Happy Friday! We’re bringing you the latest roundup of industry news. This week, we’re looking at new research into the cost-of-living crisis, contact centre issues, and Qualtrics’ new solutions to directly help those contact centre problems.
Key news
- On September 19th, Feedspot posted the current Top 10 CX publications available on the web. We’re absolutely honoured to share that we ranked number 1! We’re a small, yet hard-working team, and feel so proud of our individual selves and each other that we’ve been recognised in this space. Thank you all, we’re delighted with this??
- Optimizely has announced ‘Boundless Digital Invention’ – a new way to deliver on the promise of digital marketing technology. Aimed at closing the gap between increasing customer expectations and what marketers can deliver, Boundless Digital Invention will bring scientific rigour back to marketing, enabling a new level of precision and confidence across marketing activities and execution. It will allow users to orchestrate, monetise and experiment.
- 73% of brands admit their omnichannel customer journey could be more aligned and that they are falling short. While 86% of consumers shop both on and offline, 18% of marketers lack confidence in their ability to deliver an exceptional omnichannel experience. New findings come from Mention Me’s Customer Advocacy Gap report.
- CM.com have found that 42% of enquiries across all customer service channels are being ignored or left unanswered. Only 13% of enquiries were answered in full and in a timely way.
- Deliveroo has opened its first ‘phygital’ store on London New Oxford Street in partnership with Morrisons. Deliveroo Hop comprises digital kiosks to shop for grocery items while also acting as a collection point for local offices and residents.
- We’re now at the end of Customer Services week. “Over one-third (35%) of customers are actively willing to pay more for a better service and this trend has been increasing for the last four years. Customer service is an undeniable key aspect of a customer’s overall experience and brands need to ensure they are leading the way and setting the standard in their domain. This Customer Service Week, brands from all industries should ensure they have the capability to meet customer needs and offer first-class service that will ensure they retain existing customers and attract new business.” – Sam Fuller, Customer Success Director at Content Guru.
Qualtrics have announced real-time contact centre solutions to help agents with productivity
Contact centre agents are addressing customer issues and remedying customer pain points. Yet their burnout and attrition are rising alongside the cost of recruiting and training agents. 38% of contact centre agents feel as though they’re not set up for success. Only 54% of agents believe their leadership invests in their team.
Qualtrics’ Real-Time Agent Assist coaches contact centre agents live, during a call with a customer, using AI to analyse the conversation and develop real-time, informed recommendations. Conventional agent assist solutions rely only on call metadata and keywords or phrases.
Qualtrics’ language understanding and machine learning capabilities can identify a customer’s sentiment and the reasons for their call. The data is then combined with the customer’s past interactions. This is as well as insights from millions of other interactions customers have had with the brand across all channels. This will intelligently diagnose the caller’s individual needs and desires and make recommendations specific to each business.
Automated Call Summaries deliver instantly automated call recaps. It includes relevant details discussed during the call. The recap covers: why the customer called; how the call went; whether the issue was resolved; and more. Qualtrics preview customers have found that their Automated Call Summaries were more accurate than previous manual entries, which often lacked important details. Following a call, agents can simply review the automated summaries and add additional context as needed.
Research found in this week’s news update highlighted issues amongst the contact centre with customers feeling that their queries have been left unresolved. This may be a new solution brought about to tackle these issues directly and swiftly.
“These new contact centre solutions save agents time and arm them with the information and coaching they need to deliver more efficient and empathetic customer service.”
– Brad Anderson, President of Products and Engineering at Qualtrics
Which areas are contact centre agents falling short on when assisting their vulnerable customers?
New research conducted by MaxContact has identified the issues that up to 1000 vulnerable customers are facing. Focusing on growing from these will help companies, and contact centres especially, to help alleviate the stresses of vulnerable customers
The survey found the following:
- 48% had struggled to find a phone number to contact a company in the past year
- 51% felt that they were treated unfairly by customer services teams
The biggest problems revealed by vulnerable customers include:
- Speaking to several members of staff to re-explain the problem (51%)
- Having to navigate too many phone menus (IVR) to reach the right person e.g., press 1 for this, press 2 for this (45%)
- Feeling like the person they were talking to was trying to get them off the phone quickly (30%)
- Failing to understand the advisor as they were speaking too fast (18%)
As a result, 52% said they had to abandon solving a problem because it was just too difficult, with 57% saying this had a negative impact on their mental or financial wellbeing.
The research also shows that vulnerable customers would like customer support services to show more empathy (23%) and 20% want customer service advisors to communicate with less jargon.
“We know that to make a real difference with vulnerable customers, as well as staying compliant with the FCA’s new consumer duty guidance, leaders need practical, easy-to-follow advice which they can put into action at their own organisations right away.”
– Ben Booth, CEO at MaxContact
Our question for you is: no matter your industry sector, are you doing enough to make the customer journey clear and easy to navigate? Vulnerable customers are not always so evident to find. The experience must be seamless for all.
Here are some CXM resources to help you learn more about your vulnerable customers:
- The reality of vulnerability within CX
- Managing vulnerable customers with a humanised digital CX approach
- How to look after your vulnerable customers fairly?
New research into upcoming effects of the cost-of-living crisis
The cost-of-living crisis is impacting the majority of the nation at the minute. Therefore, unfortunately, it is the cause for a lot of discussions and research into how it will affect us all. These new findings include the possibility of Christmas being ruined, and prices rising above the priority of sustainability practices.
Here is a brief summary of the latest news about the crisis:
Sitecore’s Holiday Shopping Trends 2022 report (survey of over 2000 UK consumers)
- 42% cutting back on personal expenditures and leisure
- 42% of parents are only being Christmas presents for their children this year – rather than friends and extended family they would’ve bought for previously. From this, the majority of UK shoppers (75%) are looking to purchase cheaper gifts this year and will seek out the best deals
- A quarter are selling personal possessions on online marketplaces to face price hikes and gift-buying leading up to Christmas
- Under 20% of people are saving money by working more hours and/or removing their memberships to subscription-based services (Netflix, for example)
Free shipping is more likely to drive online sales in the lead up to Christmas purchases. Sitecore found that two-thirds of consumers won’t purchase an item that doesn’t offer free shipping. This may be a new, helpful purchase strategy to promote for retailers in this period. It’s going to prove to be a tough one – do everything you can.
Reports have found that non-essential spending is estimated to plummet by £12bn this Christmas. However, there are “must-haves” for the festive season that UK consumers are hesitant to let go of. This includes:
- Purchasing alcohol
- Providing a turkey for the traditional Christmas dinner
- Spending time with their family
What will you do to target these key areas, for the benefit of both your company and your customers?
Nosto’s survey (over 2000 UK and US consumers) into fashion retailers’ sustainability vs prices debate
Sustainable clothing costs considerably more than fast-fashion pieces due to longevity of them. In fact, 55% of consumers agree that sustainable fashion is too expensive, despite the reasoning. Due to the financial crisis, 61% of fashion customers will now look to purchase clothing with a cheaper price tag to prioritise their money, rather than consider the sustainability of them.
Nosto’s survey asked respondents how fashion retailers can help their consumers in this sustainability and finance battle. Here’s 3 of the factors:
- Offer slower deliveries to reduce carbon emissions and delivery costs (54% respondents)
- Offer fashion repair services (60%)
- Make it easier to reduce ecommerce product returns (64% said to make live chats easier to ask about queries ahead of purchase; 59% suggested offering virtual try-on tools ahead of purchase)
Sports stars are joining Cash App campaigns: a new tactic to learn from?
Finally and interestingly, Serena Williams and Odell Beckham Jr have fronted Cash App’s first integrated brand campaign. This will show how consumers can utilise its instant payment feature: the $Cashtag.
What do you think of using sports personalities for business and marketing campaigns? Let us know your thoughts through LinkedIn or email!
You can check out Serena’s campaign video here –
Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. Check back next Friday for the latest updates of the week!