Top 5 Trends In Customer Service

 “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.”

– Jeff Bezos

According to a report, 47% of consumers believe that a fast response to a complaint is what they see as an ideal customer service!

Given how companies these days are spread across a variety of channels right from brick and mortar stores to the web, they must seamlessly integrate these channels, systems and communications to give consumers a friction-free experience.

For instance, ecommerce behemoth Amazon uses some innovative customer service strategies. These include keeping a vacant chair signifying customers in the board room, mandatory attendance of call-center training for every employee among the few.

As the year 2017 comes barreling towards us, let’s take a look at the 5 customer service trends that are going to reign supreme.

Omnichannel is Requisite

According to a survey, there was 89% customer retention by companies who had an omni-channel customer engagement. As connected devices proliferate, omnichannel is going to see an increased interest from marketing managers and customers alike.  In 2017 companies should ensure that their omni-channel customer service is strongly integrated and consistent across all channels.

Big Data is Getting Bigger

Companies have access to a humongous amount of data whether it is picked from the buying patterns and monitoring trends or in the form of direct feedback from customers. The key is not just to use that data sensibly, but also to know what part of big data makes more sense to look at. Organizations, after collecting data at various touch points, must use algorithms and customer metrics in order to improve customer relations and reduce complaints.

Personalization is Trending

One of the most powerful trends in customer service—personalization—will continue to be popular in 2017 as well. This is proven by a study, wherein 76% customers state that how customer service is rendered is a clear representation of how the company values them.  Today’s organizations are capable of capturing more usable data on individual customers such as their likes and dislikes, buying patterns, preferences and more. This helps in offering a consistent personalized service, thereby setting a standard of care for your customers.

IoT Revolutionizes Customer Service

According to Forrester, by 2021 the Internet of Things (IoT) will transform several companies from product-based to service based. This means that IoT in 2017 will help proactively resolve common issues like long wait times, inflexibility and more. IoT devices can self-monitor not just for assurance of quality in their manufacturing and delivery, but also predicting malfunctions, potential breakdowns as well as the identification of opportunities to upsell. As a result, IoT would help build a long lasting and loyal rapport with customers.

Technology Enhances Customer Experience

Customer service in 2017 will have a lot of dependence on emerging technology:

Messaging Support

2016 saw the growth of messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, which is why popular companies like KLM and Rogers began making use of these in their business. Thus, based on customer feedback, 2017 will be the year wherein messaging support touches its peak.

Chatbot Support

While ChatBots received an ample amount of limelight in ’16, it would be rather interesting to see how companies experiment with these in the coming year.

Interactive email

Interactive emails allow users to check options, for example drop-down menus as well as make decisions within the email itself.

What other customer service trends do you see emerging in 2017? Let us know in the comment section below!

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