In times of economic uncertainty, business decisions get tougher and spending is scrutinized. But many organizations agree that it makes good sense to invest in customer experience (CX) technologies.
According to Metrigy’s Customer Experience Transformation 2022-23 report, more than half of companies plan to increase their CX spending by 2023, with an average increase of 17.3 percent. Organizations that have obtained the greatest business value from CX technologies plan to spend 92.2 percent more than organizations reporting the least success.
CX refers to the aggregate of a customer’s perceptions of a brand from before purchase through use of a product or service through repeat purchase. CX technologies include multichannel contact centers, automation and self-service tools, and data analytics.
A recent Adobe study found that companies prioritizing CX were three times more likely than their peers to exceed their business objectives. Done right, CX drives bottom line results through increased revenue, productivity and customer satisfaction.
CX Technologies
Failure to optimize the customer experience can be devastating. A company may have the best product or service available, but lose business if customer service problems are not resolved promptly and to the customer’s satisfaction. The poor experience will offset the value of the product or service.
That’s why Metrigy analysts believe that CX investments will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Because consumers have the power to express their unhappiness on ratings sites and social media, a few poor experiences can result in lost sales and customer churn. Smart companies recognize that it’s better to optimize the customer experience than try to mitigate the impact of complaints and poor reviews.
Multichannel contact centers play a key role in CX initiatives. Customers expect to communicate via their preferred channel, be that voice, text, chat, email or even video. Furthermore, they want the ability to change communications channels as needed, and expect a consistent, high-quality experience across all media. Organizations with legacy call centers will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
Behind the Scenes
Contact center agents are also expecting a quality experience and access to the tools they need to be efficient and effective. Industry-leading contact center platforms have agent assist and gamification features to help improve performance and reward high-performing agents. Workforce automation tools help contact managers optimize resources and identify problem areas.
Increased automation is critical for multiple reasons. Customers are demanding the option to handle many inquiries on their own through self-service tools. And with contact center agent turnover up 32 percent in early 2022, organizations need automation to help reduce operational requirements.
Developing a Strategy
Technology is just one component of an effective CX strategy. Organizations should identify every point of customer interaction and the factors that influence the purchasing decision. By mapping the customer journey, organizations can address any problem areas and ensure they’re using the right communication channels at every step.
Organizations should also determine the goals they hope to achieve with CX, and develop metrics to measure success. Every team involved in the customer journey should understand the objectives and be aligned in their efforts to enhance the customer experience.
In today’s highly competitive environment, organizations need tools and processes for optimizing every touchpoint in the customer journey. They must be able to communicate effectively using the customer’s preferred channel and streamline each interaction with automation and self-service tools as much as possible.
Verteks has extensive experience in the design, implementation and support of multichannel contact centers, workforce management platforms and other tools organizations need to optimize CX. We can help support your CX strategy with industry-leading technology solutions.
