Customers are heading towards zero-tolerance for below-par service. That’s according to a recent survey which revealed the future is not about rigid rules but a more personalised experience.
The recent survey, Contact Centre 2025: Trends, Opportunities and Strategies, conducted by Telesperience and sponsored by NICE, identified that within eight years customers will be even more informed about the reality of service, have higher expectations, be empowered by social sharing, and be more willing and able to shift supplier.
Raghav Sahgal, president of software provider NICE Systems Asia-Pacific, said, “Contact centres will become powerful resources for finding out what customers think of companies and for capturing sentiments, feedback, needs and wants. The contact centre will therefore take on a more strategic, central role in organisations.”
That means integrating with other company functions such as marketing, he suggests.
“In fact, the contact centre will likely take full responsibility for all customer communications (voice and digital), rather than being by individual departments’ timescales and goals.”
According to the report, by 2025, personalisation will go beyond tailoring offers, products and services. It will grow to include the staff, who will become known and trusted individuals rather than scripted agents. There will be a focus on service based on context rather than on a rigid set of rules.
Sahgal said, “Companies of all types will have become far more adept at collecting, combining and leveraging customer data, including being able to utilise this in real-time and in context to gain more meaningful insights. This will let them deliver more innovative experiences, opening up new revenue opportunities.
“Businesses that can understand and get ahead of these trends are likely to outperform their competitors, even in industries where customer service has not traditionally been a key differentiator.”
