THE DIGITAL TIPPING POINT How Mid-to-large- Sized Businesses Can .

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THE DIGITAL TIPPING POINTHow mid-to-largesized businessescan accelerate CXsuccess in 2021

THE DIGITAL TIPPING POINTForget multi-year plans for digitaltransition—the time to act is now.In 2020, companies madeseismic shifts in how theydo business as the impactsof COVID-19 transformedcustomer expectationsand workplace dynamics,virtually overnight. Beingdigital-first and, in manycases, digital-only meantcompanies had to rapidlyacquire new technologiesto reach customers andconnect remote teams.57%of mid-sizedcompaniesanticipate havingmore to invest in CXtechnology in 202165%of enterprisecompaniesanticipate havingmore to invest in CXtechnology in 2021According to Zendesk’s 2021Customer Experience Trends Report89%of leaders at mid-sizedcompanies (businesses with100-999 employees) say COVIDsped up technology adoption91%of leaders at enterprisebusinesses (businesses with over1000 employees) say COVID-19sped up technology adoption98%of mid-to-large-sizedcompanies implementednew tools or processesThose who prioritized CX before the pandemic alreadyhave an advantage. More mature CX organizationsare more than six times as likely to exceed customerretention goals. And while companies must workwithin their resources to adopt new technologiesand processes, there’s a risk of falling behind higherperforming peers as customer expectations rise.Luckily, most anticipate having more budget flexibilityin 2021.Investing in your customers pays off, but what to prioritizecan be a little tricky. To help guide the way, our team ofexperts reviewed data from businesses using Zendeskworldwide. Here are 8 best practices for deliveringwinning CX—and the time to act on them is now.2

01Make things easyfor customersPRIORITY #Customers haven’t become more forgiving despite the pandemic—80% willgo to a competitor after more than one bad customer service 80%Spain80%United States78%Benelux77%France77%Nordics77%United 8%of mid-sizedbusinessesplan to add anew supportchannel in 202162%0%20%40%60%80%100%Percentage of customers that agreeIn 2021, customers expect effortless online experiences that areon par with, or better than, in-person experiences. And companiesare listening. Most businesses plan to adopt new channelsin 2021, and many are investing in self-service so customerscan find quick answers without even having to speak to an agent.How mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 202176%of enterprisebusinesses plan toadd a new supportchannel in 20213

BEST PRACTICE 01:Meet customerswhere they areTeams withleading CX resultsare at least 1.5times more likelyto use messagingCustomers expect brands to meet them where theyare—customers shouldn’t have to climb a ladder toreach support. And where they are is on messagingchannels, like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.WhatsAppSMS/textFacebook Messenger/Twitter DMsMid-sizedEnterpriseMid-sizedEnterpriseMid-sized 72% 136% 226% 16% 33% 284%Companies saw messaging requests double in 2020EnterpriseWith support that’s fast, personal, convenient, and secure, customers can get answers over the same channels theyuse with friends and family. Messaging also provides more flexibility for both customers and businesses becauseconversations can happen in real-time or asynchronously. In other words, customers can start, stop, and continuethe conversation when it’s convenient for them, without losing conversation history. That means customers cantroubleshoot while they take care of other things like walking the dog or running a Zoom meeting, and agents canhelp more customers at once.How mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 20214

BEST PRACTICE 02:Help customers get answersfaster with self-serviceWhen customers want to get in touch, they want convenientoptions. But for simple questions, they just want quick answers.That’s why customers prefer to help themselves and rely oncompanies’ online resources more in our digital-first world.High performing midsized businesseswere 34% more likelyto add self-serviceresources in 2020 and4x more likely to useZendesk’s Answer Bot37%increase in knowledgebase views fromcustomers since COVIDEmpowering customers to self-serve also saves agents time fromanswering repetitive requests. And teams can get even greatervalue from self-service when they pair it with AI. An AI-poweredbot, like Zendesk’s own, can recommend help center articles toempower customers to self-serve throughout the entire customerjourney, such as on your checkout page. Bots are also “alwayson,” so customers get answers 24/7.Though AI saw adoption rates jump 50% in 2020, usage ratesremain low. This gap presents an opportunity for businesses tomake AI a better partner to agents. With Zendesk’s Bot APIs,support teams can integrate their CX software with variouschatbot solutions like Ada so agents and bots canwork seamlessly together.Mid-sizedEnterpriseAI remains an underutilized tool, despiteadoption boost among larger firms51%High performingenterprise companieswere 35% more likelyto add self-serviceresources and 3xmore likely to useAnswer Bot36%40%21%20202021202020215

02Support yoursupport teamPRIORITY #While companies have been expanding their onlinechannels to reach customers, they’ve also facedthe challenge of transitioning to remote work.With companies learning to work in new andflexible ways, they’ll need to become laser-focusedon the employee experience (EX). Good CX andgood EX are like peanut butter and jelly: they’reinextricably linked. Yet agents feel overwhelmed.Meeting customers on their preferred channels is only onepart of providing effective support. Equipping teams withtools to do their jobs well—regardless of how a customerreaches out—is crucial to good customer service.Only 59% of agents atmid-sized companiesand 56% at enterprisecompanies believe theyhave tools to succeedin this new world71% of agentsat mid-sizedcompanies and69% at enterprisecompanies feeloverwhelmed6

BEST PRACTICE 03:Bring it all togetherwith one view for agentsIn 2020, larger companies experienced the highest ticketvolatility of organizations of any size. Their agents need a unifiedworkspace that connects all their channels, tools, and customercontext to provide quick and personalized support at scale.With 40% of customers using multiple channels for the sameissue, agents need to be able to seamlessly shift betweenchannels without losing customer context. This ensurescustomers don’t have to repeat information they alreadyaddressed or wait on hold while agents search for thedetails each time they change channels.High-performingmid-sized teams are93% more likely tohave agents workingacross channelsFor example, if Tara texts Cool Kitchen to return a blender, agents shouldhave visibility into:If she reached out about issues with the blender before, even if it was over different channelsHer contact information, such as her email to send her a receiptHow long she’s been a customer (perhaps loyal customers get free returns)Her billing, shipping, and order details—Cool Kitchen might integrate its CX solution withShopify so agents have this information in front of them and can help Tara return herblender inside their workspaceHigh-performingenterprise teamshave 3 times moreagents working acrossmultiple channels7

BEST PRACTICE 04:Empower agents withworkflows that promoteefficiency and collaborationCompanies, especially smaller ones, are investing intools that promote efficiency and collaboration acrossteams and departments.Continuous change means agents must be efficient.The onus is on businesses to arm them with toolsto work smarter. Organizations can improve agents’workflows by: Equipping agents with prepared answers, so theydon’t have to type out your reimbursement policy Automatically routing issues to agents with theright skills Capturing preliminary details from customerswith a botCollaboration tools have had to scale up in our alwayson, always-connected world. Higher-performingteams use workflow features to ensure agents have aprocess for working together and the tools and dataneeded to realize it. Businesses can enable agents tohave conversations with each other inside tickets. Andwith tools like Slack and Zoom inside their workspaceand robust permissioning around who can accesswhat, agents can collaborate with each other, otherdepartments, and even third parties.How mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 2021High-performing midsized teams are 35%more likely to have addedto or adjusted workflowsin 2020. High-performingenterprise teams area third more likely8

BEST PRACTICE 05:Scale self-servicewith help from agentsGood knowledge management doesn’t justempower customers to find answers faster, it alsohelps agents find critical information quickly. Thosesame agents are your best resource for growingyour knowledge base and keeping content freshto make it ever more valuable. Yet, many agentsstill can’t contribute to knowledge.Businesses can build knowledge managementinto agents’ workflows. Knowledge managementtools enable agents to create new articles whileanswering tickets, and AI-powered suggestionsautomate knowledge management hygiene.How mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 2021Leading teams are37% more likely toenable featuresallowing agents tocontribute knowledge9

03Keep yourbusiness in syncPRIORITY #With the pandemic accelerating adoption of digitaltools, keeping your business in sync is no easy feat.Keeping the organization in sync means bringingdata between people, tools, and software together,not leaving it scattered and siloed. That’s whylegacy CRM systems no longer work; companiestoday need a CRM platform that’s open andflexible, and can connect the data dots acrossmany sources. This enables businesses to be agile,empowering them to go beyond capturing data andfocus on understanding and reacting to it instead.And agility is a top priority for them this year.How mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 2021Improving agilityis a top priorityfor over halfof businesses10

BEST PRACTICE 06:75%Personalize CX with aunified customer viewof customersexpect personalizedexperiencesRelationships are critical during times of crisis. Despitehaving many customers, bigger businesses need insightinto each of them. But at large companies with sprawlingcustomer bases, customers often feel like another ticketin the queue. That’s because many agents can’t accesscustomer data to personalize interactions.Most agents at companies of all sizes don’t have access to customer dataWhich types of customer data are you typically able to access across systems to answer customer requests?Previous orders and interactions with customer service43%Personal details (address, DOB, gender, etc.)43%36%Status of customer’s most recent order (including shipping, delivery, etc.)34%How a customer has used a product or service26%Information about the device a customer is using to contact customer service24%Plan or subscription details (e.g. plan type / account type or status)23%Recommended items based on customer’s purchase or search history18%Credit card used from last purchase16%Personal health information or data13%None of the above. We aren’t able to see customer data across systems0%10%20%30%40%% of surveyed CX agentsTo deliver personalized experiences that build trust on the front-end, businesses must manage and interpretcustomer data on the back-end. This means creating a unified customer view, one that connects customer datawherever it lives, whether it be first-party or third-party.And of course, as companies leverage more data and remote work continues, information security is critical.Security management is a high priority for 80% of tech decision-makers in 2021. Businesses today need a CXplatform with enterprise-class security features and comprehensive audits, and that complies with industryaccepted general security and privacy frameworks.How mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 202111

BEST PRACTICE 07:Extend your CX solution withapps, integrations, and automationYou want your CX solution to work in sync with allthe tools and applications your team depends on, soagents have the up-to-date information they need infront of them. Companies today no longer need tohave just one platform to get a unified view of theircustomer’s journey and their data. Tools like Workatoenable businesses to sync data between cloud-basedapplications throughout their organization to get thebenefits of best-of-breed tools while eliminating silos.Zendesk’s Marketplace gives teams access toover a thousand plug and play apps and pre-builtintegrations—from workforce management technologylike Playvox WFM and project management apps likeAtlassian to translation software like Unbabel andcustomizable survey tools like SurveyMonkey. Openand flexible technology also ensures organizationscan extend their agents’ workspace with customapps. Indeed, 68% of mid-sized companies and73% of enterprise companies report having accessto developers to customize their CX solution.High-performingteams are 33%more likely toextend their CXsolution with appsand integrationsWith a treasure trove of customer insights at theirfingertips, agents can anticipate customers’ needsand further personalize service. Being able to accessdata across all those tools from one location also goesa long way toward improving efficiency. It streamlinesagents’ workflows, using data to automate processesand transform time-consuming retrieval processesinto a one-click step. And for larger businesses,automation is a must.High-performingteams use morethan twice as manytools to improveagent workflowsand automate tasksHow mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 202112

BEST PRACTICE 08:Learn how to improvewith analyticsKeeping your business in sync also means integratinganalytics from every channel so you can measureand improve the entire customer experience—fromidentifying areas of development for your team tounderstanding how customers interact with you.Yet 38% of managers at mid-sized companies, anda third at enterprise companies don’t have the rightanalytics tools to measure success for remote teams.38%of managers at midsized companies don’thave the right analyticstools to measure successfor remote teamsHigh-performingteams are over 40%more likely to use ananalytics reportingsolution for CXTo keep up in a pivot-quickly world, CXorganizations need analytics software thatgives them instant access to insights theycan act on. With real-time and historicalanalytics built inside their CX solution,support teams can take action on what’shappening at the moment and understandpast trends—no statistics degree required.1/3of managers at enterprisecompanies don’t havethe right analytics toolsto measure successfor remote teamsHow mid-to-large-sized businesses can accelerate CX success in 202113

Which side of thetipping point willyour business be on?Making things easy for customers, supporting your supportteam, and keeping your business in sync are the three keysto delivering great CX in the next-normal. Businesses can’tchoose just one of the three, focusing on one area and puttingthe others off until later. Prioritizing all three is essential—andit’s actually quite difficult to be good at one without investingin the others.The Zendesk Suite provides the complete customer servicesolution that’s easy to use and scales with your business.Learn more about how Zendesk can help ensure you’re onthe right side of the CX tipping point.Get started here:sign up for a free trial today

THE DIGITAL TIPPING POINT 98% of mid-to-large-sized companies implemented new tools or processes 89% of leaders at mid-sized companies (businesses with 100-999 employees) say COVID sped up technology adoption 91% of leaders at enterprise businesses (businesses with over 1000 employees) say COVID-19 sped up technology adoption 57% of mid-sized .