From skills shortages to AI: the developments shaping customer service
Two and a half years of pandemic and a year of war have turned the world upside down. Inflation, energy shortages, supply chain problems and changing consumer behavior are some of the consequences. While the pandemic and its effects slowly fade, global economic relationships are shifting and climate change keeps confronting the whole world with new problems. As baby boomers gradually leave the workforce, Germany and other countries are facing a shortage of skilled workers.
❓What does all this mean for small and large companies, especially in customer service (CS) and customer experience (CX)? And what does it have to do with artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation chatbots❓
This blog post sums up the 2023 trends in customer service (CS) and customer experience (CX) and analyzes how automation, artificial intelligence and chatbots help meet them:
- How does the changed economic situation affect CS and CX?
- How have customer expectations changed in recent years?
- What technology trends are there in CS and CX?
Why 2023 is a challenging year that will see some game changers
Consumers are changing their usual buying behavior, which would call for investment in better customer service and more successful branding to retain clients and generate new leads. At the same time, inflation is reducing purchasing power, so many companies face heavy competition and price pressure, which holds back funds for investment. In 2023, the companies most likely to hold their ground are those that best handle these seemingly contradictory challenges.
How does the changed economic situation affect CS and CX?
Rising prices and cost pressure lead to less consumption. Consumers think every purchase through carefully and accordingly have high expectations of the products and services they want to buy at all. Companies therefore have to strike a balance between efficiency, to cope with the high cost pressure, and better customer service, to meet consumers' higher expectations. On top of that, they have to come up with ways to keep good staff, as the skills shortage is being felt everywhere.
So: better performance, lower costs and happier employees – this is where chatbots come in for support, as explained below.
While online retail experienced a real gold rush during the pandemic, we're now seeing the "great reopening" of local stores, with shoppers wanting to go out again and spend in real stores and restaurants. But they haven't forgotten the advantages of online retail in terms of efficient online support, easy returns and online information. Together, this means that online retail will lose some customers again, while hybrid business models can develop: local stores and restaurants need an online presence with good customer support, and online companies can retain customers by opening local branches.
How have customer expectations of customer support changed?
Good customer experience matters.
CS will keep gaining importance, because right after product quality and price, a good customer experience ranks as a reason to buy: 60% of consumers would switch to another product or company after a bad customer experience. According to the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, about 80% of American consumers see efficiency, convenience and friendly, knowledgeable service as key elements of a good customer experience.
Brand loyalty is declining.
At the same time, brand loyalty keeps declining: according to a recent Salesforce analysis, 71% of consumers surveyed had switched brands within a year. Declining brand loyalty is a risk for companies, but also an opportunity to win new customers more easily.
Expectations of fast service and personalization.
Fast self-service with short waiting times is just as much part of customers' expectations in 2023 as a personalized product and shopping experience. Automation and artificial intelligence can help analyze customer profiles and make them available, so personalized offers and information can be provided at the right time.
Omnichannel communication
Customers' communication habits are as diverse as the customers themselves. That's why omnichannel communication with clients is becoming more important: anyone who can offer customer support across different channels, such as messaging services, websites, email or apps, gains an advantage.
Ethics and transparency
Not just since the start of 2023, but increasingly, ethical considerations influence purchasing decisions: it's becoming more and more important to have transparent information ready, provide it on request or even actively promote it.
Data security
Consumers are willing to store their data with reputable companies to get optimal, personalized service as regular customers. But data security matters more and more to them, especially as negative news about data theft even at large companies makes them uneasy. Solid data security is therefore important, as required, for example, by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Digitally available CS becomes a must!
And finally, consumers are now used to digitally available customer service. Anyone who can't offer it will have a hard time in the future, whether they're a pure online business or a local store or company. Chatbots will keep gaining importance here, because besides expert systems there are also affordable entry-level models that can be configured for a website or online store without much effort.
Proactive service is appreciated.
Many customers now value proactivity: companies that offer extra information or assistance at the right moment, for example in chat, by text message or by email, score extra points. That could be current offers, but also reminders about expiring contracts, maintenance intervals or information about new products or product variants that are now available. An area made for automation!
What technology trends are there in CS and CX?
Combining different communication technologies.
Multichannel communication keeps evolving so that customer service can be offered across a wide range of services.
Good knowledge management
Knowledge management is gaining importance in two ways: consumers want excellent self-service, with information that is well structured and quickly and easily available. But internally, too, employees from customer service to marketing benefit from a good information structure and can give better advice. Companies shouldn't forget to add ethically relevant data to the knowledge base alongside product information, as this keeps gaining importance.
Technology supports employees
In general, technology is becoming more important for supporting and retaining good employees: besides professional knowledge management, other digital helpers are becoming important, especially in support. A remotely available digital field service can do good groundwork before field staff go out to handle installation, troubleshooting or on-site support. Chatbots take annoying routine requests off qualified support staff's plates and can even clarify standard questions ahead of a conversation and use artificial intelligence to gauge customer sentiment or even sales-relevant information.
Hybrid chatbots mediate between customers, CS and sales
The line between customer service and marketing is becoming blurred, because a service request can easily turn into a good sales opportunity or provide valuable insights into customer wishes and problems. Here too, smart hybrid chatbots can help mediate between automated chat, live chat, ticket creation and involving sales staff.
Automated customer feedback and data analysis
Customers' wish for more personalization will boost data analysis and automated customer feedback and its evaluation: the better a company can respond to customers' individual concerns, the better the service is perceived.
More media for a better customer experience
As described above, the customer experience is becoming a key factor in purchasing decisions: it should be fast, available on different channels, recognizable whether provided automatically or by human agents, and tailored as closely as possible to individual customer wishes. Besides bots, videos, voice messages, virtual reality and artificial intelligence will help make this experience the best it can be.
Conclusion for AI and chatbots: artificial intelligence is here to stay in support, and increasingly personalized.
Artificial intelligence (AI), as developed in the next generation of chatbots, will be indispensable in the customer service of the future, for online and offline businesses alike:
- It meets customers' high expectations of the quality of customer support and customer experience.
- It counters current cost pressure appropriately by automating as much routine as possible.
- AI and chatbots give valuable, qualified employees the best possible support and relieve them of routine requests and annoying repetition.
- Chatbots and AI help structure knowledge and data optimally and make them available on request, for customers and employees alike.
- Smart systems help support and marketing respond proactively and quickly to customer wishes.
- Professional AI and chatbot solutions automatically ensure data security to prevent both data theft and data loss.
- State-of-the-art customer service that uses every available technical option increases the chance of generating new leads in this volatile economic situation while preventing customer churn.
- Chatbots are the perfect mediators between automated chat, ticket systems and human live chat. Depending on the situation, they can hand over from one support scenario to another without losing information.
By the way, chatbots aren't only found in support and sales. In times of skills shortages and waves of resignations, chatbots are also becoming more and more attractive for recruiting new talent in HR!
How can you prepare for 2023?
What about you? Does your company already have a smart chatbot solution, or are you still looking for the right system❓
melibo offers hybrid, smart next-generation chatbot solutions that help solve the challenges of the future described here. If you'd like to learn more, take your time to explore our offering or book a demo. For further browsing, we also offer a knowledge base and interesting video tutorials here on our website.
You'll find all the trends for 2024 here.
