Customers have always been the king but being a customer in the present era has its own benefits. Sure, one can argue that since the beginning of business, customers were given much importance and as a result, customer service was always an important aspect of business.
But if you look closely, you will realize that the percentage of business owners taking interest in providing their customers with quality customer service is far greater than it previously was. in fact, during the last decade, the importance of customer service has increased exponentially. Which makes us wonder, what can we expect Customer Service to become in the coming decade?
To find out, let’s take a quick look at the changes in the awareness level, both among the customers and the business owners alike.
- According to Accenture global customer satisfaction report 2008, price is not the main reason for customer churn; it is actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service.
- According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs as reported by Return on Behavior magazine Loyal customers are worth up to ten times as much as their first purchase.
- 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated – McKinsey.
- 55% of customers would pay extra to guarantee a better service – Defaqto research.
if you combine just these four stats together, you will have no doubt that customer loyalty has become one of the most sought after realities, to business owners, and, Customer Service is the only thing that can transform a onetime customer into a loyal one.
As customers are becoming more aware of their importance, more and more businesses are coming onboard giving customer service a shout out.
In our industry, some of the most recognizable customer service trends of the present decade include:
- Multi-channel customer Service
- Omni-channel customer service
- IVR-Supported customer service
- Social customer service
- Reduction of wait time and inclusion of call back request
- Video call customer support
- One tap customer support
With more and more businesses nodding in favor of better and more innovative customer support, we can all expect the customer service scene to change even more in the next decade. So, let’s take a quick look at the possible trends that will still be there in the next decade:
Multi-Channel Customer Service will be a norm
With more and more businesses providing multi-channel customer service, it will cease to be deemed as a perk. By the year 2020, the multichannel customer service will become the new norm.
The magnitude of multi-channel will also increase
By 2020, a variety of new social media communication channels will also be included in the bevy of customer service channels. And businesses will surely connect with their customers using the most popular of these channels.
Integration of customer data for all channels will be a reality
In the near future, we will be able to see a complete integration of customer data to ensure that a customer does not have to repeat themselves in case they contact a business more than once, using different channels. If the customer data is stored systematically, an agent can easily take a quick look at it and understand the problem customer is facing, he or she can also suggest the customer some product, based on the purchasing preference data and thus earn a business some additional revenue. The integrated customer data will also help businesses provide a personalized customer service.
More businesses will opt for Customer Service outsourcing
According to a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit titled Services 2020: Megatrends, 87% of participants take care of their service offering in-house. However, in the coming decade, the demand for service provider specialists is likely to increase.
These are some of the customer service trends that will be still remain relevant in the year 2020 and beyond.
