Editorial
The Gist
- Generative AI revolution. Generative AI is set to transform customer experience by providing personalized responses and enhancing empathy in interactions.
- Empathy in CX. Leveraging technology like AI in call centers can lead to more empathetic interactions, improving customer satisfaction and efficiency.
- Total experience trend. The integration of customer and employee experiences is gaining traction, with organizations focusing on a holistic approach to enhance brand interactions.
In late 2023, industry analysts used their crystal ball to look into the future and speculate how technology trends would shape business in 2024 and beyond. Among these predictions generative AI (surprise!), emerged as a significant player, ready to revolutionize customer experience (CX) and foster genuine CX dialogues.
AI in Customer Experience: The Future of CX Dialogues
Although generative AI can't (yet) predict breakfast choices, it empowers personalized responses to various situations, enhancing CX in profound ways. This technology's potential impact prompted discussions among experts in the CX and employee experience (EX) domains who agreed on the importance of leveraging technology to enhance empathy and humanity in genuine CX dialogues.
Related Article: The Future of Smart Experience Management
Genuine CX Dialogues: From a Call Center Script to Online Reviews
AI in customer experience can help enable more empathetic human interactions, particularly evident in call centers. Instead of robotic scripts, AI could provide customized responses based on real-time customer concerns, fostering genuine CX dialogues and quicker resolutions.
Related Article: The Best CX Lessons From Real Customer Conversations
The Benefits of Generative AI
Instead of a canned or templated response, AI tools will help to both prioritize reviews for response, recommend actions and provide easy copy for responding. I am not suggesting that this will take place completely outside of “human eyes,” but it will help us to become more efficient in making certain we respond more accurately earlier in the engagement process.
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Its use can also extend beyond traditional customer-agent interactions, including enhancing sales experiences, refining product recommendations and aiding in handling negative online reviews, all while fostering genuine CX dialogues.
CX Also Being Influenced by EX Investment’s Downturn
For many years, companies held on to the idea that employees were just a line-item in the accounting form, and a big one at that. The fact is that the right employees are very difficult to replace. Even if their hours are not cut, when they see their colleagues’ hours cut, they become concerned for themselves and their colleagues (who are often also their friends). Whether as frontline retail employees or those business-to-business associates, it is important to both understand what is behind any employee churn and take action to fix it.
When I see a company cut their employee experience program “for just this year” to save a few dollars on a budget, the employees recognize that their voice is important and that previous measurements really were not about taking action. Instead it was just a measure for the company to brag about or pretend they were listening, missing an opportunity for genuine CX dialogues.
The Total Experience Trend Gains Traction in 2024
With organizations aligning CX and EX efforts for improved outcomes, there will be a trend toward “total experience,” which will include all the touchpoints and interactions that a consumer or customer will have with a brand. That can include customer-facing touchpoints such as a website or a brick-and-mortar branch, but also the employees along with all the “content” that can be out there about a brand and an industry.
Moving in Together
I have already seen a trend in customer experience and employee experience programs being housed in the same department. It makes quite a bit of sense to combine them as many of the key drivers and root causes regarding the customer experience involve employees, whether it is about service or achieving some task that impacts the customer.
Operations and CX
I have seen the operations team take control of customer experience over the course of my many years in this space — even as far back as two years ago. I am seeing it more frequently in the last few years and expect it to increase in the usage of such an approach.
In many ways it makes sense as the operations team is responsible not only for the initial training of such employees, but also the activities conducted on the frontline as well as adjusting processes and policies related to the customer experience feedback the company receives.
Final Thoughts
As the customer experience industry continues evolving, it's crucial to anticipate emerging trends, such as AI in customer experience and more genuine CX dialogues, and adapt strategies accordingly. While some changes may be swift and straightforward, others may require time and effort to implement effectively. Accessing expert insights and resources can provide valuable guidance in navigating these shifts and ensuring continued success in the field.
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