Staying one step ahead of customer needs is a must for thriving businesses. To create lasting value and loyalty companies must understand what their customers need. This means collecting the right data for analytics, making sure employees have a good understanding of how things work, plus working closely with IT teams for smooth execution.
According to a survey by Gartner, improving operations and growing the business are the two most important business goals for customer service leaders in 2023.
84% of customer service and service support leaders say customer data and analytics is “very or extremely important” for achieving their organizational goals in 2023. 80% of respondents consider digital channel effectiveness as “very or extremely important”. Employee performance, development, and quality assurance are other priorities for achieving organizational goals.
Customer service and support leaders are aiming to improve efficiency with automation or process elimination (59%), shifting attention towards digital and self-service channels (51%), and creating customer value that contributes to the top line (46%).
During challenging financial times, executives in customer service and support roles are tasked with finding creative solutions for reducing costs. In order to remain competitive, companies are turning their attention toward digital channels and solutions in an effort to reduce costs without compromising customer experience or having to cut staff.
Recommendations for customer service and support leaders
Collect actionable customer data
Collect customer data from different sources to get a clear picture of what they want and need. This data be collected using more than just surveys and should include methods like speech, text, and digital experience analytics. Using this data to make decisions on personnel, processes, and technologies is key.
Build digital self-service teams
Develop teams that can oversee the digital channel strategy of the company, manage products, and collaborate with data analysts to establish and assess success metrics.
Empower customer service agents
By equipping customer service agents with the necessary tools, such as connected desktops, our customers can be provided with an improved resolution experience that is tailored to their individual needs.
Image and source credits: Gartner
