omnichannel accelerates contact center ... - serenova.com...figure 2: top success metrics...

©NemertesResearch2018www.nemertes.comDN7326 1

Robin Gareiss President and Founder Nemertes Research

Omnichannel Accelerates Contact Center Success Factors New customers up 60%, customer ratings rise 52%

Q4 2018

©Nemertes Research 2018 www.nemertes.com DN7326 2

Table of Contents

ExecutiveSummary.......................................................................................................................3

DCXPrimer....................................................................................................................................4

DCXTaxonomy.........................................................................................................................4 CustomerRelationshipManagement................................................................................................4 ContactCenter...................................................................................................................................4 CustomerService...............................................................................................................................5 CustomerEngagementManagement................................................................................................5 CustomerSatisfaction/Success..........................................................................................................5

DigitalCustomerFrustration..........................................................................................................5

EnterOmnichannel........................................................................................................................5

OmnichannelSuccessMetrics.................................................................................................6

AgentEffect.............................................................................................................................7

SecuringtheBudget......................................................................................................................7

BestPractices................................................................................................................................8

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................8

©NemertesResearch2018www.nemertes.comDN73263

Executive Summary AsorganizationsincreasinglyfocusonimprovingtheDigitalCustomerExperience(DCX),oneinitiativethatisdeliveringmeasurablesuccessistheadditionofomnichannelcapabilitiestodigitalcommunicationschannels.Byintegratingcustomerdata(transactionhistory,callnotes,channeltracing,etc.)witheachdigitalchannelinreal-timeandhistorically,companiescanreducecustomerfrustration.Whencallsaretransferred,conversationsareescalatedfromlivechattovoicetovideo,orcustomerscallbackaboutanunresolvedissue,alltheirdata,conversations,andactionsfollowthemsotheagentshavecontextofpreviousinteractions.Theagentorbotcanreviewthathistorytoreducethecustomerfrustrationofrepeatingthesameinformationoverandoveragain.InNemertes’2018-19DigitalCustomerExperienceresearchstudyofnearly700globalITandbusinessleaders,weaskedITleadersfortheiromnichannelsuccessmetrics.Insummary,wefoundthefollowing:

• Acrossallsuccessmetrics,companiessawa31%averageimprovementwhentheyadoptedomnichannelintheircontactcenters.(Thesuccessmetricsincludeincreasedrevenue,decreasedcost,improvementincustomerratings,increaseincustomerswon/decreaseincustomerslost,andimprovementinagentturnover)

• Theyincreasedthenumberofcustomerswonby60%• Customerratingsimprovedby52%• Customersusedself-servicein49%moretransactionsorinteractions• Improvementininagentturnoverrates

Fortunately,ITandbusinessleadershaveprioritizedDCXinitiatives,sobudgetdoesexistforthesetypesofinitiativesatmostorganizations.Whathelpssecurethebudget,though,isdatashowingwhereproblemsexistandhowtoresolvethem.Analyticstoolshelpdemonstratetheneedforomnichannel.Onceimplemented,analyticsprovidefurthervaluebydocumentingsuccessandpointingoutareasofconcern.Asorganizationscontinueontheiromnichannelpaths,afewbestpracticeshelpimprovesuccess.Theyincludeusingcloud-basedplatforms,leveragingopenAPIs,andmakingsureintegrationappliesnotonlytothecontactcenterprovider’schannels,butalsotothirdparties.Giventheinterestinartificialintelligence,providerAIroadmapsalsoareamust-have.


DCX Primer DigitalCustomerExperience(DCX)strategiesincludeprogramsthatleveragetechnologiesthataimtoimprovecustomerexperience.Mostcompaniesareusingtechnologiesforavarietyofcustomer-facinginitiatives,buttheyarenotalwayspartofabroaderDCXstrategy.(Infact,companies,onaverage,saytheyuse28.7appsforDCX.)Today,36%ofcompanieshaveaDCXstrategyunderway,butanother49%areplanningtohavetheirstrategiescompletedbytheendof2019.Othersareevaluating,butonly1%ofresearchparticipantssaytheywillnotdevelopaDCXstrategy.Restassured,DCXisaveryimportantpriorityorbusinessleaders.DCX Taxonomy

DCXinvolvesmanytechnologies—someargue,fartoomany.That’swhyit’simportanttounderstandthetechnologytaxonomy,andbuildthestrategyaroundthosethataremostimportanttothebusinessgoals.Figure1illustratesthevarioustechnologyareasinvolvedwithaDCXstrategy.ThecoreareasofDCXareshowninsidethesolidblackbox;ancillaryareasareoutsidetheblackboxandincludeUCCplatformandworkflowautomation.

Figure1:CreatingaSolidCustomerExperience

Customer Relationship Management CRMtoolsmanagecustomercontacts,activities,opportunities,interactions,history,andrevenue.Theycreatereportsfortrending,campaigns,salesreps,andmore.Theyalsomayincludeinternalcollaborationcapabilities,suchaspersistentchat.

Contact Center Contactcenterplatformsenableagent-orbot-basedcommunicationswithcustomers(internalorexternal)usingnumerouscommunicationsmethods.Thiscategoryalso

W

CreatingaSolidCustomerExperience

=emerginggrowthareas

UCCPlatformEnhanced

CollaborationforDCX CRMplatform

CoreofDCX

CustomerService

CustomerEngagementManagement

CustomerSuccess/

Satisfaction

PrimaryFunctionsofDCX

ContactCenterPlatform

CommunicationsforDCX

AgentSuccess/Analytics

Wo r k f l o w A u t o m a t i o n


includesagentomnichannel,workforceoptimization,performancemanagementtools,analytics,andreporting.

Customer Service Customerservicetechnologiesservecustomers(withorwithoutaformalcontactcenter).Thefunctionsincludeappointmentmanagement,complaintmonitoring,helpdesk,self-serviceportals,troubleticketing,alerts,andautomatedcustomernotices.

Customer Engagement Management CustomerEngagementManagement(CEM)deliversprogramstofurtherengagecustomers.Theseincludeenhancedinteractions(withtechnologieslikevideo,screensharing,ormobileenablement),loyalty,contentsyndication,gamification,communitymanagement,andcommunicationsmanagement.ThesecapabilitiesmaybepartofacontactcenterorCRMtool,orstandaloneproducts/services.

Customer Satisfaction/Success Customersatisfactionandsuccessmeasurecustomers’interpretationoftheirexperienceswithagivencompany.Thecategoryincludessurveymanagement,feedbackcollection,complaintmonitoring,andcallreporting.Often,thetoolsleverageArtificialIntelligence(AI)capabilities,suchasNaturalLanguageProcessingorsentimentanalysisforstructuredandunstructured,internalandexternalcommunications.Digital Customer Frustration Oneofthemostcommoncustomercomplaints—andoneofthetopreasonscustomerratings(CSAT,NetPromoterScore,PostCallSurveys,etc.)arelowerthandesired—isthelackofintegrationbetweenchannels.Whenorganizationscannotpasscontextualcustomerinformationbetweenchannelsinreal-timeandhistorically,theonlyoptionisforthecustomertorepeattheinformation.Naturally,thatcausesaggravation.Thisappliesnotonlytocallnotes,butalsotowhatthecustomerhasdone.Forexample,theagentshouldbeabletoseethatacustomerrecentlyviewedawebpagetogetinstallationinstructions.Ascriptedrecommendationmaybe:“Checkoutourwebpageformoredetailedinstructions.”Butiftheagentcanseethecustomeralreadytriedthewebpage,hemayinsteadsay:“Iseeyoualreadyhavevisitedthewebpageforinstructions;whydidthatnotprovidethedetailsyouneeded?”Enter Omnichannel Byaddingomnichannelcapabilitiestothecontactcenter,organizationscaneliminatethatcross-channelfrustrationanddeliveramorestellarcustomerexperience.AccordingtoNemertesDCXresearchstudy,21%ofparticipantshaveaddedomnichannelaspartofaDCXproject,another31%plantodosobytheendof2019,and18%in2020orbeyond.Only2%oftheresearchparticipantshadevaluatedandrejectedomnichannel.Theprimarydriversforomnichannel?Improvingcustomerexperience.Theprimaryinhibitors?Lackofbudget,insufficientresourcestoimplementomnichannel,andwaitingtoimplementitaspartofalargerDCXprojectorcontactcenterrefresh.


Omnichannel Success Metrics

Theintuitivebenefitsofomnichannelarefairlystraightforward.Butaretherehardmetricsthatdemonstratemeasureablesuccessinimplementingomnichannel?Yes.Figure2showsthetopaveragesuccessmetricsgatheredfromresearchparticipants:

• Customerswon–Byaddingomnichannel,companiessawa59.7%increaseinnewcustomerswon.Typically,omnichannelgoeshand-in-handwithaddingnewdigitalchannels,whichprovidesnewwaysforcustomerstoreachanorganization.Newdigitalchannelstypicallyattractnewdemographics(i.e.,youngerorolderagegroups;membersofanassociation;students,etc.).Additionally,whenthecustomerexperienceimproves,ratingsandreferralsgoup,alsoincreasingthenumberofnewcustomers.

• Customerratingincrease–Whencustomersdon’thavetorepeatinformationandwastetimeoncalls,theyarehappier.Theyratethecompanyhigherinpost-callsurveys,CSATscores,andothermetricscompaniesuse.Overall,companiessawa51.5%improvementintheircustomerratingsafterimplementingomnichannel.

• Increaseuseofself-service–Addingomnichannelalsoincreasedtheuseofself-serviceby49.4%.Understandingcustomerpathsgivescompaniesinformationtoknowwheretheycanaddself-servicecapabilities.Also,onceself-serviceisavailable,agentscandirectcustomerstothechannels,eitherthroughscreenshare,livesupport,orevenvoice.Dependingonacustomers’drivers,theabilitytoself-serveandgetananswermorequicklymayincreasetheirsatisfactionwiththeorganization.

• Digitalsalesboost–Organizationssawa35.2%improvementindigitalsales(i.e.,thosemadeonlineorthroughdigitalchannelsvs.inperson).Incontactcenterswhereupsellisagoal,havingcontextualinformationaboutacustomer’spathisvaluabletodirectingthemtoproductsandservicesthatalignwiththeirhistory.Additionally,companiescanaddanalytics,customapps,andautomationtotailoreachcustomer’sdigitalexperience,makingoffersbasedonhistoricalpurchases,activityineachchannel,andlevelofsatisfaction.

Figure2:TopSuccessMetricsBefore/AfterAddingOmnichannel

59.7%

51.5%49.4%

35.2%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Customers won Customer rating increase

Increase use of self-service

Digital sales boost

Top Success Metrics Before/After Adding Omnichannel


Agent Effect

Anothermeasureablefactorfororganizationsdeployingomnichannelisitseffectonagentturnoverrates.Overall,organizationsarefindinga44%improvementintheirturnoverrates,from24.2%priortotheirDCXinitiativeto16.8%afterward.Addingomnichannelalonereducestheagentturnoverratesby14.8%.InconversationswithITleaders,omnichannelhasafewkeybenefitstoreducingagentturnoverrates:

• Itimprovesjobsatisfaction.Agentsgettiredoffieldingphonecallsalldayordoingotherrepetitivetasks.Byaddingnew,integratedchannels,theygetsomevarietyintheircustomerinteractions,whichhelpwithjobsatisfactionandtransformsthemintomoreengagedemployees.

• Itcreateshappiercustomers.Havingthecontextualinformationaboutthecustomer’sjourney,agentshavemorepleasantconversationsandenjoytheirjobsmore.If,becauseoftheirconversationorsuggestions,thecustomersleaveaninteractionhappier,theagentsaremoresatisfiedbecausetheyhavetrulyhelpedsomeone.

• Itgivesagentscriticalinformation.Iftheagentgoalissolvingaserviceissueorsellingproducts,thecontextualinformationtheyreceivethroughomnichannelsimplyhelpsthembemoresuccessfulintheirjobandmeetgoals.Thatreducesturnover.Securing the Budget BecauseDCXinitiativesareshowingsuchpositivereturninareasincludingrevenueincrease,costdecrease,andincreaseincustomersatisfaction,securingbudgetforprojectsisrelativelystraight-forward.Theproblemiswhattoprioritize—andthatvariesbycompanyandbybusinessgoal.It’simperativeforITandbusinessleaderstofirstidentifytheirgoalsandtheissuesthey’retryingtoaddress.Fromthere,theycandeterminewhatmakesthemostsensetoprioritize–addingdigitalchannels,enhancinganalytics,automatingworkflow,addingomnichannel?ThoughalloftheseinitiativesultimatelyworktogethertoimproveDCX,ITstaffsdoeveryprojectontheirlist,soleadersmustprioritize.Anydataavailabletodocumentanissue(i.e.,decliningCSATscores)thataDCXinitiativecanimprove(i.e.,addingagentanalyticsandomnichannel)willhelpwinthebudgetneededtolaunchtheproject.Figure3showsorganizations’DCXbudgets,segmentedbysizeofcompanybasedonthenumberofemployees.Onaverage,companiesarespending$1.7millionfornewDCXprojects,butthatnumbercangomuchhigherforverylargecompanies.

Figure3:BudgetsforDCX

Company Size MeanSmall (Less than 250) 384,842$ Midsize (250-2,500) 1,311,325$ Large(More than 2,500) 3,855,200$ All Sizes 1,700,415$

Budget for Digital Customer Engagement


Weanticipatethesebudgetswillincreaseasmorecompaniesdeveloptheirstrategies(asnoted,49%stillplantodosothisyearandnextyear).What’smore,ascompaniesaddChiefCustomerOfficers,budgetswillincrease.Today,25.4%haveaCCO,withanother37.6%planningtohireonebytheendof2019.Best Practices Thoseusingomnichannelpointoutafewbestpracticesthathavehelpedthemtosucceed.Cloud-basedplatformsassistinafewways.TheyfreeITstaffsfromtheday-to-daymanagementburdenofthecontactcentercapabilities,aswellastheomnichannelintegration.Newfeaturesandupgradesoftenhappenquickerthanon-premisessystems,puttingthecompanyatacompetitiveadvantage.Simplyput:Ifcloudenablesanorganizationtobemoreagileandtobeatthecompetitiontomarketwithneworinnovativewaysforcustomerstointeract,allthesuccessmetricswillrisefasterthanthoseoftheircompetitors.Additionally,openAPIshelpwithintegrationtodigitalchannelsinsideandoutsideoftheprimarycontactcenterprovider.Theyalsomaylinkdatafromotherapps(i.e.loyalty,gamification,helpdesk,etc.)totheomnichannelinformationagentsreview.Giventhepotentialforartificialintelligence,it’simportanttodiscussAIplanswithprospectiveorexistingproviders.ThoughDCXleadersaretreadingslowlywithAI,discussionswithproviderswillhelporganizationsdeveloptheirownAIstrategies.Conclusion OmnichannelisanimportantcomponenttoDCXstrategiesamongcompaniesoperatingcontactcenters.Nemertesreal-worldresearchshowsmeasurablesuccesswhenorganizationsleverageomnichannelfortheircustomerinteractions.Nemertesrecommendsthefollowing:

• EstablishaDCXstrategythatincorporatesinitiativestoaddresskeybusinessgoals.Bepreparedwithdatatosupporttheneedforomnichanneltomoreeasilywinbudget.

• Leveragethedatahereinmakingthecaseforomnichannel.Fromahighlevel,acrossallsuccessmetrics,companiessawa31%averageimprovementwhentheyadoptedomnichannelintheircontactcenters.

• Evaluatecloud-basedplatformsformaximumagility.MakesurethecloudproviderhasopenAPIstoincreasetheabilitytocustomizeapplicationintegration.DevelopastrategyforAI,leveragingdiscussionswithproviderstolearnabouttheirplans.AboutNemertes:Nemertesisaglobalresearch-basedadvisoryandconsultingfirmthatanalyzesthebusinessvalueofemergingtechnologies.Since2002,wehaveprovidedstrategicrecommendationsbasedondata-backedoperationalandbusinessmetricstohelpenterpriseorganizationsdeliversuccessfultechnologytransformationtoemployeesandcustomers.Simplyput:Nemertes’betterdatahelpsclientsmakebetterdecisions.

omnichannel accelerates contact center ... - serenova.com...figure 2: top success metrics...

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