Companies and contact centers are asking employees to come back to the office now that most “lockdowns” are over. Now used to the flexibility and convenience of remote work, many employees are resisting. Where employers are forcing compliance, employees are re-evaluating their choices, and many are making decisions to quit or try something new. People are flocking out of the big cities and finding larger homes in more rural areas. What does all this mean for the nature of work?

It means that there is no going back in time. The pre-pandemic model of work has been rendered obsolete by the success of the remote work model. So, how do we stop bleeding attrition if we can’t go back?

There are three key trends shaping the workforce today that employers should embrace – listen more, adopt a gig workforce, and build internal resilience.

The first trend is so obvious yet often ignored. It is the power of listening to our employees. At the EITK event in Clearwater, Jen Johnson from Frontier highlighted the need to listen to the customers and those supporting them every day. She spoke about how Frontier improved NPS by 30 points as her team learned the common language of “speaking customer.” Their agents also felt more valued and heard, and their jobs became easier as customer barriers were removed. I feel that many leaders get “busy” and forget the basic skill of listening. If we can’t stop the great resignation from happening, we can at least understand why each of our employees is making this decision.

The second trend is to adapt to the changing workforce. I believe the change that is here to stay is the rise of “gig” work. Gig typically means a short-term job. You have probably heard it in reference to musicians who are going to work a “gig”. Over the last 10 years, with the rise in ride-share services, food delivery, and other freelance work becoming available, many workers have turned to this “gig economy” to have more autonomy over their work. At Directly On-Demand, we define gig work as:

1. Flexibility in choosing where to work, what to work on, and how long to work
2. Rewarding the worker for the specific work product and outcomes achieved rather than an hourly rate
3. Patented routing logic to present the work available to the right skilled worker with the best performance

In product support, adding gig workers as an extension of the traditional contact center provides a resilient layer of talent to meet volume fluctuations.

That brings me to the last trend – planning for and building internal resilience in the organization. To build resiliency in your workforce, you need to have carefully planned career progression opportunities for employees, including embracing this new nature of work. If you have high performers who are no longer interested in the in-office 8-hour shift, give them the option to use their knowledge to provide services in a flexible model, for example, as a gig worker.

In summary, employers need to listen to and understand their employee voice and offer flexible work models to attract and retain the best talent in 2022. However, moving away from traditional models can be challenging if not done right. There are very few providers in the market today that can offer a workforce model that blends the power of global gig experts, in-house full-time associates, and CX transformation technology to offer flexible, scalable, and on-demand CX services. This hybrid model could be the answer to the challenges faced by the customer service industry today as it strives for stability, resilience, and agility in service delivery. Directly OnDemand, recently acquired by CSS Corp, now offers this model in addition to the pureplay gig expert model mentioned above. There is enough empirical evidence to suggest that the customer satisfaction achieved using gig peer-to-peer experts is superior to the traditional model and the model is robust enough to scale up and down during seasonal spikes.

I believe that gig work is here to stay and has already changed the nature of work forever. It is time to participate in it and leverage this new model to find and retain diverse and highly skilled talent.

Guest post written by: Melanie Fricke, Directly OnDemand (recently acquired by CSS Corp)

Guest blog post written by Melanie Fricke of Directly OnDemand, recently acquired by CSS Corp. To learn more about this topic and others, visit our events page to check out upcoming events.

The post Three Emerging Workforce Trends in 2022 appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The event, which was co-hosted by Ebrahim Hyder, Vice President, Customer Service at Michael Kors, and Chad McDaniel, president of Execs In The Know, featured a host of industry experts representing top CX providers, including Conduent, Liveops, Sykes, Concentrix, and NICE, as well as dozens of practitioners from some of the world’s top brands.

Although the conversation ranged across a variety of topics (all related to WFH), the overarching theme was pointed toward identifying the most critical pieces for achieving long-term WFH success. This blog post is dedicated to surfacing four of the most notable ideas from the conversation — call it the four “must-haves” for creating successful WFH programs and partnerships.

#1 — Invest in Essential Technologies

Technology is what makes the modern contact center go vroom, but what about when the contact center is no longer centralized nor office-based? What happens when each workspace is as varied and diverse as each agent’s unique home and specific living situation? This is where technology can level-set conditions and build parity into every customer experience.

Two of the most important types of technology for creating a secure, effective WFH program include Security and Communication Technologies.

Security Technologies  

When we talk security, what we’re really referring to is customer data and information security. Tools for protecting customer data are an important aspect of the contract center, especially when that contact center is dispersed throughout the homes of hundreds or even thousands of individual agents. Here are some of the most widely used security technologies, and what they do:

• Multifactor Authentication — Secures online tools and logins using multiple passwords and/or devices to confirm the identification of a user.
• Biometrics Identifiers — Uses biological identifiers (such as fingerprints, facial, or voice biometrics) to limit access to approved users.
• Masking and Redacting Technologies — Shields sensitive information (such as financial or health information) from frontline workers.
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) — VPNs are useful for protecting the flow of data across a network using special encryption, providing security and privacy on both public and private connections.
• Hardware Security — Adds an additional layer of security to prevent unauthorized access to laptop and desktop computers, mobile and other devices; can even include tracking software to protect against theft.

Communication Technologies

Throughout the conversation, communication was mentioned time and again as a critical enabler in a variety of core areas, from program performance to team engagement. Many brands have reinvented not only how they connect, but also how often, in what ways, and with what purpose. Today, great communication starts with great communication tools. Here are the basics:

• Video and Chat Platforms — Platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Skype, and others are essential for staying connected, remaining engaged, and managing effectively.
• Content Sharing Tools — Office-based servers have been replaced by cloud services like Dropbox and SharePoint, and these tools are especially useful for dispersed workforces.
• Knowledge Databases — In addition to content sharing tools, agents rely on databases for accurate, up-to-the-minute information; given the remote nature of the workforce, these resources are more important than ever.
• Quality/Coaching Software — Relying on existing programs has been a challenge for some organizations, while others have been able to adapt. Whether your Quality Assurance and coaching tools are purpose-built or not, continuous improvement is crucial to program success.
• Socialization Platforms — Employee engagement is vital for many reasons, including wellness, cultural emersion, and engagement. It’s tough to feel part of a team when working remote but socializing platforms and programs can help build team unity and cohesion.

#2 — Set Expectations, Then Inspect for What’s Expected

With a little over a year’s worth of experience under our belts, we’re all familiar with working from home at this point, including those agents who have been around since the start of the pandemic. Still, setting clear expectations is paramount to creating and sustaining a productive, high-performing WFH program. Things like work schedules, productivity levels, key measurements — even rules for the agent’s workspace — are all important guideposts for maximizing agent value, especially for new hires.

But it’s not enough to set stakes in the ground. If certain goals are in place, if certain rules are to be followed, verification is an important piece of the puzzle. In other words, meeting objectives requires both clear communication of expectation, as well as dedication to putting forth the effort needed to inspect for what’s expected.

#3 — Understand Workforce Transformation

During the discussion, several leaders pointed to disruptions in the labor market as a significant challenge heading into the summer months. Labor shortages are being observed across industries, driven by several factors including worker hesitation due to the pandemic, generous unemployment and stimulus payments, and ongoing childcare challenges.

Adding to this mix, several industries are all trying to staff up at exactly the same time. Industries like travel and hospitality, dining, and entertainment are all reopening and re-ramping concurrently. Even within the CX sector, competition is fierce, pay scales are rapidly rising, and companies are introducing all sort so new incentives and sign-on bonuses to attract the very best workers. Brands should seek to understand what’s being offered by the competition, as well as what’s occurring generally, both within and outside of the CX industry.

On the flip side, the nature of WFH has liberated many programs from the confines of any specific geolocation. This means programs are free to scout in and hire from areas far beyond the traditional boundaries of existing brick-and-mortar locations. The brands and partners that can best capitalize on this fundamental change in recruiting and hiring stand to grab the best and brightest.

#4 — Build Partnerships

If the pandemic showed the CX industry one thing, it was the importance of relationships, specifically the one between BPOs and their clients. It’s no longer enough to find a good vendor. Buyers of BPO services should have the loftier goal of finding a great partner.

What’s the difference between a vendor and a partner? A partner is looking to build and grow something. Often this means establishing practices that benefit not only the BPO, but their client and, most importantly, the customers of their clients. Business partners are also willing to go above and beyond for the good of the program. Innovation, ingenuity, and deployment of a “whatever it takes” approach were some of the hallmarks of success in looking back at the initial pivot to WFH. Such stories were most common among those clients and their BPOs that viewed their working relationship as a partnership.

……………………………………

Are you a CX leader looking to learn from your peers, as well as top industry experts? We invite you to visit our Events Page to learn more and consider joining us for our next event. Be sure to check back often as new information is constantly being added, including details on our upcoming Outsourcing Briefing, scheduled for December 10, 2021.

Interested in sponsoring an upcoming Briefing? Visit our Supplier Engagement portal to learn how you can participate in our next event.

The post Four Must-Haves for Building Long-Term Work-From-Home Success appeared first on Execs In The Know.

“Through live events, webinars, and the KIA Online Community, we are working with CX leaders to gain a comprehensive understanding of their biggest pain points and make connections with other leaders so together, we can evolve the industry,” said Chad McDaniel, President and Co-Founder of Execs In The Know. “With the new CX Trending Topics webpage, we have created a platform to provide CX leaders with resources and insights to help them navigate their CX strategies in the most effective way possible.”

Most recently, COVID-19 has forced companies to further examine internal processes and business contingency plans (BCP), and social distancing has made it clear why a diversified Bots, Outsourcing, and Gig strategy can help companies weather the storm during uncertain times. The Artificial Intelligence and Gig Economy videos atop the Trending Topics page highlight the unique perspectives of EITK’s community members on these strategies. These CX leaders have shared their thoughts on how these trending topics factor into their CX strategies, how these topics have changed over the past few years, what the future holds for the industry, and how fellow CX leaders can exercise best practices when it comes to the most pressing issues within the industry.

The new Trending Topics page also highlights other EITK offerings to help businesses navigate the impact of COVID-19, including a section dedicated to EITK’s growing COVID-19 Resource Center, which highlights the newly-completed Virtual Briefing Series that was inspired by an initial real-time effort of EITK’s Advisory Board and provides CX-specific solution concepts on a weekly basis regarding a specific hot button topics that CX leaders need addressed during this time of uncertainty. As CX leaders continue to lead together through COVID-19, EITK will continue to grow this webpage to provide the most relevant, up-to-date insights on the areas CX leaders care the most about.

To visit the new CX Trending Topics Webpage, click the link here: https://execsintheknow.com/knowledge-center/cx-trending-topics/

About Execs In The Know

Execs In The Know (EITK) is a global community of customer experience (CX) professionals focused on excellence in customer experience. Execs In The Know gives brands a platform to share and gain insights, benchmark their brand, stay on top of the latest trends in CX, and create lasting relationships with their peers – “Leaders Learning From Leaders.” Execs In The Know holds numerous live events each year including Customer Response Summit, Subject Matter Briefings, Lunch & Learns, and Leadership Dinners. The company also offers industry content and thought leadership through webinars, reports, a quarterly CX insight Magazine, the Know It All “KIA” Online Community, and various social media groups. To learn more about Execs In The Know visit: www.execsintheknow.com.

The post Execs In The Know Releases Customer Experience (CX) Trending Topics Webpage to Help Leaders Improve Brand Experiences appeared first on Execs In The Know.

As the business world ups its competitive game for a digital age, customer satisfaction can no longer be treated as merely nice to have, or as an ambition metric for the corporate scorecard. On the contrary, it is a business essential that will determine the success or failure of brand advocacy, customer loyalty and consumer adoption and as a result, competitive advantage.

Many organizations still find themselves in catch-up mode on their digital transformation strategies. But, regardless of where they are on this shift, it is critical that customer experience (CX) remains at the heart of change and innovation.

Redefining CX for the 21^st century is not and cannot be about technology alone. Building a strategy that combines right-fit technology with customer accessibility and human-led engagement is the only means to address the key challenges that companies face as they endeavor to keep up with higher customer expectations in today’s always-on consumer world.

Concentrix Solv has been designed to respond to exactly those needs by rethinking the traditional customer support journeys. It bypasses the challenges linked to the inflexibility of a premise-based customer management model, such as staffing and meeting digitally-driven customer demand.

Delivering Service and Satisfaction at Scale

Offering always-on service comes at a cost. Too often, the cost/quality conflict reaches a tipping point that defies the return on investment (ROI) and forces a transformation roll-back that ultimately risks degradation of CX, rather than enhancement.

Consider the demand curve over a 24/7 period as it tails after 8-10pm. Traditional operating models struggle to sustain any-time support across global time zones when customer demand reduces in volume, as the ROI to keep service teams available is severely tested. That challenge is exacerbated when it comes to multi-lingual support and more often than not, results in non-English speaking customers being limited to a choice of self service, English-only support or nothing at all.

Automation plays a key role in creating a more dynamic CX and when done well, self-service can be both efficient and effective at customer support. Executed poorly, or in isolation from existing customer support channels however, there is a risk that customers enter a cycle of digital failure, channel shunt and repeated effort. Net promoter score (NPS) subsequently declines, gross contact volumes increase and with them, so does cost.

Why Gig?

In our digital age, the workforce is increasingly mobile and work can often be done from anywhere. With job and location decoupled, there are new opportunities outside of the brick-and-mortar constraints of conventional operations.

By leveraging the autonomy of the gig economy, Solv unlocks access to a talent marketplace that matches knowledgeable advocates, or Solvers, to customer demand to offer support. For the customer this removes the barriers of office hours and offers them the flexibility for true anytime, anywhere support from all around the world at a time that is convenient to them.

From a brand perspective the benefit from the same supply/demand optimization is high. In fact, it increases the customer support that brands have been able to offer in the traditional model with lower-cost-to-serve and faster scalability.

And it is not just consumer behavior that has changed in a digitally driven world, but so too has the workforce of the future.

Companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and TaskRabbit have been leveraging the gig economy for more than a decade, providing qualified people with a means to earn extra money, using the resources they already have. For businesses, the gig economy is a brilliant way to bring on workers only when there is work to be done. And for workers, it provides a flexible, customizable way to bring home a paycheck without the burden of a typical 9-to-5 and all the hidden costs that come with that in commutes, city real estate premiums and long days and nights.

Concentrix Solv harnesses the gig economy for crowd-based customer support and takes CX to new possibilities.

Solvers are ubiquitous. They can solve from anywhere and at a time that is convenient to their lifestyle. Solvers are a crowd of independent contractors, made up of tech enthusiasts, gig economy superstars and expert customer service workers.

Solvers have the flexibility to work on their terms when and where they want to. Solv connects them directly to the brands they love, allowing them to get paid for their expertise, offering something new for the 21^st century employee seeking to rebalance work/life in a way that pre-millennial generations did not have as a cultural priority.

How Solv Works

Solv connects companies to a global talent pool of confident researchers, enthusiastic tech fans and customer advocates who have a passion for brands. Solvers are like-minded consumers and customers of the same products and services used by the customers who need help. They engage asynchronously via messaging to find answers to customer issues and, once solved, they get rewarded for their success. This on-demand model is reciprocated for the brands who choose to operate on Solv, meaning they only pay for satisfied customers. Leveraging positive gig economy functionality into customer service offers increased access, improved satisfaction in an efficient, results-driven pricing model.

Connecting the relationship back to technology is Solv’s smart use of data – Solv uses the high C-Sat responses to guide and teach AI and BOT strategies better, automating where it makes sense for the CX and improving process where it may not.

Raising the Customer Experience Bar

Business isn’t just digital these days—it’s competitively experience-driven. With the vast majority of customers noting that their experience with a brand is equally important to the products and services it offers, there’s no ignoring quality of service. New ways of doing business like Solv are creating exciting opportunities for companies to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. As the standards of customer experience remain high alongside the need to keep costs low, companies will need to keep pace with the technologies that will allow them to compete at scale.

Person-to-person customer care hasn’t gone anywhere—it’s just a human-led digital engagement now.

Learn more and see how Solv could be right for your business:

Contact paula.kennedy@concentrix.com or follow us at www.concentrix.com

The post How Will The Gig Economy Help Us Rethink Customer Support In The Digital Age? appeared first on Execs In The Know.

Our panel of experts fielded questions from our community of corporate executives. The brands’ experiences with AI ranged from taking the first baby steps to mature projects looking to take the next big leap.

The themes that emerged revealed an area of CX that is very much in its infancy. The applications of AI and the strategic decisions it requires were top-of-mind for corporate brands.

“Machines and Humans Have to Work Together”

One of the central questions of the Briefing was how AI and service reps would (or wouldn’t) interact. Will AI replace employees entirely? How can AI provide good or excellent customer service without the empathy of a person?

The service providers agreed that AI won’t necessarily replace employees. AI can make an impact on the bottom line by completing simple and rote tasks, which frees up representatives to deal with more complex issues. Employees are happier, because they’re not working on repetitive cases. Customers are happier, because reps can devote more time to their complex cases.

AI can also work to streamline service processes for customers. Deflecting cases or just getting cases to the right person reduces customer frustration. Customer problems are solved faster, creating efficiencies that also reduce costs. Used correctly, machines can give humans more capacity to do the things only a person can do.

AI Use Cases

Some of the most exciting content came from the service providers’ experience with clients. Their real-world examples included visual recognition and machine learning. One company in the insurance field uses visual recognition to give customers a way to send photos for claims and get feedback. A consumer products organization asks expert users in their community to answer questions about their product. For the questions that appear over and over again, the expert users “teach” the AI to answer.

Machine Learning Implementation

Machine learning is an area many of the brands were interested in exploring. The service providers shared best practices to make machine learning work for CX. One panelist suggested thinking of machine learning as a smart, inexperienced apprentice who doesn’t know anything about your business but can learn. If you give it a large enough set of examples, it learns patterns well. Our service partners emphasized machine learning’s success greatly depends on the data set it uses. If the data set’s quality is questionable, corporate executives are likely to be frustrated with the outcome.

AI Briefing in Atlanta

Each Briefing is unique, with different attendees, panelists, and agendas. Our AI Boston Briefing started off with a panel of expert service providers answering questions from the audience of corporate executives.  The AI Briefing in Atlanta (May 3, 2018), will be kicked off with a stellar presentation from UPS’ Technology and Process Senior Manager, Gil Pongetti. Register today to hear Gil’s perspective on AI, quiz a panel of service providers on best practices and use cases, collaborate with your peers in a corporate-only session, and see on-demand demos of the best CX solutions.

The post Boston’s Artificial Intelligence Briefing Explored AI Use Cases and More appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The following is a guest blog post by Jeff Toister,  Founder of Toister Performance Solutions, Inc. Click here to view the original post on the Toister Solutions website. 

The post Three Social Media Trends in Customer Care appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The most successful weapon to fight customer attrition is creating a personalized customer experience that is unique to your business and the individual customer. According to Accenture, the “Switching Economy” is up 29 percent since 2010 as companies struggle to keep up with the non-stop customer. Does the loyal customer still exist? The answer is yes. Companies with a customer centric culture coupled with a customer experience strategy can create loyalty. Loyalty in turn advances a higher percentage of repeat customers.

The Customer Experience trends for 2016 are:

1 – Self-Serve Help Will Be The First Choice

Consumers choose to find answers to their questions using an assortment of self-serve options. For 2016, companies should ensure their FAQ’s are completely up-to-date, featured prominently on their website and listed as a menu option on the IVR. Customer service associates are primarily answering questions based on data provided in a company reference guide; sharing the same information with consumers will help them find answers faster.

2 – Reliance on Community Forums

Companies and consumers are relying on community forums to find fixes. Super users frequently have more experience and insight than agents on the nuances of specific products and services. Companies have come to embrace third party experts as an expansion of their service offerings and in 2016 customers will rely on community forums more than ever. These forums will help support the trend towards self-serve.

3 – Consumers Find Social Media Posts Get Speedy Responses

Consumers have learned their issues are resolved almost instantaneously when they post complaints on social media. Why should consumers take the time to send an email voicing their frustrations when a response may take a week to receive? The good news for the consumer; they have the company’s attention. The bad news is the world now has a record of a quality defect or poor service delivery.

4 – Multi-Channel Servicing Will Continue To Increase

The 80’s were a simpler time with two primary channels of communication: face-to-face and phone. Now, companies must respond to and keep track of email, chat, text, apps, etc. Consumers are not only using multi-channels to communicate, they are vaulting from one to the other making it difficult, almost impossible, to monitor and serve consumers. It’s an especially laborious when company budgets remain tight and the cost for technology increases exponentially. However, technology now exists to get a snapshot of a customer’s channel history and companies must invest in order to avoid customer frustration. Customers do not like to repeatedly explain their issue and recount a chain of events.

5 – Predictive and Personalized Technology Is Required For A Good Customer Experience

Technology to enhance the customer experience is not sufficient unless it is predictive and personalized. Consumers are pleased when they call a company for an order status and the company’s systems recognize who is calling and can anticipate their inquiry. However, erase the mindset that using technology to force self-serve is a positive outcome. Employing technology to make the customer experience easier and faster will become the new norm. Smart technology saves time and enhances the journey.

6 – Voice Recognition Is On The Rise

Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) and Apple’s Siri rely on voice commands. Speech technology has come far and is continually being perfected. Typing your search query into a browser will become passé; asking for information and seeking advice through the spoken word will become the norm. This trend coupled with the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence will make companies want to invest more in these technologies.

7- Wearable Technology is Not Just Costume Jewelry

Wearable technology will allow retailers to provide a level of service specific to individual consumers. While there are tremendous privacy concerns, consumers will eventually regard this technology as must have and not an invasion. Wearables will also allow a company to recognize loyal customers and reward them with incentives based on their buying preferences, gender or age. Emotions can be detected through bio chemical feedback. How a company responds using the data will determine if there is a positive impact on the relationship between the customer and the brand.

8- Video Chat For Pre-Sales Support Will Increase

While the use of chat was one of the major trends for 2015, video chat, especially for pre-sales support, will increase. A picture is worth a 1000 words. When video was first developed, its primary purpose was to help create a more personalized experience. Now, videos of common fixes or cool features will not only provide a better customer experience but increase sales by higher close ratios.

9 – Apps for All

More companies will invest in customized apps for their business. The app will make it easier to track consumer purchases and channel activity. The app will also be used to promote new product offerings or incentives to loyal consumers. As reported by Brett Relander in his Marketing Trends for 2016, he highlights Krispy Kreme and their Red Light App notifying customers where hot donuts right out of the oven are located. Companies will have to keep the information up to date and fresh, incorporating innovative and engaging features to keep savvy customers interested.

10- Even Faster is the Latest Innovation in Customer Response

Now Walmart is experimenting with drones. What would Sam Walton think? We live in the age of the instant economy where speed is a differentiator. However, consumers will no longer just rate the company based on product delivery turnaround time but want to do business with companies who also have speedy turnaround time to resolve issues and answer questions. Answering emails 24 hours later is literally yesterday’s news.

11 – Incorporating Social Responsibility is Part of the New Norm Business Model

Millennials lead the generation pack with their desire to buy from companies who are socially responsible. TOMS sells shoes and their mission is “One for one, a belief that getting and giving can be one.” They walk the talk by donating one shoe for every shoe that’s purchased. They call their loyal customers fans and encourage them to incorporate TOMS into their worlds. The business model core is giving. They don’t have their corporate philanthropy in the back office. It’s front and center.

12 – Protecting Customer Information is Paramount

Consumers expect their data to be secure. Companies who fail to protect consumer data have lost significant revenue in the short term and loyalty long term. It’s not only frightening for consumer information to be comprised, it’s a hassle to obtain replacement cards and change automatic recurring charges. Some large U.S. retailers are stepping up efforts to use personal identification numbers or PINS and new credit cards are embedded with computer chips to reduce counterfeit card fraud. But the banks are resisting change and don’t want to invest in the new technology. More than 80 countries around the world use chip technology but the U.S is lagging behind. Less than one percent of credit cards issued in the U.S. have chips.

13- The Entire Household Is Included In The Customer Service Family

Verizon Wireless, Amazon Prime and Netflix understand the value of marketing to the entire household and are building data based on the individual members of their Family Plans. The model provides seamless service for everyone involved and makes it easy to hand the baton from one generation to the next. Marketing to households is now; extending customer service to family members based on their unique preferences will be the norm.

14 – Customers Demand an Authentic Response

Companies have finally learned that social media is just another channel of consumer communication. When social media gained its foothold, companies were in semi-panic mode and hired experts to monitor and respond to posts. Fast forward, companies are taking back responsibility to respond to their consumers and employing their own agents. Consumers are not looking for “corporate speak” but friendly and personal dialogs. Representatives are being encouraged to evaluate the characteristics of posts and respond in the same tone and messaging.

15 – The Leveraging of Human Emotions

There are new technologies emerging everyday. But keep in mind that customers are people first and customers second. Perhaps now more than ever, it is vital to listen to a customer and understand his or her underlying emotion, being tuned in not only to words but what is behind them. No one walks into a store, clicks on a site or calls a contact center unless they are “hoping” for something. Yes, everyone wants a pilot to be experienced and technically competent to fly the plane but when he or she welcomes passengers, assures that the flight will be smooth and on time, the stage is set for a good experience. People feel comfortable, relaxed and hopeful for a good flight. Extend that analogy to the marketplace. Technology will always be in flux, but emotions remain a constant. Those companies that can incorporate the human component into their service design will be more successful.

16 – The New Era of The Endangered Customer

The second decade of the 21st century is witnessing a convergence of forces moving customer loyalty to the edge of extinction. There has never been more competition. Customers are empowered by increasing control over the retail process, as the digital, global marketplace delivers ever greater choice and saves them time, money, and hassle. Consumers are enticed by third-party resellers like Amazon and Google. Start-ups such as Uber did not exist before 2009 and the company is now worth over $50 billion. The smart phone provides our communication and entertainment and is the vehicle for competitive marketers to reach out and touch your customers anytime, anyplace. The challenge for companies and brands across all service categories and channels today, from ecommerce, contact centers and brick-and-mortar, is to engender loyalty – but the loyal customer is an endangered species.

It’s almost Turkey time, the Christmas season, and beginning of a new year. Have your teams huddle around the white boards and brainstorm about how prepared they are for the latest trends. Creating the quintessential customer experience is the differentiator between your company and your competitor. Remember that understanding how the customer feels is just as important as what they are saying.

The post Customer Experience Trends for 2016 appeared first on Execs In The Know.