According to a recent McKinsey article, “The limiting factor to digital potential in many service sectors is not the technology but the underlying business process.” The piece further stresses that companies that can overcome this challenge stand to reap significant advantages by applying automation to end-to-end service delivery and transforming into a more agile organization.
McKinsey identified four trends that are converging to reinvent customer service, including:
1. Rapid Digitization
Given the maturation of AI and other digital technologies, companies have new opportunities to improve service efficiency and customer personalization. Whether it’s drawing on analytics to predict user needs or availing of automation to enhance self-service options, digitization paves the way for myriad service improvements.
2. Virtualization of Workplaces
The pandemic has permanently altered the traditional working model and customer service delivery is no exception. For example, according to recent research we conducted with CCW, over 58% of contact centers plan to adopt some form of a hybrid working model going forward. As this happens, it’s imperative that organizations make the technology adjustments necessary to support distributed agents while also ensuring customer needs are met.
3. The ”Contactless” Trend
Another pandemic-related trend with implications for service delivery is the rise of contactless operations. As McKinsey notes, the eCommerce sector grew as much in the first half of 2020 as it had in the entire decade prior. Customers’ increased preference for online interactions necessitates that organizations rethink their approach to managing the customer journey. In particular, ensuring a consistent experience across all customer channels—including social media and messaging apps—is critical.
4. Shifting Talent Requirements
As service operations evolve it follows that there are changes in talent requirements. With the rise of automation and self-service options there is a reduced need for agents to complete simple, repetitive tasks, but a growing demand for specialized skills in certain key areas. To address these dynamics, contact centers need an integrated platform that connects customers to the right resource at the right time—whether it’s a self-service channel, frontline agent, or backend employee with experience in a niche area.
The CX Automation Imperative
As McKinsey notes, overcoming business process bottlenecks is a key challenge for organizations as they navigate the above trends. From a contact center perspective, companies need a unified platform that manages experiences across the end-to-end customer journey, encompassing all relevant channels and touchpoints.
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