/ The customer service trends of 2021-2023.
Alexander Wijninga
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5 min
If you wanted to, you could read for hours every day about the new innovations in the field of technology and customer service. Technological developments move so fast that it is impossible to make use of everything all the time. Even so, there are certain trends we see in the customer service field that will certainly not disappear any time soon. That is why it is important that you do keep up with the most important customer service trends of 2021-2023; read about the future of customer service in this article!
Consumers in 2021 no longer always want to reach customer service by telephone alone, but often prefer their favourite channel. When they get the chance to approach you on a channel of their choice, the threshold for approaching your company is lower. Make sure, therefore, that you are broadly reachable and that your service flows smoothly from one channel to another. Keep the same tone of voice everywhere and make sure promotions you have in the shop also apply on Facebook. That way the customer enjoys a single brand experience.
To implement this customer service trend it is important that you bundle all the channels you use on a single platform. This means you no longer have to switch between different channels and you never miss a question again. It is also easier this way to treat customers from every channel in the same way. With the right platform you easily create multichannel customer contact!
All the information you need you now find with one click of your mouse, and that is why your customers expect the same of information about your company. When customers have to wait a long time, that provokes frustration in many cases. 67% of people expect an answer within at least 5 minutes (Prinsen, 2018) Some people in this case choose to take a look at a competitor's website or decide to postpone their purchase until you do have time for them. That is why it is important to integrate a chatbot. When you implement a chatbot it catches a large share of the customer questions and the customer no longer has to wait long for a member of staff. This saves the company time (and therefore money) and raises your customer satisfaction.
When you cannot program it is important that you implement a code-free chatbot. With Watermelon's chatbot builder you only fill in the content; the artificial intelligence does the rest!
We see an upward line in the focus on customer loyalty, and this has several reasons. The first reason is that attracting a new customer costs around 6 times more than generating business from an existing customer. Loyal customers also spend 31% more than new customers (loyaltyfacts, 2018). It is therefore a good deal more advantageous to invest in your current customers. Another reason is that when a customer returns, they are apparently satisfied with the product. When a customer is satisfied and buys from you over a longer period, the chance also grows that this person will recommend your company to others
Make sure you are always there for your customers and that, however long it takes, you help them well when problems arise. It is also very important that you make sure you recognise returning customers. You do this by connecting your live chat and possibly your chatbot to your CRM system. When a customer then returns they are recognised immediately and you address them by their name. The customer service agent also easily sees the conversation history with the customer again. 73% of customers compare 3 to 5 companies before they do business with one (teamloyalty, 2020). make sure, therefore, that you offer just that bit of extra personal service that makes them choose your company.
An important change we have seen in business management is that companies have started paying far more attention to data and feedback. By doing this a customer-centric strategy arises. All the changes that are made are no longer adjusted only to whether they are good for the company, but also to whether they bring added value for the customer. Satisfied customers spend more money sooner, even when the product is cheaper at a competitor.
To apply this strategy it is important that you have the right tools. Make sure you use customer service software that gives you access to extensive statistics. Those statistics show you how long customers have to wait on average, how many complaints come in and when the customer is active. By taking all these aspects into account you make sure you do everything to make things as easy as possible for your customers.
What happens inside your company is also what you radiate to the outside world. When there is a good atmosphere in the customer service team, your staff are quickly a good deal more motivated. It is therefore an important trend that companies focus more and more on company culture and investing in it. Good working conditions, employee terms and training are very important in customer service from 2020 onwards.
Look closely at what your employees want and need and adjust your strategy to it. An employee who feels no commitment to the company makes up to 60% more mistakes (Steijger, 2019). Provide clarity and good guidelines when you lead a team. Confusion leads to irritation and does not contribute to a good atmosphere. Make sure you do team-building activities as well so that your team feel more at ease with each other.
Where it was once an expectation that voice control would become a customer service trend, we now know for sure: voice control is here to stay. With an upward line in the number of searches, around 50% of people already regularly ask Google questions via the voice function (niemantsverdriet, 2020). It is therefore important that you respond to this in your customer service.
How you take account of voice control in your customer service is simple: when you use good customer service software it converts these voice commands into text automatically. That way a chatbot understands them too.
With Watermelon's customer service software you are always assured of all the tools you need to keep up with the newest customer service trends. Watermelon's software recognises voice messages, gives you access to extensive statistics and allows your staff to work together seamlessly. On top of that you easily build a chatbot without programming and automate customer contact processes. Curious? Try it yourself and create a free account.
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