A new survey by NICE has revealed that customers now prefer the use of digital channels when interacting with service providers, with a staggering 50% of interactions now being achieved through digital channels.
Data collected from the survey, Customer Service Leadership in a New Reality, showcases the path CX leaders plan to take to drive agility into their contact centres to deliver on customer expectations. The survey also confirms the role of a cloud-native platform foundation as a critical enabler in maintaining seamless business continuity mandated by today’s reality of remote work.
The company’s survey, conducted among over 200 CX leaders at leading contact centres, highlights seven data points, with the rapid acceleration in the overwhelming popularity of digital channels among consumers being key in the findings. Up to 51% of leaders said that half or more of their interactions are currently being handled through chat, email and social media.
Eran Liron, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Development, NICE, said: "Customer service organisations have been on a fast track to respond to current needs, including ensuring service continuity with a dispersed workforce, supporting accelerated customer requests via direct channels and more.
"This new survey shows that CX leaders have made their 2021 priorities clear, with cloud and digital at the forefront. The findings reinforce NICE’s viewpoint of AI-based Digital Cloud solutions as THE path for customer service success, and our strategy of making them easily accessible to organisations of all sizes."
Remote Working Widely Acknowledged as the New Reality
Up to 79% of CX leaders surveyed added that employees working from home are performing as well as – in some cases better – than those in the office. While home working was not prevalent pre-COVID owing to concerns of distraction, these findings show a higher comfort level by CX leaders for this practice. Three quarters of leaders polled by NICE said their staff prefer to work from home, and 43% of senior management confirmed they plan to keep half or more of their agents in remote working practices indefinitely.
Cloud Foundation Recognised as Critical Enabler of Remote Working and Business Agility
The survey also looked at the infrastructure aspects of remote working, highlighting the key components that make it possible for service organisations. Up to 74% of CX leaders claimed they are already or plan to be cloud-based across their entire contact centres, with 85% adding that they plan to invest in upgrading their contact centre with new technologies that enhance agility. Examples are AI and Performance Management, as well as capabilities driving personalised connections and unified channels. Up to 71% of CX leaders also indicated they plan to implement Desktop Guidance and Automation which they consider an agility booster.
It follows news businesses are rating their customer satisfaction success across Customer Experience (CX) channels versus the actual experience. NICE also reports a significant disconnect in how businesses perceive their customer service channels are performing, and how consumers actually feel about the level of service they are receiving, with businesses rating overall success of 63% for calls, video, SMS and social media, whereas consumers give those same channels only 45% success rating. For self-service channels businesses report an overall success rate of 52% for customer satisfaction, yet consumers give only 39% success rating. Self-service channels included website, mobile app, automated phone menu and chatbots.
