As digital transformation irrevocably alters the business landscape, customer experience (CX) has become the No. 1 priority driving service and other activities in the contact center. In fact, contact center and customer experience (CX) leaders surveyed recently by Aberdeen prioritize adapting to customer needs over everything else when setting and managing their digital strategies.
Aberdeen surveyed more than 1,300 business leaders about their customer service operations. Among the key findings, which are detailed in Aberdeen’s recent report, “AI in CX,” are three building blocks best-in-class firms are using to maximize their CX results, boost operational efficiency and improve their competitive position:
Building Block #1: Master Data to Better Understand and Address Customer Expectations
With evolving customer expectations for a frictionless experience, organizations must have access to a holistic view of the customer, and data is the key to doing so effectively.
“At its core, omni-channel CX programs are designed to ensure that the unique needs of each client are met on the channel of their choice. This means minimizing the risk of using poor/ inaccurate data that creates inefficiencies,” according to Aberdeen.
Firms are increasingly using AI-powered solutions that enable them to turn data into insights. The Aberdeen survey found that among best-in-class organizations:
- 77% create models of customer conversations to map customer journeys (compared to 51% among all other firms).
- 77% automatically tailor customer journeys based on the context of previous interactions (compared to 49%).
- 69% use analytics to detect correlation between agent activities and customer satisfaction (compared to 50%).
Machine learning allows organizations to quickly and accurately analyze large volumes of interactions across channels (including structured as well as unstructured data), enabling contact center leaders to take action to deliver a frictionless journey.
Building Block #2: Optimize Your CX Activities With Data, Analytics and AI
Despite a proliferation of data—from each voice and text interaction companies have with customers across all channels—organizations still struggle to use data to achieve their goals. One in three leaders (34%) say this is due to insufficient data, followed closely by data quality (33% of respondents).
“That’s because not all the data companies have in their systems is relevant for every interaction,” according to Aberdeen. “Furthermore, the data firms may have in their systems may be outdated and not reflective of current customer behavior and needs.”
The Aberdeen survey found that best-in-class organizations are 2.7 times more likely to use customer data to identify the channels that are best-suited to resolving the issue the customer is contacting them about. They’re also 82% more likely to use automation to then route customers through the right channel to address the issue in the most effective way possible.
Building Block #3: Hyper-Personalize CX Activities Across All Channels
Half of all contact centers use nine or more channels to serve customers, which makes it increasingly important for organizations to be able to connect the unstructured and structured data from all channels to create a holistic view of the customers—and use this view to tailor each interaction with a customer.
Firms are increasingly using AI capabilities to accomplish these goals. According to the report, 47% of contact centers currently use predictive analytics, and another 31% plan to do so. Four in 10 currently use prescriptive intelligence (with 31% planning to do so, 36% are currently leveraging machine learning (and another 37% plan to do so), 29% are currently using automation (with 34% planning to do so) and nearly one in four are using AI (with 27% planning to do so).
Learn more about how best-in-class firms are driving CX improvements, boosting operational efficiency and realizing a competitive advantage in the Aberdeen report or find out how NICE Enlighten AI is making the contact center smarter by enabling a complete, objective and automated analysis of every interaction.