What’s in Store for the Customer Experience in 2018?

Following his contribution to the article “26 Contact Centre Technology Predictions for 2018“, David Paulding shares some more predictions. 

Every year new figures are released showing that customer service and customer experience are more important than ever for companies.

According to Forrester, 72% of businesses say that improving customer experience is their top priority. Therefore companies need to ensure they stay competitive and relevant.

Cloud is now the way to go, with more than 90% of business enquiries relating to cloud implementation and business digital transformation.

In addition to cloud, newer trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics have really started to take off. The integration of AI through voice and analytics are two of the biggest trends going into the new year.

Likewise, the arrival of new digitally nimble disruptors such as Amazon and Uber are also shaping the new digital business models, modifying the way that customer experience is done and putting pressure on traditional businesses to adapt.

Here are the main trends that companies shouldn’t ignore as they will impact every type of business:

1. Cloud Maturity

Cloud adoption is a trend that has been growing for the past years, but it has now reached maturity, and going into 2018, this will change the way that companies think about it.

Companies are now looking at investing in the cloud, not just for the contact centre, but also for other areas of the business.

Also, these companies are realising that they need to adapt to the demand of their customers and offer choice in the way they want to interact with an organisation, whether by telephone, email, Facebook messenger or WhatsApp.

The expectation from consumers today is to be able to interact how they want and when they want – and companies need to adapt.

2. Self-Service and Speech Recognition

There is a lot of growing interest around digital self-service and AI. Speech recognition is not a new technology, but it has reached a level of consumerisation thanks to home devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

We are now used to interacting with voices at home and more familiar with chatbots. This means that consumers are now more comfortable interacting with chatbots when they call a contact centre – and in some cases even prefer it.

With this being the case, 2018 may be the year that we see organisations investing more in these technologies to address pinch points, or to free up agents to deal with more complex queries and higher value transactions.

3. Analytics

Another trend to look for in 2018 will be analytics. At present the amount of data generated is booming and companies are struggling to make sense of it and understand how to make the best use of it.

Therefore, companies will be looking for a solution that helps them understand which data has the most value, uncover previously intangible business issues and take progressive actions with fresh certainty.

In addition, more companies will consider interaction analytics across all points – chat, email, SMS, social media – and question how they can best utilise the data to improve their business and their customer experience.

4. Disruption in the Marketplace Drives Change in Customer Experience

Traditional organisations are being challenged by new players that are digital natives. Companies such as Amazon and Uber are moving the goal posts for customer experience for the more traditional companies, as the consumer now has higher expectations of the way that they interact with brands.

David Paulding

Today, people interact with organisations first via their smartphone and apps. With this in mind, traditional businesses need to look to provide a seamless experience, across various channels, to the customer in order to compete with the new digitally nimble disruptors.

The way companies create and deliver customer experiences is constantly evolving in this rapidly changing space. Keeping up with customer experience trends is now an essential part of running a successful business to ensure it meets customers’ expectations.