W H I T E PA P E R

GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

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Complete or partial external use or reproduction is strictly forbidden.
GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Contents
Introduction 3

Charting the Future of Customer Experience 4

Optimization Approach 5

Key to Success: Retaining People 7

Way Forward 9

Reimagining the Contact Center 10

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION
Contact centers that are equipped for the future will rely on computational
linguistics, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing to im-
prove interactions with customers. A strong omnichannel approach, allow-
ing customers to communicate via live agents or digital service depending
on their preferences and the situation will be key. An approach promoting
meaningful interactions can result in both happier customers and happier
agents.

For at least a decade, companies have attempted to increase the use of

self-service tools while decreasing the reliance on live agents, with varying
degrees of success. COVID-19 has been a catalyst for change since the
closure of physical locations has increased the reliance on digital services
as well as home-based, secure remote worker solutions.

At the same time, companies are finding their business continuity plans
unequipped for the crisis, as backup operations often face barriers due to
lockdown conditions. The current uncertainty has made it even more ap-
parent that leaders must be able to dynamically deploy capabilities to re-
spond to unpredictable shifts in supply and demand.

To overcome these challenges and remain resilient into the future, contact
centers must incorporate structural resilience, which requires understand-
ing both the complexity of resolution and the predictability of demand.

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Evolution of contact centers

CHARTING Contact
Interactive
Customer
THE FUTURE Call Center Center Experience
OF CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
Voice Support Multichannel True Omnichannel
Transactional Reactive Proactive
Cost reduction driven Empathy driven Customer experience
driven
Service based Uses one size fits all
interactions approach Personalized and
segmented approach

Experts predict that the tools and methods by 50 percent of requests or directing customers alization and increased technological resourc-
which companies engage with their customers to the appropriate channel. Human agents in es. They also will require coaching and careful
will be very different in the future. A McKinsey contact centers will handle more complex re- management with the goal of providing suffi-
analysis determined that between 30 and 60 quests. cient training to easily handle complex requests.
percent of self-service will be done via apps
and websites. These agents will have the support of new This shift to the future of customer care will
technologies, including voice-based artificial in- occur quicker than many realize. Companies
It is clear that the future of customer care is om- telligence, speech analytics and robotic process such as Amazon, USAA and Alibaba are at
nichannel, with customers having options that automation to digest data, communicate rec- the forefront of CX innovations and have al-
range from talking to live representatives, email, ommendations, and recognize voice patterns. ready set a high bar for others.
live chat, chatbots to social media. According to Automation will allow agents to focus on ad-
experts, three-quarters of customers will rely vising customers eliminating inefficient manual
on multiple channels for contacting companies. work.

In this omnichannel world, intelligent automa- Agents will be better able to upsell and cross-
tion will be the first line, resolving as many as sell thanks to the reduced call volume, person-

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

OPTIMIZATION
APPROACH
Traditionally, customer care focused on reduc-
ing costs via optimization of service levels and
using lean practices. However, the complex na-
ture of customer engagement interfered with
these goals. With improved digital care capa-
bilities, such as interactive voice response with
natural language processing, mobile, and web,
companies can optimize both the customer ex-
perience and revenue targets.

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

FIVE DYNAMICS 1. PROACTIVE APPROACH TO

CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
FOR HIGH-END CUSTOMIZED
CHANGING THE Almost 60 percent of customer care lead- EXPERIENCES
INDUSTRY ers expect inbound call volume to decrease As the focus on customer experiences be-
within five years, with 40 percent expect- comes more high-end and personalized,
ing it to fall significantly within 10 years the way companies create value will also
(Source: McKinsey). More customers will use change. Executives have already begun re-
digital channels for transactional and sim- considering customer care with such chang-
pler requests, reserving call centers for com- es as speech analytics and the incorporation
plex interactions. Companies are adopting of video into support.
strategies that encourage this shift including
proactive approach to customer support. 5. NEW TECHNOLOGY POWERING
CUSTOMER CARE
2. SUPPORT REQUESTS ORIGINATING Advancing technology must be harnessed in
ON DIGITAL CHANNELS ARE GOING a way that complements the long-term stra-
UP tegic vision of companies. The most prom-
Customer care interactions on digital chan- inent areas of technological investment are
nels could reach 48 percent or more by the likely to be visualization technologies, artifi-
end of 2020 largely driven by the impact of cial intelligence agents, and behavioral rout-
COVID-19 according to McKinsey’s predic- ing or insights software.
tions. Digital natives prefer digital care. To
account for this, companies will continue
strategies that encourage customers to first
use digital channels, including bots and vir-
tual assistants within applications.

3. COMPANIES ARE INCREASINGLY

INVESTING MORE TO UPSKILL
CONTACT CENTER AGENTS
As customer care workers will be respon-
sible for resolving more complex issues,
those agents will require additional training
and skillsets to handle these complicated,
high-value transactions.

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

KEY TO SUCCESS: RETAINING

PEOPLE
Companies must focus on recruitment, training, incentives, and recognition
to ensure the ideal employees are in crucial customer service positions and
to provide sufficient motivation.

RECRUITMENT
The front-line staff of the future will have numerous required skills, so can-
didates are unlikely to be plentiful. This will require companies to finetune
their recruitment resources, potentially refocusing their efforts on candi-
date pools with higher skill levels. Companies must also reorganize pack-
ages to ensure they appeal to recruits.

TRAINING
Improved customer service will come from training in commercial aware-
ness, teamwork, and interpersonal skills. An understanding of products
will help employees deal with various customer issues. Employees must
hone interpersonal skills, such as handling difficult customers and increas-
ing loyalty.

INCENTIVES AND RECOGNITION

Companies must show their employees proper appreciation if they hope to
retain them, which is essential for such a high-skilled field. Part of this will
be connecting bonuses with service improvement targets.

Compensation as a monthly bonus, based on time available, abandoned

call rate, customer satisfaction, replacing management hierarchy with
self-managed teams, hiring staff with various personalities and skills, con-
necting rewards with customer service, and providing new training meth-
ods are some of the ways companies are reducing agent attrition.

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 GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

AUTOMATED CUSTOMER SUPPORT: FOR PREDICTABLE,

PREPARING THE RIGHT LOW-COMPLEXITY REQUESTS
PERSONALIZED RESPONSE Companies should use the current situation as an opportunity to promote
digital self-service. By encouraging customers to use self-service methods
for transactional requests that occur in a high volume, agents can focus on
Segmenting demand complex issues. To encourage the use of digital self-service, companies
High can send emails and texts or play recorded messages during holds on the
phone.

AI AUGMENTED SUPPORT SYSTEMS: FOR PREDICTABLE,

Automated
AI Augmented HIGH-COMPLEXITY REQUESTS
Support Systems
Customer Support
AI tools allow digital and human support to integrate seamlessly, reducing
Predictability the dead air on calls and providing agents with more opportunities for em-
pathy. The tools can rely on natural language processing to assist by pro-
viding relevant answers, automating tasks, and offering real-time coaching
and guidance. Implementing AI-driven knowledge base tools can improve
first-call resolution (FCR).
Flexible Remote Asynchronous
Workforce Handling
Low A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE: FOR UNPREDICTABLE, LOW-
COMPLEXITY REQUESTS
Low High Remote workers operating out of their homes instead of traditional call
Case Complexity centers allows for flexible human capacity in which agents can choose their
hours. COVID-19 has forced many companies to overcome many barriers,
from network stability to information security. Those solutions can now be
The current crisis demonstrates how even well-thought-out continuity implemented on a larger scale.
plans can be overcome by the situation. To prevent this in the future, com-
panies must incorporate structural resilience into working methods. ASYNCHRONOUS HANDLING: FOR UNPREDICTABLE, HIGH-
COMPLEXITY REQUESTS
These unpredictable problems pose the biggest challenge since flexible
part-time workers are not enough due to a lack of training. One successful
approach is to put flexible workers on the front line with the additional role
of triaging issues.

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

WAY FORWARD
Moving forward, companies must harness om-
nichannel methods, including digital self-care.
This prevents low-value contacts, saving re-
sources. Companies can further reduce those
contacts by systematically addressing the root
causes and using tools, such as assisted work-
flows and chatbots.

Contact centers must ensure a customer-cen-

tric experience that is high-quality and om-
nichannel. Companies can identify customer
needs by mapping the journey of customers
and then developing approaches that can be
integrated across channels.

Companies must shift their contact center mod-

els to an approach of service-to-solution, in-
volving customer engagement, segmentation,
and analytics. This allows for personalized ser-
vice and product offers to improve revenue and
customer satisfaction. The change will require
frontline skills and management, as well as em-
powerment.

Savvy companies will also nurture the capabili-

ties of call centers, aligning processes with new
technology. It is also crucial to maintain knowl-
edgeable, experienced agents due to the im-
portance of a consistent customer experience.

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GUIDE: THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

REIMAGINING THE CONTACT CENTER

To future-proof, companies must develop a flexible, responsive operating model that includes a variety
of options and can handle uncertainty as well as complexity. Companies should use leadership styles
that motivate dispersed teams, dynamic workforce management, incentives that match expectations
and responsibilities, upgraded tools, and analytics.and responsibilities, upgraded tools, and analytics.

GEARED TOWARD FLEXIBILITY GEARED TOWARD EXPERIENCE

Onshore, major
Location Offshore Near-shore Onshore, regional
metro areas

Environment Home Branch/Store Small office Large service center

In sourced,
Sourcing Outsourced on-demand Traditional outsourced lnsourced, split roles
permanent team

Basis Fully flexible hours Annual working hours Part time Full time

Cross-skilling for End-to-end customer

Skilling Frontline triage Multiskilling
overflow ownership

Agile, self-organizing Managers plus Fixed-line

Leadership Matrix management
teams dedicated coaches management

Source: BCG analysis

Future contact centers must focus on the fun- Consider the new customer experience after
damentals, such as care and connection. Make COVID-19, including a slow return to growth
both employee and customer well-being a pri- and how to incorporate cost-savings without
ority, including reaching out during crises. sacrificing customer experience.

During this crisis and in the future, customers Finally, create capabilities that can adapt to the
will demand more digital options, which savvy fast-changing world, including rapid research
companies will supply via bots, email, and web- to identify and overcome pain points.
chat.

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 ABOUT CONTACTPOINT 360
A Global Contact Center Operator, ContactPoint,
360, Inc., based in Toronto, Canada with locations
in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia
has reimagined the business process outsourcing
sector by creating a new hybrid approach to CX
support, combining omnichannel contact center
operations, marketing agency services, digital
transformation solutions, and an in-house software
development division. The company’s international
team of subject matter experts are highly skilled
in key industries such as Banking, Technology,
Retail, Travel, Healthcare, Government, and Utilities.
This expertise, along with the full suite of unique
services, enables CP360 to provide end-to-end
CX solutions to clients in a one-stop-shop environ-
ment.

www.contactpoint360.com