According to Aberdeen Group, companies with the most robust omnichannel strategy for customer engagement retain an average of 89% of their consumers. In fact, studies consistently show that today's customers are tired of having to repeat themselves to multiple agents on different channels. Your users want to be able to both engage with you on through the medium they choose and get the same streamlined experience no matter what. Unfortunately, while many businesses know how important it is to get customer experience (CX) right today, many are struggling with their omnichannel implementations.
Calabrio, a customer engagement software company offering analytic insights into the customer service experience, recently conducted a new study into omnichannel interactions. Their research, published in a report called "The Danger of Digital," looks at why companies can't just implement omnichannel services, without first having a strategy built on an understanding of their customers. Calabrio believes that today's businesses are in such a rush to offer omnichannel that they often skip the planning and preparation required to make those channels useful for customers.
The Rising Demand for Omnichannel
You don't need to be a communications expert to see that we're quickly moving beyond the age of the phone conversations. Companies are seeing an increasing demand for interactions that move beyond the phone, from SMS conversations to social media interactions and more. In fact, digital channel interactions this year are expected to overtake voice conversations for the first time.
The rising demand for omnichannel interactions has left a lot of businesses in a state of panic, scrambling to offer the right communication experiences. When omnichannel is the key to delighting and retaining consumers, nobody wants to miss out. However, the rush to implement might be causing problems according to Calabrio. The customer engagement expert's study into 1,000 customer experience leaders and marketing pros in the UK and US revealed some interesting findings.
Calabrio discovered that many organisations are still in the early days of deploying the right strategies for digital self-service. Ultimately, the problem is that these companies aren't laying the proper groundwork internally. There's more to successful omnichannel support than adding a new channel to your contact centre stack. You need to make sure that you have all the right pieces in place to deliver exceptional customer service.
Answering the Call for Customer Experience
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Tom Goodmanson[/caption]
Calabrio's study found that although 93% of businesses know how important it is to give their customers a seamless experience, only around 45% think they're actually effective at doing so. Employees aren't adequately trained to handle a range of channels, and barriers between each avenue of communication make it harder to access contextual information.
While many businesses are putting plans in place to help them get closer to the right omnichannel implementation, only half have actually made changes to the way they hire customer support staff, according to Calabrio, which means that many organisations don't have the expertise to handle a variety of channels. Additionally, there aren't always the right internal strategies in place to help employees thrive in different omnichannel environments, which mean that the experience for both agents and customers takes a hit.
The CEO of Calabrio, Tom Goodmanson said that as digital channels quickly become the preferred method of service for many consumers, companies can't afford to lose their opportunities on poor planning. Omnichannel is the way forward for many contact centres, but it's an upgrade that requires proper planning. There's no quick fix solution; organisations need to plan, optimize and enhance every step of the customer journey with their integrations.