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    The Future of Customer Service: AI-Powered Contact Centers

    A short, engaging subtitle that hooks the reader and summarises the article's core message. After spending a couple of decades talking about customer experience, one thing has become clear: organisations are more eager than ever to discuss this topic.
    Software / Web Developer

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    | Image caption goes here AI-powered virtual assistant interacting with a customer

    What is quality customer experience?

    It is one thing to talk about customer experience though and another to excel at it. As someone who is known to be a tad obsessed with CX, I’ve been fortunate to learn a thing or two in my career about not only what outstanding customer experience looks like but how to bring that vision to life.

    In recent times, that has included working with one of Australia’s leading department store chains to transform their customer experience and while I’m not able to reveal its name, I’m more than happy to share aspects of our journey together to help other organisations achieve their own CX goals.

    Given the millions of web pages dedicated to the CX conversation, it is fair to say that thousands of people have already shared their thoughts on this subject. Countless words. Lengthy definitions. Complex insights. I prefer to keep things simple, as evidenced by what I told our retail client when we first sat down to discuss working together.

     

    “Customer experience is all about setting expectations and delivering on them our help to reinvent the way their contact.”

    Jane Doe
    Director of Customer Insights

     

    On this occasion, the client wanted our help to reinvent the way their contact centres engaged with their customers. They were not as close with their current service delivery approach and team as they wanted to be and, in turn, had lost touch with being close to their customers.

    And this is where we do things differently in our search for CX excellence.

     

    How to design for customer experience

    It is one thing to talk about customer experience though and another to excel at it. As someone who is known to be a tad obsessed with CX, I’ve been fortunate to learn a thing or two in my career about not only what outstanding customer experience looks like but how to bring that vision to life.

    We hold up a mirror to clients

    One of the key things we have done for our clients is to help them understand how failing to meet expectations impacts CX. An example? Online orders for the latest gadgets were flooding in. Customers were excited. There was a genuine buzz around the brand - right up until that the product didn’t come out on time. Cue a horde of upset and angry customers inundating the contact centre.

    Quality customer experience helps brands deliver value and that comes when customers feel valued and achieve the right resolution when issues arise. That did not happen on this occasion and we held up a mirror to our client and explained how they had set an expectation and failed to deliver on it. Crucially, we also went a step further and helped the client address why the product had not come out on time.

    A commitment to customers typically involves a complex line of people and a myriad of contributing factors. In this instance, there were suppliers, logistics teams and a range of delivery options (eg: couriers, parcel pick-up, drop shippers) and we helped identify where the breakdown had occurred and provided recommendations to close the gap between expectations and what is being delivered.

    We use tech to handle interactions faster and cheaper

    Our client knew things had to change. Customers wanted more low-effort channels. Agents were spending far too long on calls. Their contact centre featured complex pathways but lacked real-time insights. It was an environment designed for poor CX – but we changed that.

    We completed an in-depth analysis of key call drivers and workforce management processes. We undertook a benchmarking exercise to understand what other large Australian retailers were doing in this space. We then used people, process and technology to reimagine the future of customer experience for our client. 

    Here is what our findings helped us achieve:
    • Long customer wait times averaging 8-12 minutes
    • High operational costs from phone-based support
    • Limited agent capacity during peak periods
    • Difficulty scaling operations for seasonal demands
    • Low first-contact resolution rates

     

    Here is what our findings helped us achieve:
    • Long customer wait times averaging 8-12 minutes
    • High operational costs from phone-based support
    • Limited agent capacity during peak periods
    • Difficulty scaling operations for seasonal demands
    • Low first-contact resolution rates

     

     

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    What is quality customer experience?

    It is one thing to talk about customer experience though and another to excel at it. As someone who is known to be a tad obsessed with CX, I’ve been fortunate to learn a thing or two in my career about not only what outstanding customer experience looks like but how to bring that vision to life.

    In recent times, that has included working with one of Australia’s leading department store chains to transform their customer experience and while I’m not able to reveal its name, I’m more than happy to share aspects of our journey together to help other organisations achieve their own CX goals.

    Given the millions of web pages dedicated to the CX conversation, it is fair to say that thousands of people have already shared their thoughts on this subject. Countless words. Lengthy definitions. Complex insights. I prefer to keep things simple, as evidenced by what I told our retail client when we first sat down to discuss working together.

     

    Key takeaway

    AI is revolutionizing customer service by automating tasks, personalizing interactions, and providing real-time support. Embrace AI to enhance customer experiences and drive business growth.

     

    CX excellence by the numbers (3Col)

    The future of customer service is undeniably intertwined with artificial intelligence. As AI technologies continue to mature, we can expect even more sophisticated applications that further blur the line between human and automated service.

     

    41%

    Reduction in service efforts

    41%

    Reduction in service efforts

    41%

    Reduction in service efforts

     

    CX excellence by the numbers (2Col)

    The future of customer service is undeniably intertwined with artificial intelligence. As AI technologies continue to mature, we can expect even more sophisticated applications that further blur the line between human and automated service.

     

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