A large majority of companies plan to prioritize customer experience in 2020. Organizations need to come with cutting-edge solutions to keep existing customers and attract new ones.
Must read: 5 AI Marketing Trends to Look Out for In 2020
The Bain and Company research states that consumers are four times likely to buy from a competitor following a service issue than they are following a product one. Organizations need to invest wisely by considering some of the top trends that will give customer service a new look in the coming years.
- Make automation more human-like and less robotic
Similar to other industries, AI and automation play an essential role in the customer service section. The majority of customers think of spam calls and automated menus when it comes to customer-service automation, but customer-service software used in the right way can reduce the load on the agents and still maintain the human touch. Experts suggest that agents need to use real-time transcription services that can achieve 95% accuracy with custom tuning. This helps them focus on customers and less on errors relate to transcription. Automation, most agree, should be largely used to augment employees.
- Increase the use of co-browsing tools
Customer-service capabilities need to play catch as more and more services become strictly online. Nearly half of users will move away from a website if they are not able to find what they are looking for. Companies should start increasing the use of co-browsing tools as they enable the customer-service agents to share their screens with clients in real-time. The next step could be moving to video-conferencing solutions as they can enhance communication via nonverbal cues. Customer-service executives should be available for the customers irrespective of the product problem.
- Focus on social media as they will become default channels
With a large customer base comprising millennials and Gen Z, social-media outreach is likely to make up more than half of the company’s customer-service requests. Social media executives running a company’s social accounts need to understand their product or service like veteran members of the customer service staff.
- Expand customer service training throughout the company
Engineers and marketers in a company need not necessarily interact directly with customers, but they will still need customer service skills, owing to the rise in the importance of UX. Company employees need to know common customer pain points and their solutions to offer better customer experience. Company executives need to encourage their employees to think a step further than their immediate role and subject area. They can create a list that gives employees insight on how to address common customer questions.
Must read: How to Use Big Data in Sales and Marketing
Enterprises need to innovate to expand and maintain a steady customer base through 2020 and beyond. Even though the technology is critical, it needs to support and not sideline the customer service staff.
