2022 was a challenging year. While technology companies struggled to retain talent and grow their business without breaking the bank, high-tech brands were looking ahead to the new year and sizing up the challenges and opportunities 2023 will bring.
Most of those challenges centre around one reoccurring theme: while customers want interactions to be faster, easier, and more personalised than ever, companies are faced with lingering pressure to cut costs wherever possible.
So, how do you connect your CX to what your customers want, while still addressing financial pressures? A TTEC analysis of more than 1 billion conversations found some of the top customer intents for the technology sector are:
- technical support for device malfunctions
- enquiries about new products or features
- payment or subscription-related enquiries
- questions about self-service options
Across all these intents, high-tech customers increasingly want to find the information and answers they need themselves. In fact, more than two-thirds of customers (69%) want to resolve as many issues as possible on their own, through self-service methods, according to Zendesk. By giving them what they want, you can free up your associates. Intelligent automation lets shoppers handle simple, transactional tasks on their own, freeing your associates up to focus on more complex interactions that need a human touch. Brands that invest in these types of tools should see great ROI.
Along with traditional self-service solutions, augmented reality is poised to become a become a bigger component of self-service options in 2023 and beyond as consumers seek more immersive ways to interact with brands. This is bringing many opportunities for tech companies to get creative. No matter the tech, blending it with people in the right way can help you improve your customer journey, retain top employees, and keep costs in line.
Blend associates + automation seamlessly
Technology isn’t just what you sell, it’s also critical to ensuring your employees are well-equipped to deliver the type of frictionless experiences your customers expect. Intelligent automation needs to be a big part of your game plan in 2023.
When done well, automation doesn’t take the place of employees—it empowers them. Most customer service associates (88%) believe that AI will improve their work, rather than replace associates themselves, according to Customer Contact Week. Your employees aren’t scared of more automation; they’re craving it.
It’s important to use automation to deliver better customer experiences, but it can improve employee experience as well. Integrating AI-powered bots into your associate training, for instance, can identify what’s working and what’s not within your contact centre. These bots give associates first-hand, real-world experience dealing with an AI-powered “customer” to enhance their learning and improve contact centre KPIs.
These are just a couple of the trends we’re predicting. For more on what to expect in 2023, the insights driving these trends, and what it means for your business, check out our strategy guide, “CX Trends 2023: 10 predictions shaping the evolution of customer and employee experience.”
