Competition for customers and sales continues, with more and more companies focusing on sustainable customer service to avoid customer churn.
89% of customers are not averse to switching providers because of poor service. If companies choose to invest in a good customer experience and target a 5% increase in customer retention, they can see revenue growth of up to 25%.
Digital transformation and the resulting challenges in the customer center regularly put managers under new stress tests, where problem-solving skills and correct prioritization go hand in hand. For example, customer centers can be increased with new employees, but this involves high costs, time, and risks, even though 73% of consumers prefer to communicate with real employees. But perhaps there are already innovative solutions in the digital age where customers are reached on a human level.
From our experience, there are five key trends in customer service that you should be aware of and which are enjoying an ever-increasing field of application in service and customer centers:
1. Increasing demands on agents
Employees in customer service are experiencing a change in their daily tasks, as well as in their scope of duties. Recurring customer inquiries are mainly automated and customer service employees are dedicated to demanding tasks, projects and customer inquiries. In order to guarantee a high quality of service, not only an excellent communication style is emphasized, but also a certain know-how towards software. This leads to a growing trend of well-trained customer service agents and the resulting increase in responsibility and opportunities for advancement. This is because initial problem solvers result in experienced and motivated agents with up-selling and cross-selling skills who add considerable value for customers and other departments.
2. 24/7 Customer Service
The demand for customer service to be available 24/7 is increasing. Preferably without waiting times and many opportunities for communication. Companies can only realize these high demands if they provide ready-to-use and easy-to-operate self-service offerings. From our experience, this can sometimes result in unexpected challenges, but also successes. Therefore, companies should pay attention:
- Never rely solely on self-service and neglect personal customer contact. Because things can quickly go wrong, whereby customers need a helpful and competent agent.
- Every beginning is hard, so companies can take a slow approach to self-service capabilities and start with small projects.
- To ensure that the self-service offering can be continually expanded, it is advisable here to regularly collect and then analyze user data.
3. Proper handling of data
The basis of all decisions is meaningful data, also in the service center. With a focus on measuring and analyzing current and relevant numbers. The timeliness of the data is particularly important here, because only then can decisions be made in the now, but also sustainably for the future.
Companies that set a high standard for their customer service know their current customer needs and customer satisfaction and create Net Promoter Scores. From this, they build their customer patterns, which also have a positive impact on business growth. Companies can also consult external experts for data analysis in order to obtain simplified and quick support in the decision-making process.
4. Increasing flexibility of cloud usage among enterprises
Up to 57% of companies today use cloud solutions, especially in customer service. Companies are now faced with the challenge of managing many software services simultaneously. Which requires cross-functional and strategic planning when it comes to implementation.
That’s why successful and innovative companies monitor current trends and developments in technology and build their strategy on them. The advantages briefly explained:
- Individual departments become more independent and make their IT decisions autonomously.
- Easily merge data via APIs to SaaS applications.
- Increasing number of choices of cloud offerings between innovative, industry-specific and encryption-ready software solutions.
- Flexible pricing of cloud providers offers great cost advantage.
5. Augmented Intelligence in Customer Service
The last trend is about an interplay between artificial intelligence and human expertise, also called augmented intelligence. Meanwhile, voice assistants can answer automated queries and return impressive results in automated data analysis and speech recognition. This helps to set a certain quality standard and to check it. However, there is a lack of humor and friendliness, which is a crucial factor for customer loyalty. Thus, the bridge between people and technology closes when the use of artificial intelligence determines certain data, which is then used in the customer center.
Our conclusion on the 5 trends in customer service
In terms of intelligent software solutions, the choice for modern customer centers is increasing, giving you the opportunity to constantly evolve.
That said, we don’t recommend implementing every trend in customer service just to improve the customer experience. In most cases, an individual adjustment, aligned with current needs, is enough. In balance to a regular trend analysis, combined with current customer needs, which move the company and customers forward. So that customers no longer see any reason to switch providers.
If you would like to discuss current trends even further at the Customer Center, book a free consultation appointment. Together, we can shed light on what needs exist in your service department and what use of technology makes sense for you.
