During 2021, commerce and retail was all over the map. Some industries thrived while others floundered due to the ongoing pandemic and labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and other unforeseen challenges. That said, in general, e-commerce grew as sales increased with COVID. Considering this uptick in clients turning to online shopping rather than in-person experiences, another thing that increased was the sheer amount of customer service ticket volume.
According to a recent study from Gorgias, from the week of March 16th to the week of April 17th 2021 alone, there was about a 2x increase in ticket volume. This snapshot of one random week shows how the pandemic-fueled growth rate resulted in more customers, and thus, more CX issues. Looking ahead to another unpredictable and unprecedented year, how will companies deal with increasing CX issues? One way is to outsource to experts, such as Horatio. If you have a team of 10, or a team of 10,000 one thing is certain : customer needs remain at the top of your business’s priorities in 2022. Here are some of the topline CX trends that will come into play for companies big and small in 2022:
- Personalized Content
In 2022, CX professionals will want to provide support on a more personal and empathetic level. As the world continues to remain largely shut-down, and consumer experiences are almost exclusively becoming digital, customers still want to feel as if they are seen and heard. That means their problems, preferences and quirks. According to the 2021 State of Personalization Report, 75 percent of business leaders say “personalization is now table stakes for digital experiences.” Meanwhile, more than 50% of customers say that personalization improves the customer experience by and large. The best way to personalize CX is to hone in on strategy. This strategy should be clear and defined, so you are not presenting content in a haphazard way. Another element of personalization is to make sure your team’s technical features are in line with your strategy. Should your company use AI in conversations, it is best that everything from the opening greeting to the way you say goodbye is hyper-personal and reflects the brand’s voice. Emails sent to customers should also be tailored to their shopping habits and interests. Small cues can make a big difference in analyzing and understanding your consumers’ needs and desires.
2. CX 360:
Offering “total experiences” or “TX” as industry insiders refer to it, will continue to gain momentum and importance in 2022. In order to provide a rich CX experience, it behooves companies to predict their companies customer trajectory (and namely growth) ahead of time. By having a clear CX internal strategy, teams can provide customers a much better experience when they have a disruption or unforeseen challenge, as opposed to just dealing with CX issues on a case by case basis. “TX” also extends to internal company culture. If agents are happy and feeling good, this attitude will be more likely to be adopted by consumers as well. Each part of the CX chain should be given due consideration and not overlooked.
3. Tech meets human connection:
a) Predictive AI – Now and even more so in the future, AI-driven technology will be able to hone in on customer’s preferences and shopping habits in a big way. Accumulated customer data by way of consumer complaints, inquiries, social media posts and other types of feedback indicate a much better picture of who a brand’s typical customer is. Once this customer data is recognized, AI tech will follow-suit and continue to evolve into providing a much richer customer experience. Choosing the appropriate AI technology is the first step in a company’s journey to having suitable tech support to align with their agents. In essence, one can think of the AI tools as the helper or assistant for your in-person customer support team.
b) Conversational Experience – in recent years, CX can extend to platforms like WhatsApp or even regular texting. 2022 will prove that; thinking of how you can engage customers outside of the box is vital not only to a brand’s reputation but also their growth.
