Staying Focused On The Right Technologies For Customer Interactions

The contact centre analyst Peter Ryan recently wrote an article warning that many companies offering Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services are in danger of losing sight of their main focus – delivering a great customer experience (CX) – because they are being bombarded with so many new solutions based on emerging technologies. Examples include Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Big Data analytics, and gamification. Peter warns that some companies may be implementing solutions that don’t really have a problem. In the article he said:

“One of the biggest mistakes that any third-party can make in today’s market is to get ahead of the enterprises and consumers in terms of what is being deployed to enable end-user management. The term ‘cool technology’ entered popular culture some two decades back, denoting the use of solutions that were perhaps cutting edge, but that were also ahead of their time in relation to their contemporary applicability. If contact center service providers are not careful, they run the risk of getting caught up in the technology hype without considering real-world practicalities.”

Peter is correct. In fact, it could be argued that CX is now driving an enormous amount of research in the IT industry. Think about smart homes, voice recognition, and intelligent assistants – all these emerging technologies are really being driven forward by companies that want to improve CX.

There are situations where a technology-led approach can be entirely justified. Take a look at this research from McKinsey suggesting that if governments could use improved data analysis techniques to connect together information on spending and income they should be able to increase tax collection by 20%. Just imagine if your government could increase their income by 20% because the system automatically highlighted people who may not be paying the correct taxes.

But it is clear that some brands feel pressured into keeping up with the wave of technology that is changing CX expectations, but those of us that have been in this industry for some time will remember that technology hype has happened before. The wave of poorly designed IVR systems in the 90s and 00s is one good example. As Peter said in his article, what matters is the interaction between the customer and brand:

“But, contact center providers must work hand-in-hand with enterprise clients to ensure that the relevant research enables flawless execution. In today’s commercial environment, end-users are not ready to tolerate what they perceive as weak interactions.”

If you can remain focused on this, the actual experience of the customer, and remember that the technology only implements and enables this interaction then you are likely to stay on the right track.

Let me know what you think about the challenge of choosing the right technologies to deliver CX in this constantly evolving environment by leaving a comment here or get in touch via my LinkedIn.