Contact Center Trends
What does the future of customer loyalty bring for the contact center
By David Gardner
0 min read
As organizations arrive at some level of normalcy in adapting to a more digital world, they are beginning to look at different ways to build and maintain customer loyalty.
Talkdesk Research™ recently launched The future of customer loyalty report, exploring the new landscape of customer loyalty and the role of the contact center in building and maintaining loyalty. This report is based on three global quantitative online surveys of customer experience (CX) professionals and consumers.
The reality is clear: loyalty is hard to earn, and easy to lose. Almost nine-in-ten (86%) of consumers are loyal to 5 or fewer companies, while one-in-two (49%) would stop being loyal to a company because of a single bad experience.
The rise of the work from home lifestyle and the increasing demand for digital shopping experiences, combined with the evolving needs of consumers, is at the core of the changing dynamics in building and maintaining loyalty.
Easy interactions, quick resolution, and brand connection are core drivers of customer loyalty.
The ability to resolve any customer service issue on first contact emerged in our research as a primary driver of consumer loyalty. Easy and quick issue resolution is critical to building and maintaining customer loyalty. The challenge for many will be effectively doing so across a broadening array of channels being used within individual service interactions.
Looking to the horizon of loyalty, younger consumers are substantially more likely to decide whether to work with a company based on its position on social issues, sustainability, and diversity. Going forward, it won’t be enough to deliver quick and easy issue resolution; customer service functions will also need to consider how to effectively represent the company within broader social contexts.
Agents are already expected to serve as brand ambassadors and will need to be equipped to speak to these evolving broader social conversations.
report
The future of customer loyalty
Contact centers and agents will become more strategic in creating loyal customers.
The broadening importance of customer service in generating loyalty is leading organizations to transform contact centers into profit centers—a process that is already happening in many organizations.
As the contact center is recognized as more than a cost center, agents will become increasingly dedicated to revenue-generating activities, such as proactively contacting customers to capitalize on new opportunities to drive revenue and provide a memorable service experience.
As agents gain influence in customer loyalty, they’ll become more central to the success of organizations, and leaders will need to prioritize engaging and retaining contact center employees.
To keep reading about how organizations can transform contact centers to foster customer loyalty and agent retention, make sure you download the full report.
