Customer churn across industries is increasing – as the concept of the customer for life nears extinction. According to a Global CX Survey conducted over a six-year period by the Teleperformance CX Lab, companies now need to deliver more satisfaction to maintain the same level of loyalty compared to previous years. Greater proliferation of the internet has triggered mass adoption of smartphones, enabling dissatisfied customers to use social media to express their displeasure at the service they’ve experienced. In fact, 25% of consumers surveyed globally across 14 countries and 18 industries confirmed they posted about customer service on social media. If companies do not respond decisively, with speed and reassurance, these comments can go viral, causing irredeemable damage to their reputations.

It’s important however to remember the age-old adage – ‘difficulties mastered are opportunities won’. Companies need to remember, every interaction they have with their customers is also an opportunity for them to generate value and loyalty to their brand. This is increasingly the case as choice becomes a norm, rather than an exception. Nowadays customers will only stay with their current provider if they make the active decision to do so. Consumers are well aware of the plethora of options available to them, with 32% of customer churn last year originating from better offers from competitors according to CX Lab research.

Disruptors and start-ups are battling for a larger portion of the market share and there is a real fight amongst companies to stand out and seize the competitive edge. A closer look at the Financial Services sector, offers clear evidence of FinTech’s challenging the traditional high street banks by offering a seamless and personalized digital customer experience. There are now over 1,600 FinTech companies in the UK, and that number is predicted to more than double by 2030. A recent UK Banking study revealed that in the last year about 22% of customers surveyed considered changing service providers. Furthermore, when considering millennial consumers in the UK, this figure rises to 29%.

New technologies and the boom in social media are making it easier for customers to reach out to companies, and unless the customers receive a quick solution, companies can find their brands and reputations at risk. So how do companies mitigate against these potential hazards and turn them into opportunities?

More and more companies are utilizing customer engagement analytics solutions, intended to improve their agent quality and customer satisfaction in contact centers and within customer experience teams. Data analytics works by harvesting consumer data and this tool can be used to empower businesses to better understand their customers and drastically improve their customer satisfaction levels.

It is best practice to implement data analytics in a scalable, flexible way that seamlessly integrates into business processes within days of introduction. The deployment of data analytics offers companies greater insight into their customer interactions by analyzing a stream of unsolicited and unstructured data, essentially finding the ‘needle in the haystack’ – restricting manual time spent sifting through communications in order to collect data. An end-to-end service is needed, combining the data analysis with a strategic understanding of the end user, and the ability to test and tweak solutions for a substantial return on investment.

Technology, and in particular the introduction and investment in data analytics and consulting will continue to make life easier for companies. Helping them as they source for applicable solutions to consumer pain-points whilst future proofing businesses in a highly disruptive environment and ultimately reassuring customers of their importance. Moreover, companies are provided with real-time analytical insights, leading to accurate and data-driven conclusions resulting in faster and precise business decisions. This also allows companies to move away from working in silos and execute a well-rounded strategy to improve the digital customer experience.

Successful implementation of data analytics solutions involves companies combining several elements in a careful and meticulous way: human, analytics, technology and process excellence must be brought together to ensure a positive change is felt in the businesses. However, finding the balance is key and businesses need to view their customers as human beings and not as a collection of analytics. This will go a long way in future proofing their businesses ensuring the sustained marriage of big-data analysis and service agility, geared towards optimizing customer satisfaction.

Praxidia increases the value of customer interactions and create new opportunities for its clients and their customers by applying the advanced research, analytics, and operational experience. Let us help generate value for your brand through a customized social strategy. Connect with us today.