The contact center is getting its mojo back. This might come across as an unconventional proclamation, so you may ask yourself, “what is mojo anyway and does my contact center really need it in the first place?”
Let me answer the second part of this question first. Heck yes it does.
But what is mojo? Mojo is a person’s confidence; it’s their swagger, the snap in their step and the magic in their moves. It’s the Austin in their Powers, if you get my reference. The point is that while customer service has for some time been seen as a strategic advantage for those companies who do it right, the contact center is becoming more and more central to not just customer experience delivery, but central to the soul of the brand.
Here’s proof: According to Gartner’s 2017 Customer Experience Survey, 81% of organizations say they expect to be competing mostly or completely on the basis of the customer experience in the next year. And according the Deloitte 2017 global contact center survey, 62% of companies believe the contact center is a competitive differentiator for them.
Then there are the annual reports. Pick up one from any leading brand and you’ll see customer service, or the customer experience listed as a strategic initiative for the brand. And they aren’t just talking about cultural change or a non-binding ‘commitment’ either. These companies are talking about investment. Investment in technology such as engagement analytics, digital customer interaction and AI – all the tools needed to not only provide the experiences today’s consumers want but do so in a way that shows solid return on the investment.
To wit, a contact center viewed as a cost center does not have its mojo back. In fact, it probably never had it to begin with. A contact center that is viewed as central to customer engagement, loyalty, retention, etc. and is looked at as strategic infrastructure has its mojo.
How then do you mojoize the contact center? Give your customers and your agents what they want.
In our 2017 Aspect Consumer Experience Index survey, we found that 48% of consumers feel the ability to interact in the method/manner of their choice is the most important facet of a personalized customer experience. Three times more important than knowing their name and history!
In the 2018 Agent Experience Survey, to be published later this month, we found that 79% of agents said having the most up-to-date software to manage customer interactions was important for them to provide better customer experiences.
And this is where the mojo appears. 68% of the consumers we surveyed last year said they did more business with companies last year because of good customer service. Just over half of them said they would pay more for that good customer service. 60% said they would pay as much at 5% more.
The contact center mojo means if you give consumers the channel options they prefer and provide your agents with the tools they need to be successful, your contact center will have more than its mojo working. It will have loyalty, retention and revenue working as well.
