,” remarks Adnett.
It is this transactional relationship that Simon argues is leading to disgruntled customers. Rather than viewing the situation as a company providing a customer with a solution, providers should see it as a partnership where both sides are working together on a journey.
As Adnett puts it:
“A lot of focus around CCaas solutions is put on platform up time and what the SLAs are around that, but but customer support should be just as important.”
2. Vendor Lock-In Attempts
We’ve all experienced frustration at being locked into some sort of contract over the years, be it a mobile phone, a gym membership, or a television package – and CCaaS customers are no different.
Unfortunately, many CCaaS solutions are delivered with calling plans attached, meaning that when a contact center integrates the new system, they must also transfer all of the existing telephone numbers to the vendor.