We have been seeing some common CX themes emerge from the current research on how the changes that have impacted CX this year will continue to impact it moving forward. Here’s a quick roundup of the key trends to look out for.
CX needs to be more proactive, cover end-to-end service delivery, and offer the right channel experience at the right time. The lines between retail and online have been blurred, and managing issues with the delivery of goods is now a key driver of demand into the contact centre.
Expectations have grown around proactive communication; updates on products and services, bill information, and order statuses are common and expected. Finally, customers continue to expect digital channels to be an option– but these channels need to be fit for purpose and relevant to the issue at hand. Customers expect seamless service across all channels, so the data and tools required to deliver this service will grow in importance for all organisations.
As we move into 2022, customer service and needs identification will be increasingly important. We have collated some interesting data and observations around where CX is going in 2022 and what it could mean for contact centres. We hope this provides you with some thinking points and generates some interesting discussions! Happy reading.
- According to a recent article on contact centre trends by Forbes, 55% of companies believe that enhancing customers’ experience will become a top priority for any business intending to grow in 2021 and beyond.
- 65% of companies believe the customer experience has become more important since COVID-19.
- 90% of more than 5000 consumers indicated that customer service is important to their brand choice and loyalty.
- This trend is not just overseas – a recent survey of Australian consumers found 63% would pay more for a product or service if they knew they would receive world-class customer service.
- Delving a little deeper into what drives a great customer experience, 38% of customers indicated fair and honest treatment and 26% a quick and easy process as the most important factors when attempting to resolve an issue. Interestingly, organisations only rated fair and honest treatment – the most important element for customers – at 12%.
- While brands have long used surveys to capture customer feedback, in the future, brands won’t have to ask customers how they feel – they will be able to understand it and know by picking up on customer signals and behaviour across every touchpoint and interaction.
- According to a recent Microsoft survey, more than two-thirds of customers want an organisation to reach out and engage with proactive customer notifications.
- A study of close to 6000 consumers by Gartner found that while only 13% received proactive contact from an organisation, 85% found it to be of value.
- Around 80% of consumers will ‘see the world as all digital’, with no distinction between services.
- Consumers report that they are online 25% more than they were just a year ago.
- Customer perceptions of your brand often start with your website. 32% of consumers say that the online and mobile user experiences almost always impact their appreciation for a brand, while 58% say that the user experience matters in at least some cases.
- 86% of consumers expect online self-service options.Even with the increasing use of digital and self-serve channels, email, phone, and webchat remain the customers’ channels of choice when resolving an issue.62% of organisations have advanced the creation of a seamless digital customer experience, while 53% are investigating new digital business models and revenue streams.
- Customer preferences for self-service still heavily depend on the reason for contact with customers most likely to use digital channels for information (49%), transactional (38%) and speed (30%).
- End-to-end order management will also become key as consumers continue to purchase online – Forrester predicts global spending on order management software will grow to over $1 billion in 2022, on its way to $1.5 billion in 2024.
- Security of online information is becoming more critical for consumers, with customers rating it their top online priority at 82% over convenience at 74%.
Takeouts:
An end to end customer journey that combines great first impressions, seamless interactions across channels, and security is a must. How you plan your customer journeys and empower your teams to meet these opportunities will determine your success.
Organisations need to recognise that customers expect to access service across a range of channels. Each channel should be designed to meet the customer needs and expectations for their service intent and traversing channels should be seamless.
Delivering on your brand promise and enhancing customer experiences in 2022 will be a core requirement for successful growth. Understanding what your customers want and listening to their needs will be a fundamental requirement so that you can redesign your customer journeys.