2023 Informed: Digital predictions
Nurturing digital customer service channels will be pivotal for businesses to keep their buyers
2023 Informed: Digital predictions
“2022 has been a rollercoaster of a year for social media platforms, and some of the trends we’re seeing are not likely to reverse direction. This will have a trickle-down effect on multiple organisations. First, many organisations rely on data purchased from social media companies to tune their own targeting algorithms; targeting that will become less refined as social media data sets become outdated and less curated. Second, the data sets are often the basis to train AI and ML tools; as data sets become outdated, I expect AI and ML that rely on it to become much less effective.”
Wendy Pfeiffer, CIO, Nutanix
“From the lingering effects of the pandemic through to economic uncertainty and a looming recession, the technology industry has had to face a lot of challenges in recent times. Despite this turmoil, it is great to see that businesses working in the sector are feeling largely hopeful and optimistic for the year ahead.
“This is not to say that there aren’t still difficulties to overcome, as the report shows. However, we are confident that through working together and learning lessons from what we’ve been through, the industry and those in it can continue to grow and thrive in 2023 and beyond.”
William Remes, vice president of EMEA at CompTIA
“UK businesses are facing the ‘perfect storm’ when it comes to customer experience. Economic uncertainty, rapidly changing digital customer behaviours, and slow digital transformation will result in high levels of churn as businesses fail to live up to consumer expectations.
“As customers look to spend more with fewer businesses, building loyalty through exceptional digital experiences must be front of mind. In fact, when it comes to influencing customer loyalty, online self-service (22%) and access to multiple digital customer service channels (21%) are considered two of the top factors. Yet very few businesses today are offering an experience that empowers customers to effectively self-help through any digital channel. If UK businesses want to not only survive, but thrive, this must become the norm.
“To do this, UK businesses must look to cloud-native, AI-powered solutions that can help them not only deliver insights but transform data into automated actions that empower businesses to manage customer intent before it becomes a need, in real-time. Only then can a business meet a customer at the start of their journey – be that search, social or website – and allow them to easily find the right answers on the channel of choice. Better still, with the right tool businesses can deliver personalised chatbots that act more like a smart assistant, which understands each customer’s preferred communication style and when it is best to proactively reach out with information.
“Exceptional digital customer experiences are no longer a nice-to-have. It is what consumers have come to expect and, as we move into 2023, this expectation will only grow. Next year’s business climate won’t be kind to those who don’t make it a priority.”
Darren Rushworth, president international, NICE
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