5 Customer Experience Trends in Contact Centers in 2021

Not long ago, all companies claimed that the key to generating new customers lay in the quality of the product or service they offered. But things have changed. Now an even more important success factor has emerged: delivering the best customer experience (CX).

According to the Temkin Group, for SaaS companies in particular, a 3-year investment in CX generates an additional $ 1 billion. That’s how it is. Investing in customer experience initiatives gives businesses the potential to go from millions to billions in 36 months.

A good CX means that customers will spend more. In fact, 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. The more expensive the product, the more they are willing to pay, according to research by PWC.

For example, customers are willing to pay a premium of up to 13% (and as high as 18%) for luxury services, simply to receive excellent CX. Additionally, a Walker study found that by the end of 2021, customer experience would surpass price and product as a key brand differentiator.

5 Customer Experience Trends in Contact Centers in 2021 

What Is Customer Experience?

CX is the perception that customers have of how a company treats them. These perceptions affect their behavior and build memories and feelings that drive their loyalty.

But to satisfy customers, you have to know them and then use this knowledge to offer personalized experiences throughout the customer journey. To do this, you need to collect customer data and obtain valuable data insights with speed and accuracy.

Improving CX has been shown to increase customer retention and satisfaction and revenue for organizations.

1) Customer Experience Is the New Battlefield

An interaction of a user with a call center has a great impact on their future purchasing decisions. If it’s good, you’re happy and satisfied, while if it’s bad, it could lead you to stop doing business with that company again. For this reason, 88% of companies now prioritize the customer experience in contact centers.

In fact, more than two-thirds of organizations now compete primarily on the basis of CX, compared to just 36% in 2010. So if you want customers to have a positive experience, you have to invest in it. According to one study, 62% of companies will invest now to meet changing customer needs.

According to research by Gartner, organizations that successfully implement customer experience projects start by focusing on how they collect and analyze user feedback.

Whether through surveys, forms or Net Promoter Score (NPS) programs, it is key to read the comments, suggestions and opinions to see what they expect from the company. And then invest in those projects to meet your expectations.

2) Multichannel Services Increase in Importance

Businesses interact with customers through multiple channels: forms on their website, live chat, social media, email … However, while customers can be positive and accept different levels of service from various channels, they also expect communication to remain constant.

In its 2020 report, PWC indicated that the number of companies investing in omnichannel experience has increased from 20% to more than 80%.

3) Mobile Customer Experience Is a Priority

When it comes to delivering a positive experience across different channels, customer service through mobile use is expected to skyrocket. Thus, 57% of customers will not recommend a company with a website that is not responsive. And if a website is not optimized for mobile devices, 50% of customers will stop visiting it, even if they like the business.

According to Stat Counter, 52% of all Internet traffic now comes from mobile devices. So it’s no surprise that 84% of companies that claim to be customer-centric are now focusing on the mobile customer experience.

For companies that have been slow to adapt to this trend, especially when it comes to customer service, an overwhelming 90% of customers report having a poor experience when seeking customer support on mobile devices.

4) Customer Frustration Will Lead to Abandonment

According to Esteban Kolsky, 72% of customers will share a positive experience with 6 or more people. On the other hand, if a customer is unhappy, 13% of them will share their experience with 15 or even more.

The challenge here lies in the fact that, in most cases, customers do not express their dissatisfaction. In fact, only 1 in 26 dissatisfied customer complains. The rest just leave.

Customer expectations are at an all-time high and it is a difficult time for companies to meet and exceed them.

What constitutes a bad experience? Sometimes it is as simple as poor tracking. Research found that very few companies follow up on their customers.

5) Self-service Help Will Be the First Choice

In 2021, companies must ensure that customers can find answers to their questions using a wide range of self-service options.

Today, 67% of customers prefer self-service to speaking with a company representative.

Users are willing to find the answers for themselves. So much so, that by 2030, Gartner estimates that customer bots will automatically generate 1 billion service tickets. To handle this demand, companies are turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In the short term, companies have to make sure that when a customer has a problem, he has the right tools so that he can solve it himself.

In the long term, they need to think about how AI and technology can help you improve the customer experience.

Conclusion

With 9 out of 10 companies vying for CX, it is organizations that take customer experience seriously that will stand out and win loyal customers.

To deliver a positive experience, you have to get to know your customers better than ever. This means creating comprehensive customer profiles that help understand and measure user behavior at every touch point and across multiple channels. One way to handle this is by using a CRM.

Once companies know customers well enough, they can use that knowledge to personalize each interaction. By ensuring that interaction with the organization is smooth, enjoyable, and continually improving, you will build brand loyalty. Otherwise, you will give your competitors the best gift you can – your customers.