{"id":1472,"date":"2021-05-18T15:45:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T15:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.replicant.ai\/where-customer-service-and-support-is-headed-in-2021-and-beyond\/"},"modified":"2022-11-01T01:27:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T01:27:40","slug":"where-customer-service-and-support-is-headed-in-2021-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.replicant.com\/blog\/where-customer-service-and-support-is-headed-in-2021-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Customer Service and Support Is Headed in 2021 and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way we do business, and customer experience and support is no exception. Over the past year, most workers relocated to home offices and kitchen tables, consumers increased their online purchases, and virtual meetings and events became commonplace. COVID-19 catapulted digital transformation over a very short period.<\/p>\n

True digital transformation is more than adopting digital tools though. It\u2019s changing the way you fundamentally do business by \u201cbecoming a forward-thinking<\/a>, adaptable, and customer-centric company.\u201d According to Gartner, \u201cThe biggest barrier to customer service success is moving past the traditional reactive paradigm of the function. There is an acceleration within organizations to become more proactive as they increase their digital footprint and launch new channels.\u201d[1] However, in making this shift, organizations are facing many dilemmas. How they navigate these dilemmas will influence the transformation of customer service from 2021 forward.<\/p>\n

Engaging more customer types at increased touchpoints<\/h2>\n

In the coming years, there will be different types of customers. Customer service leaders will have to ask, is our end user a person or a thing? The answer is probably both.<\/p>\n

According to Gartner 2021 report, \u201cIn the Internet of Things (IoT), billions of connected devices will gain the ability to act as customers. Things will evolve from being programmatic executioners of simple tasks to become more intelligent, adaptable and able to choose from multiple options. Finally, they will become fully autonomous, able to decide and take actions independent of humans.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n

This evolution of providing customer service to both humans and connected things will also change customer service\u2019s role in the customer life journey. Customers expect flawless customer service while demanding convenience. They assume companies will understand and anticipate their needs. By extending beyond the customer\u2019s service journey and becoming a part of the customer\u2019s life journey, customer service organizations \u201cwill set themselves up to proactively take a bigger share of wallet, grow revenue and create more customer loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the increase in connected devices, it\u2019s becoming easier to create multiexperiences (MX) that deliver consistent and personalized customer touchpoints across the customer\u2019s life journey. In Gartner 2021 report, it is predicted that \u201cBy 2024, organizations providing a \u201ctotal experience\u201d will outperform competitors by 25% in satisfaction metrics for both customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX).\u201d [1]<\/p>\n

Designing for a proactive, self-service customer journey<\/h2>\n

When designing a proactive customer service strategy, organizations should design around the customers\u2019 needs. There should be a \u201cvaluable reason for the contact\u201d and\u201ccontinuous journeys that are responsive to continuous change.\u201d \u201cBy 2025, proactive outbound interactions<\/a> will overtake reactive inbound actions.\u201d By providing proactive touchpoints throughout the customer\u2019s journey, organizations can significantly reduce their customer service costs<\/a> while increasing customer engagement and first-contact resolution.<\/p>\n

Organizations must also understand that \u201c[c]ustomer-issue-resolution-seeking behavior is changing.\u201d Many customers use non-company-owned channels, such as YouTube, for issue resolution. Also, younger generations prefer self-service options to traditional customer service models.<\/p>\n

Although the demand for self-service continues to rise, not all customer service issues are appropriate for self-service channels. It\u2019s important to remember some still demand a live agent\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

In updating their customer service strategy, organizations will begin to pivot customer service from being a cost center to a profit center. The pandemic and the resulting increase in digital interactions forced customer service organizations to become \u201cde facto leaders in digital customer engagement\u201d and take \u201cgreater responsibility for the customer relationship and strategic goals such as loyalty and growth.\u201d Because of this, customer service departments will blend service, sales, and marketing to build teams around customers\u2019 needs and create a more dynamic customer experience.<\/p>\n

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