🌟 Exciting Developments in Customer Experience for 2024 🌟

After a tumultuous few years of declining customer satisfaction in connection to the support and experiences provided by companies, 2024 appears poised to reverse this negative trend. In a recent Forbes column, noted industry experts Blake Morgan and Daniel Hong do a great job of outlining why this is a likelihood. Their predictions focus on the contact center itself, which they refer to as “the most important place for customer experience investments in 2024.” At XperiSource, we wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, as well as their rationale behind why this negative trend will cease.

The article is a great read for anyone in the customer experience state. Here are our key takeaways:

1. Human-led channels will continue to be the priority for companies: The writers reinforce something that the leadership team of Xperisource have been saying for the last several years: despite the rise of digital self-service tools, it is not the time to abandon traditional human support.

While the younger population is more comfortable with adopting digital tools, 75% of consumers across all age ranges still prefer human-led channels when it comes to customer service. This reinforces the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing a customer experience program. Digital tools may be appropriate for some of your customer base, but removing the option to speak to a human will have nothing but negative impacts on satisfaction. A truly customer-centric approach will let consumers define their own journey.

2. One in Four AI-Driven Contact Center Agent-Assist Deployments Will Fail: Agent assistant tools are powerful and when used properly, they will lead to more productive and effective CX agents. However, the writers predict that the vast majority of these implementations will fail for a variety of reasons, including:

· Companies that are unable to track the true impact of this expensive technology.

· Companies that lack the analytical tools to truly anticipate and identify problems, such as long hold times, long handle times, or why a particular customer is frustrated to provide agents with more insight.

· Little to no value perceived by agents. Poorly designed agent-assist tools will frustrate agents who will eventually discontinue their use. Without considering how these tools will enhance an agent’s performance, it is easy to waste a significant amount of money on something that is sparsely used.

This reinforces the need to have experienced and skilled technology, data, and analytics teams in place: professionals who are able to assess tools and identify tools that will make a true business impact. At Xperisource, every technology we implement is carefully scrutinized to ensure that they provide benefits to the consumer while simultaneously empowering agents to excel. We resist the urge to use the “shiniest” and trendy new tools, opting instead to implement those that are appropriate for a client’s particular customer base.

3. Collaborative AI Will Overtake Generative AI: Undoubtedly, AI has evolved significantly in the past year to a point that it can operate independently (generative) in some scenarios. However, we aren’t even close to that in the contact center industry and the writers accurately predict the use of collaborative AI (humans and technology working together) is the recipe for success.

Collaborative AI is the “combination of the strengths of both machine and human intelligence to enhance problem-solving, decision-making, and overall performance.”

AI is unable to be empathetic or to truly understand the unique scenarios that CX agents deal with on a daily basis. Relying on a generative model will lead customers to feel that the brands they are interacting with are not fully listening or attempting to identify their individual circumstances. Even when customers begin with self-service tools, we always offer the option to speak to a live agent and believe that not doing so would represent a disservice to our clients.

At XperiSource, we’re committed to leveraging technology responsibly to elevate customer experience. Our approach prioritizes solutions that enhance agent performance while catering to the unique needs of our clients’ customer base.

Ready to embark on a journey towards modernized customer experience? Let’s connect! Reach out to us at 888.722.0829 or via email at louis.ochoa@xperisource.com. We look forward to partnering with you in achieving customer service excellence in 2024 and beyond.

#CustomerExperience #CX #AI #ContactCenter #Innovation #Collaboration #XperiSource