In 2022, there are more pathways to engage with businesses than ever before. Social media, chat, instant messaging, and apps have all been added to the menu along with traditional options like voice and email.
And while this may be good news for the consumer, it has created fresh challenges for contact centers, which must decide which channels to embrace and which to eschew. Making the wrong call could lead to disastrous results.
“It’s important to remember that offering more choices to the consumer doesn't necessarily translate into better choices,” says Keith Dawson, vice president and research director at Ventana Research.
Dawson and I addressed the multichannel debate in a recent webinar, detailing the pros and cons of each channel and offering suggestions for deciding which is right for your business.
The stakes are high. Ventana estimates that by 2024, most customer interactions will be over digital channels―not voice calls―for the first time in history.
CX expectations are rising as millennials, the first digital-native generation, demand options beyond phone calls and email. Faced with the “multichannel scramble” caused by the proliferation of mobile devices and the accelerated transition to digital during the pandemic, contact centers are under pressure to meet the consumer on their channel of choice, Dawson says.
“Today’s consumer is more likely to use the quality of service as a gauge for whether they should be doing business with an organization,” Dawson says. “They're a lot more willing to bolt for a competitor if they have a bad experience. And, in short, they want more of everything.”
The Trends Shaping Organizations’ Choice of Channels
There are several CX trends leaders need to be aware of when considering which channels are right for their contact center:
- Organizations are transitioning from reactive to proactive CX. With the aid of artificial intelligence, more businesses are adopting CX systems that enable them to reach out to customers before problems arise, not after. “The more proactively you keep your customers informed, the less likely they are to come back at you with an expensive interaction,” Dawson says.
- In-app interactions are increasing in popularity. It’s clear there’s a tremendous opportunity for the channels that are native to mobile devices. Their interface is already on the device. There’s no need to download and update an app or maintain a separate log-in.
- Business are optimizing, not streamlining, the channels they offer. In 10 years, expect businesses to have to consider even more channels, not fewer.
- Self-service channels will grow in popularity and usability. AI has improved the quality of self-service (automated) channels immensely, making them more attractive to deploy. Early surveys indicate that AI-powered bots can do the job of a human agent better under a specific set of circumstances.
- A customer's channel of choice is dynamic and situational. While a customer may have a preferred channel, it may not be the right channel in all cases—for example, using SMS to complete a complex business process. That makes it imperative for organizations to help guide the customer to the channel likely to deliver the best outcome—successfully resolving the issue is ultimately more important to the customer than the channel it’s resolved through.
How to Meet Customers on Their Channels of Choice
A few key steps can help organizations meet customers where they are on their channels of choice.
- Be selective and purposeful about channel choice. Consider demographics, the type of product offered, volume/demand, and the complexity of the service before committing to a channel strategy. Making the wrong channel choices carries real risk, Dawson says, as it can impact reputation, customer retention, and more.
- Don’t abandon voice just yet. “It still represents at least a component of the majority of interactions, and I think it will for quite a while,” Dawson says. Calls remain the best option for fielding complaints and dealing with complex problems.
- Understand that email still has a role to play. Because email addresses are the most common customer identifiers, email remains the No. 1 option for business-to-customer interactions.
- Think of Google as a channel unto itself. The planet’s most popular search engine remains the most common entry point onto business platforms. As such, contact centers should be part of the discussion when discussing search, with Google considered a channel of its own.
- Take geography into account. Knowing where the customers you’re trying to reach reside can have a big impact on channel selection. WhatsApp, for example, has a massive global reach.
- Know what you’re selling. If the product or service is more valuable, customers are more likely to want less automation and more person-to-person interaction.
- Leverage AI-powered analytics. Businesses that get to know their clients are best prepared to know which channels will serve them most effectively.
The key to successful channel management rests in balancing the needs of the customer with the goals of the contact center. For example, businesses should be trying to funnel clients away from costly calls and toward more effective―and cost-effective―channels like automated chat. Other ways to direct consumers to preferred channels include:
- Using website widgets
- Adding a button to social media pages
- Including QR codes in marketing materials
- Sharing direct link to other channels (using email as jump-off point)
Ultimately, Dawson says, it’s all about what can be automated and what can’t. Context must be considered, and AI analytics are the best way of identifying that context early in the process.
“Organizations really need to think about what optimal means to them,” Dawson says. “Then you need analytics to define the right balance between convenience, speed, and costs.”
The lesson when it comes to channels? Think quality over quantity, and always remember to balance the customer’s channel of choice with what channel works best for your business and its bottom line.