Throughout 2018, "CX" or customer experience has been one of the significant trends leading the way for business growth. Consumers no longer base their loyalty for a brand on things like product features or price points. Instead, the only way to connect with your customer today is to offer them the experience that they're looking for.
According to Gartner, by this time next year, 50% of organisations will have redirected their investments into innovations for customer experience. The question is, where do you get started? Countless new technologies and opportunities have already begun to emerge in the contact centre space, from the rise of "as a service" software to the appearance of numerous AI, machine learning and automation tools.
Predicting what your company should invest in going ahead can be a daunting concept, but it's impossible to ignore the agile transformations occurring in contact centres around the world. For better or worse, now is the time to transform your approach to customer contact.
For insights into how successful brands have taken advantage of the changing marketplace this year, and guidance on the concepts that will be important in the year to come, we spoke to leaders like Five9, TCN, and Avaya. Here's what they told us about the contact centre landscape.
The Customer Trends That Shaped Contact Centres in 2018
Customer sentiment is always an essential driver of trends in any part of the digital world. Whether you're investing in a new UC solution or a strategy for everyday telephony, it's crucial to keep your customers in mind. However, there are few areas where customer experience plays a more significant role in digital transformation than in the contact centre.
The contact centre is the crucial space bridging the gap between you and your target market. It's how companies offer support, provided service, and take advantage of upselling opportunities. So, what have consumers demanded from contact centres this year?
Yaser Alzubaidi, Digital Engagement Solutions Leader for Avaya International:
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Yaser Alzubaidi, Avaya[/caption]
Research by IDC and Avaya this year found that younger consumers have a far lower tolerance when it comes to resolution times. Today's customers want fast responses to their problems and immediate access to specialists, rather than being passed between general customer service representatives.
"Digital transformation initiatives that prioritise employee and customer experience will enable a new breed of contact centre agent who has visibility across multiple business processes, and can support consumers through human and digital interactions."
Avaya's report also highlighted a need to embed communication strategies into apps and processes to boost employee productivity and collaboration, something that could pave the way for higher demand in the CCaaS market.
McKay Bird, CMO for TCN Inc.
According to TCN, disruptive technology like data analytics tools, machine learning and bots have begun to appear in 2018 as a way of helping companies manage as many aspects of support, interaction and information gathering as possible.
"Routine tasks are now being handled automatically and more efficiently. This means that employees are more available to solve complicated issues, create memorable experiences for customers, and enhance brand loyalty."
Dan Burkland, President of Five9:
Five9 believes that there's been a significant shift in the way that consumers connect with brands and do their shopping in the last few years. "In the past, when you realised you were missing something, you had to go back to the store. Now, you can just order what you need online. This shift into the world of eCommerce has generated a higher demand for the contact centre."
According to Dan Burkland, customers expect the experiences they have online to mimic the skills they would get in store. Customers want to feel as though they're getting contextual, personalised moments with agents. "With the evolving idea of the empowered customer, there's also a key understanding that if their expectations aren't met, customers will simply leave."
The Technologies Creating the Biggest Opportunities for Contact Centres
The marketplace for customer care is in a state of mass disruption.
As technologies continue to advance at record speed, and customer expectations grow higher than ever, companies need to work harder to stay ahead of the curve. New technologies like AI, machine learning, and countless other disruptors are increasingly at play in the contact centre world.
Yaser Alzubaidi, Digital Engagement Solutions Leader for Avaya International:
Voice-activated technology has a big part to play in the rise of the modern contact centre, according to Alzubaidi from Avaya International. "The popularity of voice-based assistants like Alexa and Siri, voice-activated smartphones, and more has increased customer confidence with this technology. While some nations remain conservative, our "SuperServe" research shows a huge interest in the development of virtual assistants for customer service."
Virtual voice assistants aren't just a convenience for contact centres; they also make it easier to track and manage critical data. "Of those with virtual assistant-powered smart speakers, 50% of those surveyed in a report by Davies Hickman Partners and Avaya would like to use this technology to boost customer service and bypass verification and identification questions."
McKay Bird, TCN[/caption]
Dan Burkland, Five9[/caption]