This time of year, many of us are working to evaluate and solidify our goals for the coming year. At Calabrio, we know that to achieve those goals, successful companies are constantly analyzing what is and is not resonating with customers and driving those insights back into the business. From creating improved customer experiences to a renewed focus on employees, we see 2017 as the year that brands look for ways to foster both employee and customer engagement.
With that in mind, here are four predictions on how brands will step up their game in the new year.
1. Companies Will Deploy Employee Engagement Practices Geared Toward Millennials
More and more companies are realizing that the key to happy customers is happy employees. While customer engagement keeps its place as a top priority, in 2017, companies will broaden their focus to include employee engagement, particularly for Millennials. Millennials change jobs an average of four times before they turn 32, and the cost to replace entry-level employees is roughly 30-50 percent of their annual salaries. However, the cost of replacement isn’t the whole story: companies that increase employee engagement by as little as 5 percent see a 3 percent increase in revenue. Given these factors, brands can’t afford to ignore the importance of employee engagement and retention.
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3. Analytics Will Become Part of Employee Retention Strategies
In 2017, the application and importance of analytics will continue to increase, and companies will use contact center analytics to gather information about employees, not just customers. For example, brands can employ speech, text and desktop analytics to monitor customer service activities, and use the insights gathered to better train and coach employees. Additionally, analytics allow managers to give more comprehensive feedback so employees are either validated or can course correct quickly. In the end, when employees are given the right tools and training, they are more engaged, successful, and ultimately have a stronger brand affinity. Organizations with engaged employees outperform those with low employee engagement by 202 percent, which has a direct, positive impact on customers.
3. Mobile Customer Service Will Close the Gap Between Consumer Expectations and Reality
In the coming year, brands will rethink their mobile strategies to better serve their customers on preferred communication channels. Many customers rely on their mobile devices for nearly everything, and expect brands to accommodate their mobile-first lifestyle. While mobile support capabilities are improving for many brands, they still aren’t meeting customer expectations. In today’s mobile-first world, we will continue to see more companies implement customer support and engagement strategies designed around mobile, including in-app messaging, SMS and multichannel analytics. As brands discover more about customer mobile preferences, they will increase emphasis on mobile-first support, which will finally close the gap between customer service capabilities and the mobile customer’s expectations.
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4. Omnichannel Will Continue to Expand
While mobile will be a top priority, in today’s fast-paced, technology-centric world, customers expect to communicate with brands via multiple channels. And 2017 shows no signs of that slowing down. There are as many as nine channels that customers use to connect with a brand, with more options to come. Whether it’s chat, social media, email, SMS or phone, companies must expand their omnichannel capabilities and correlate data from all channels to better capture and analyze how a customer is interacting with the business. With that change comes another opportunity to improve customer service so, in 2017, brands will place even more emphasis on omnichannel strategies.
Overall, in the coming year, look for brands to make good on their New Year’s resolutions and goals by evaluating and taking measurable action that enables better engagement with both customers and employees.
The contact center presents a massive opportunity to really hear the voice of the customer. Learn how to turn your contact center into a hub of customer intelligence.
This article was originally published on retailcustomerexperience.com. View the original article.
