We’re entering a radically new phase of managing and creating customer experience (CX) — one that can lead to vast opportunities to improve customer and employee experiences. But we won’t be taking an easy road.
Genesys recently conducted “The State of Customer Experience 2021,” a global survey of 2,629 consumers and 690 CX executives. Saddled with aging technology, legacy systems, and resource constraints that curtail their agility, many companies struggle to meet ever-changing customer expectations and the increasing complexity of doing business. In response to these pressures, the traditional processes supporting CX are changing rapidly. Based on the survey’s findings, the following are five major shifts CX managers must pay close attention to going forward.
1. AI is leading the journey to a better CX
Leveraging data and artificial intelligence (AI) are top strategic priorities in 2021 for 39% of CX leaders, whether organizations use these technologies to understand customers better or personalize interactions. Concerning more specific solutions, 59% believe predictive analytics and agent-assist technology are “extremely valuable” in managing the customer experience.
2. Channel use is changing
Voice remains the channel of choice, but digital options like chatbots, video, and messaging are gaining momentum. However, a major hurdle remains: Only 43% of CX leaders rate their chatbots as highly effective at meeting customer expectations. This preference shouldn’t overshadow the benefits chatbots offer. From offloading calls and reducing average handle time to lowering costs and reducing customer effort, chatbots are driving efficiency through self-service — a top strategic priority for 36% of CX leaders.
3. Silos remain a barrier to success
Organizational silos continue to impede the effectiveness of CX, with the most egregious cited as a lack of shared customer satisfaction metrics across departments (71%). This is followed by a lack of consolidated data and analytics (64%) and a lack of carryover of the customer context from one channel to another (58%).
4. It’s time to shift to the cloud
Nearly 40% of CX leaders say one of their most pressing challenges is maintaining the quality of service while operating aging technology. Whether you take an all-cloud or hybrid approach, migrating customer care technology to the cloud — where you can deploy digital engagement, chatbots, and dashboards — comes with a host of advantages. Those most-cited benefits include better access to data insights across channels (59%) and faster implementation of new features or capabilities (53%), followed closely by improved security and business continuity (46%).
5. Consumers and businesses align on privacy
Consumers expect companies to respect their data privacy and personal information. Fortunately, businesses are aligned — with almost 60% of CX leaders noting it’s a company priority. And while 34% say managing data privacy and compliance is their greatest CX challenge, change is happening quickly. Top strategic priorities include enhancing data capabilities for real-time insights, analytics and reporting (37%), upgrading customer privacy and compliance tools (36%).
Lead with CX
Given the potential of these shifts to transform the customer experience, one thing is certain—companies that lead with CX today will be in the vanguard, winning the experience economy of tomorrow.
