The ever-evolving dynamics of the technological landscape is not unfamiliar anymore for most people in this planet. Almost everyone has been influenced by the massive and speedy changes in technology some way or the other.
As a result, the way people chose to interact has also undergone drastic changes over the past few years, and this has overhauled customer service in more ways than describable.
Customers now want their issues and concerns resolved at the blink of an eye, otherwise they totally batshit crazy! This is primarily because customers are now more intelligent and informed, and have more options to choose from. Consequently, by 2020 – customer experience will overtake price and product and the key brand differentiators.
Phew! I know that is a lot to absorb in our work-mangled brains, and so it is always best to prepare ourselves for the changes that are about to take place in the years to come. And, the best way to prepare is to be fully aware of the top customer service trends and patterns.
So, let’s take a detailed look at the top 5 customer service trends that are swaying the sphere of contact centers.
- This is the Age of Omnichannel Customer Experience
Omnichannel customer experience has swiftly become the smartest way to engage customers with the help of superior management of customer interactions across all mediums of interactions. So much so that businesses today can’t hope to exist and thrive without a fully functional Omnichannel strategy. This move to Omnichannel has taken place mainly due to the fact that customers want a steady, high quality experience in across all mediums. Therefore, they might start looking for a product online, rave about it on social media, and finally choose to buy it in-store. This is where Omnichannel has the power to bring communications under a single platform for contact centers, and the ability to seamlessly toggle among them.
- IoT and Big Data’s Role is Momentous to say the least
This is surely one of the biggest customer service trends to keep a tab on. As the world is becoming more engrossed with wearables, smart devices and appliances, and virtual reality, the role of Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data has only being on an increasing spree. Naturally, contact centers have also being touched with IoT. This was also voiced by Google’s Eric Schmidt earlier this year, when he remarked that “…the Internet will disappear.” His statement was metaphor and it means that soon IoT will be present all around is the form of smart objects, devices, homes, cars, etc. By 2020, it has been predicted that the amount of Internet-connected things will reach 50 billion, with $19 trillion in profits and cost savings coming from IoT over the next decade.
- Mobile-First User Experience
This shouldn’t come as a surprise for most people as mobile has certainly emerged as the principal mode of communication. As a result, all brands have jumped in the mobile-first bandwagon and are starting to take mobile as the single most important factor to drive growth. With the increased use of mobile data and speeds reaching 5G, driven by social media, enhanced use of a plethora of apps, instant messaging, and chats – mobile has become the ‘go-to’ medium for all customer communications. A mobile-first strategy makes total sense for greater customer engagement, and realising the true valuation of any business. So, without doubt – this figures among the top customer trends.
- Self Service & Artificial Intelligence are Key Players
There is no two way of saying this – your customers doesn’t want to get in touch with a contact center every times they hit a roadblock of face an issue. Therefore, they are most likely to switch to easy self-service options, and that is precisely why we are observing an upsurge in ‘in-app’ support and features. This is also the reason why instant messaging and chats have picked up traction. Familiar processes like skill based routing, forecasting etc., will soon become automated, and will need fewer number of people. Artificial Intelligence(AI) will make many monotonous jobs obsolete and free up the workforce for more creative or innovative tasks
- Customization of Location Based Services
With the advent of self service and personalization of consumer interactions, businesses have felt a burgeoning need to bond with customers based on their location. This is why we see that smartphones ask for ‘background app refresh’, even when you are not using the application. This is how brands can keep a tab on customers’ device location and thereby prompt them to reach out and offer a host of added services. This can also be done by deploying advertisements that match a physical store, to make them aware about the latest deals, thereby enhancing customer experience.
Do you think that some other customer service trends should have mae it to the list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
