2019 was a year of change. Industries reinvented themselves, technology connected us, and politics swept the country. But more importantly we aimed to learn and grow with the world around us.
We at TTEC want to celebrate not only our great achievements but how we’ve been able to witness a great shift in what it means to create amazing experiences as we usher in a new decade.
Awards
We had a lot to be happy for this year. Among them, we took home six Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service, including a Gold in Contact Center or Customer Service Outsourcing Provider. We were recognized by CRM Magazine as a 2019 Service Leader in Contact Center Outsourcing, and we received Customer Care Partner of the Year by Cisco. It was also incredibly rewarding to be named in the Best Company for Diversity 2019 list by Comparably.
In addition, in Europe, TTEC Krakow won the Gold Award for Outsourced Contact Centre of the Year and TTEC Europe brought home Silver for Best Pan-European Contact Centre in the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (ECCCAs). And our APAC region was awarded the Best Employer in the Philippines by Kincentric for the second year in a row.
TTEC news and partnerships
It was also a year of new partnerships and opportunities as TTEC continued to expand its influence in the customer experience space.
In November we announced that we will become the first authorized reseller of Webex Contact Center Enterprise by Cisco. The expanded partnership is designed to transition more large enterprises and government agencies into the cloud.
LivePerson also partnered with TTEC to disrupt the legacy contact center ecosystem with digital engagement, messaging, and AI solutions. This represented a move to recognize customers’ changing expectations toward apps and messaging to meet our users where they are.
2019 industry trends
Even the most stubborn, change-proof industries felt the winds of change this decade. As omnichannel and other digital capabilities proved to be an incredible force, we still saw the market’s need for human experiences stay strong.
From retail to automotive here are some industry trends we saw in 2019:
- Winning the last mile: As e-commerce giants are making deliveries shorter, users want real-time support on any channel to match the speed of service.
- AR and VR are the new reality: Augmented and virtual reality tools are becoming cheaper, and companies are looking to use them to expand their storytelling and replicate in store experiences.
- Commit to a bigger purpose: Brands are recognizing the value of taking a stand on social, political, and environmental issues to resonate with consumer’s values.
- Rebuilding trust: Fraud, data leaks, and digital theft were a big concern this year (and decade). More banks are upgrading their tech and fraud prevention techniques to regain trust. Others are providing educational content for safe financial practices.
- Emotional analytics: To build on the need for empathy, institutions are using emotional analytics to understand how customers are feeling to treat them as individuals, serving both their emotional needs as well as product needs.
- Make it mobile: The financial service apps that are winning are those that allow seamless transactions and a smooth user interface without switching channels.
- Experiential travel: Social media had introduced us to the most unique corners of the globe and is driving solo travel. Travel agencies are capitalizing on this by creating genuine and interactive moments that immersive travelers with new experiences.
- Awareness on the rise: Travelers are becoming more aware of how their tourism is impacting the environment, animals, and cultures. People are looking for experiences that positively affect the communities they visit.
- Tech made it easier: Organizations are automating simple queries with self-service tools to make booking and confirmations easier, freeing human agents up to help with the more meaningful and stressful aspects that come with traveling.
Automotive:
- Rise of electric vehicles: Increased environmental awareness has reduced the attractiveness of car ownership, creating a need for new vehicle launces to show their positive impact on the world.
- Dividing technologies: In part to the shifting dynamics of car ownership and regulations, the impact of self-driving technologies is further driving the divide of what automobiles mean to people. Whereas ride services are making urban transportation even more appealing in urban settings.
- Experiences across all channels: Automakers are looking to get a piece of the omnichannel pie as well. Many organizations are integrating apps that interact both with the vehicles and customer service more efficiently.
The future
2020 will be a wild ride as messaging, intelligent automation, and digital transformation take over.
We predict that the future will hold a special space for technologies as 5G lays the way for more powerful CX, RPA, and conversational AI connects us together and it brings in the need for more skillful associates to use these tools in the best way possible.
But we are very much staying close to the fundamentals that make us human. There will be a deeper demand for personalization as more organizations format their offerings based on data in a responsible way. And we will need to identify more friction points at various steps of the customer journey to make it as frictionless as possible.
Staying ahead of these trends mean not only embracing innovation but finding better ways to use the technology, data and operations at our disposal.
Every year comes with new resolutions, but nothing is quite as promising as a new decade. As we go into 2020 let’s learn from the past and be ready for the change of the future. One CX at a time. Happy holidays everyone!
