New Research Shows How Social Media, Mobile, and Advanced Self-Service Help Shape the Customer Experience

The International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) has released its 2013 research report, Extreme Engagement in the Multichannel Contact Center: Leveraging the Emerging Channels Research Report and Best Practices Guide. The study results were collected, compiled and analyzed from a 2013 second quarter poll with over 300 respondents – a mixture of call center executives, directors and managers. Their input painted a compelling picture of how channels such as social media, mobile, and advanced self-service help shape and improve the customer experience, first contact resolution, and customer engagement.  

Key findings from the research study include:

-- Only 25% of companies feel their customers are extremely engaged in their brand

-- 90% of customers find the features of social customer service extremely useful or somewhat useful

-- 93% of customers would be MORE satisfied with customer service if they were offered their channel choice

-- Self-service is said to increase deflection rate or lower volume to other channels by 57% of study participants

-- Agents use social media personally, but don't feel comfortable doing so in the contact center

-- 72% consider Mobile a necessary channel; although only 39% of companies support it as a channel.

More information on CRM and social media can be found at www.CRMindustry.com

Customer Experience Innovation: You're Doing It Wrong

"Innovation" has become a buzzword in the customer experience field, and many firms are banking on it as a tool for market differentiation. A recent Forrester survey of 100 Customer Experience Professionals shows that nearly half of respondents say their executive team strategy for customer experience is market differentiation, and an ambitious 13% will settle for nothing less than having the best customer experience across every industry. What's more, a whopping 73% of interviewees plan to launch "innovative" customer experiences in the coming year, and two-thirds claim to have already delivered such experiences in the past year.

But despite their ambition, most firms that believe they're innovating are actually thwarting differentiation and wasting massive amounts of time and money in the process. A startling 58% of respondents say their firm drives customer experience innovations by watching what direct competitors are doing, and another 62% report that technology advancements drive their firms' innovation activities. So let's face it: The market is confused on what it actually means to innovate. In their research, Forrester outlines three steps CX pros must take to put their innovation efforts on the right track: 1) reframe innovation opportunities; 2) ground innovation in the ecosystem; and 3) infuse innovations with the brand.

More information on CRM and Customer Experience can be found at www.CRMindustry.com