Stay informed with the latest customer experience news and insights by signing up for CX Dive. Explore all our free newsletter options here: https://lnkd.in/ecE-s57a
About us
A new publication from Industry Dive, coming November 6, 2023.
- Website
-
https://www.industrydive.com/
External link for CX Dive
- Industry
- Media and Telecommunications
- Company size
- 201-500 employees
- Headquarters
- Washington, District of Columbia
Updates
-
Budget pressure and certain CX benefits make offshoring attractive, but data security and legislative concerns mean the move isn’t without risk.
Call centers facing budget cuts, while Senate Democrats introduced a bill last month that would discourage companies from moving customer service operations overseas. Offshoring is top-of-mind right now, both for its benefits and potential downsides. CX Dive spoke to several experts about the considerations that move the needle on outsourcing decisions. The implications are varied, and the move has considerations ranging from customer service advantages to data best practices. Offshoring isn't a silver bullet, but it's a topic that is bound to continue garnering attention. “The truth is when the economy goes down, contact centers get their budgets cut,” Forrester's Max Ball said. “So, to the extent the economy has been going down, they’re going to be doing more offshoring because it’s cheaper.” https://lnkd.in/epk5hmt2
For call centers, cost cuts still fuel the offshoring allure
customerexperiencedive.com
-
Stay tuned for Bryan Wassel's coverage of Customer Contact Week this week.
I’m attending Customer Contact Week in Las Vegas to keep my finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving call center. Keep an eye out for my coverage live from the event, as well as continued coverage in the coming weeks. One theme that is standing out to me is how the nature of call center work has changed over the past five years. The massive growth of remote workers has changed the relationship between agents and managers, which can lead to employees feeling isolated — and cause them to deliver worse care as a result. Now, more than ever, it’s important for managers and other leaders to listen to and connect with their frontline teams. I’ll be reporting on what I’ve learned on this subject at CCW later this week, but in the meantime, you can take a look at how CX Dive has covered this important topic in the past. https://lnkd.in/e8SJzCJW
Back to CX basics: Why employee experience matters, too
customerexperiencedive.com
-
This story started with a simple question: How do the constant requests for tips affect customer experience with a brand? As Sara Hanson, associate professor of marketing at the University of Richmond - Robins School of Business, explains it, platform providers like Square and Clover provide their point-of-sale systems with high tip defaults to businesses, and they don’t really consider consumer sentiment and how it will affect their relationship with the business later on. “As defaults go up, people might tip more, but they feel worse,” Hanson says. “There’s lower loyalty.”
Tip on a Botox injection? Tip on an online order for floor tiles? Consumers are being asked to tip more often and for more services than they were in the past. And it’s leaving them with a bad taste in their mouths. Check out my story for CX Dive: https://lnkd.in/gn3ah8j5
‘They feel like they got tricked’: How tipping requests can hurt customer relationships
customerexperiencedive.com
-
Promise of complex work alone won’t reassure concerned workers, but proper training and support can help agents embrace an AI-driven future, CCW Digital analysts said last week.
Leaders expect generative AI to let agents focus on more complex work, rather than replace them altogether, but this fact alone isn't enough to comfort employees who are concerned that their jobs are on the line. It's up to managers and other leaders to help agents understand the benefits AI will offer them beyond the buzzwords associated with the technology. This means providing education, training and support for their changing roles. “Until everyone understands the true benefits [of AI], how it’s going to impact their experience and how they can use it to the best of their ability, it’s just not going to be successful,” CCW Digital's Brooke Lynch said during a webinar CX Dive attended last week. This includes showing agents how being creative and empathetic is important to their role, according to CCW Digital's Brian Cantor. Agents who think their job is to read off a script will feel like AI can easily take their job.
How leaders can reassure agents in the AI-powered contact center
customerexperiencedive.com
-
The budget airlines eliminated change fees in an effort to offer customers greater flexibility and keep up with competition.
Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are making changes to their policies of charging customers often-hefty fees for making changes to flights. Spirit eliminated change and cancelation fees for all tickets, while Frontier eliminated change fees for most fares last Friday. The two budget airlines are known for cheap tickets offering bare-bones services with add-ons costing more. So why eliminate change fees? It's an effort to stay competitive with legacy airlines, experts told CX Dive. Low-cost carriers are looking to offer customers flexibility. “When it comes to low-cost carriers, they’re competing for that same clientele, and so they’ve got to be super aggressive,” Katy Nastro of Going, told me. “It really is keeping up with the Joneses mentality.” The elimination of change and cancelation fees are an attempt to “appeal to a wider range of customers and remove some of the barriers that might prevent some travelers from flying with Spirit and Frontier,” Sean Cudahy of The Points Guy, told CX Dive. https://lnkd.in/eeU6wBbK
Spirit, Frontier eliminate change fees to compete with legacy carriers
customerexperiencedive.com
-
Research shows businesses are missing an opportunity to embed accessibility in the design process, which can result in better products and reduce costs.
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Over 1 billion people have disabilities, but companies are still behind in providing accessible digital experiences. While regulations are beginning to spur businesses into action, enterprises are still missing the mark, experts told CX Dive. A new survey from Acquia highlights that: Almost half of respondents said the accessibility issues they encounter on digital platforms are “very” or “extremely” frustrating, and a third think businesses are just checking the compliance box. “Accessibility isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” Gina Calcaterra Bhawalkar of Forrester said. “It’s a smart business decision to put accessibility at the center of your business.” By offering accessible digital experiences, businesses can grow revenue, reduce costs, increase resilience and build trust. It’s also essential to any customer-obsessed business. “Finding ways to make something simpler, more effective, easier to communicate and so forth” helps all customers, Mark Winward of The Return on Disability Group. https://lnkd.in/ezGV9q-P
Are organizations providing accessible digital experiences?
customerexperiencedive.com
-
Specialized agents and well-trained chatbots are essential to keep customer data safe, experts told CX Dive.
Call centers have a complicated relationship with data. Personal information is essential for handling inquiries, but customer service journeys can pass through many channels. Emails, live calls or chatbot conversations and every other avenue has its own risks and needs. Call center data security can be equally complicated. Specializing agents for certain kinds of inquiries and ensuring chatbots only access the data they need can minimize the risk of bad actors accessing sensitive information. However, security is a moving target. Call centers need to constantly assess and adapt their strategy to ensure they are keeping customer data safe. “Understand that as you adopt less human, more AI driven technology — more automation and more digital touchpoints — how that transforms your exposure,” Customer Management Practice's Brian Cantor told CX Dive. https://lnkd.in/ehyyZe89
Call center data security can be complex. Here’s how to keep information safe.
customerexperiencedive.com
-
U.S. airlines are suing to block a new rule by the Department of Transportation requiring airlines to provide greater transparency regarding the fees they charge customers.
While the Department of Transportation says its new rule will protect customers from surprise fees, U.S. airlines argue such regulations are unnecessary. DOT’s rule requires extra service fees to appear alongside the full fare advertised by an airline, so customers can better compare costs, and estimates the rule will save customers over $500 million annually. But airlines are saying that DOT is overstepping. Last Friday, airlines sued to block the new rule from taking effect, arguing it will confuse customers and complicate the buying process. More at CX Dive: https://lnkd.in/em_qhzum
Airlines sue to block DOT ‘junk fees’ rule
customerexperiencedive.com
-
U.S. airlines are suing to block a new rule by the Department of Transportation requiring airlines to provide greater transparency regarding the fees they charge customers.
While the Department of Transportation says its new rule will protect customers from surprise fees, U.S. airlines argue such regulations are unnecessary. DOT’s rule requires extra service fees to appear alongside the full fare advertised by an airline, so customers can better compare costs, and estimates the rule will save customers over $500 million annually. But airlines are saying that DOT is overstepping. Last Friday, airlines sued to block the new rule from taking effect, arguing it will confuse customers and complicate the buying process. More at CX Dive: https://lnkd.in/em_qhzum
Airlines sue to block DOT ‘junk fees’ rule
customerexperiencedive.com