What is in store for customer service and customer experience in 2017?
First, we need to think about what 2016 has meant for call handling and customer service as a whole. What is clear is that in 2016, customers have become smarter, social media has started to be seen as the normal place where customer go to complain (and praise) companies, and the demand for Omni channel is growing faster than ever before.
With this in mind, here are our 4 customer service predictions for 2017:
1. Social media customer service is becoming standard
The role of social media and how easily customers can communicate with brands is narrowing. In fact, according to Engagor, 62% of companies adopted a social customer service programme in 2015. It is clear that this trend is expect to grow even more in 2017, and contact centre agents need to be able to manage customer service complaints and compliments on this channel, and be able to seamlessly blend this support with other channels.
2. Messaging support is on the rise
The use of messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger and Kik as a platform for customer support has grown throughout 2016. Companies such as KLM have already adopted this platform effectively, and made it possible for their customers to manage bookings via Facebook message, download boarding passes, get delays updates and speak to a customer service representative through Facebook if they require additional help. With early experiences being rated as positive by both customers and companies, it is likely that more businesses will be adopting messaging support in 2017.
3. Personalisation is becoming key
While personalisation has been around for a number of years, it is now even easier than before for companies to capture usable data about their customers, including their likes, dislikes, preferences, buying patterns etc. Companies that use this data properly can give their customers a better and more personalised experience will definitely outshine the competition.
4. Customers will expect service to be quicker
Regardless of what channel your customer is using to speak to you, response times and resolution of problems need to be quicker in 2017. It is reported that customer satisfaction really depends on response time of agents e.g. the faster the response, the higher the satisfaction. Consumers now live in a fast paced environment and want problems sorted as quickly as possible, and companies need to make sure this is happening within their customer service departments if they want to remain competitive and make their customers feel valued.