Customer Success
Talkdesk CX Innovators awards: 4 tips for customer experience innovation
By Amy Payne
0 min read
Talkdesk CX Innovators awards is back! We’re thrilled to kick off 2024 celebrating CX leaders at top-notch organizations who are pushing the boundaries to deliver unparalleled customer experiences.
Join us in recognizing the 2023 class of CX Innovators Awards winners—an initiative that acknowledges excellence and customer experience innovation. Learn how these organizations have grown with Talkdesk, ask questions, and gain important insights from their expertise.
The Talkdesk CX Innovators recipients have stood out with revolutionary strategies to redefine customer experience and achieve remarkable operational results. And who better to learn from than those who’ve paved the way? These are the results some of our customers have achieved during the past year:
- JK Moving Services reduced call abandonment rate by 7% and decreased supervisor escalations by 30%.
- CAI decreased time spent on post-call documentation by 8 minutes or more.
- BCLC increased positive customer experience scores by 10 points.
If you’re ready to be at the forefront of customer service innovation, take a look at their tips and insights on how to get the most out of technology to create memorable customer experiences.
1. Leverage AI to drive customer experience innovation.
When it comes to delivering customer service, our customers are tapping into AI to get the job done. They’re reaping the benefits of AI technology to revolutionize customer experience innovation in several key areas.
For example, AI-powered chatbots provide self-service experience 24/7 for simple inquiries with no need for human agents.
"Talkdesk Studio provides convenience to clients with access to support during off-hours or for any time that they would prefer to seek support outside of calling an agent. AI solutions with Talkdesk are moving us towards providing an omnichannel support experience, accommodating our diverse client base. As we enter Year 2 with Talkdesk, we are looking forward to pursuing more optimizations of our contact center experience with AI functionalities based on the particular nuances of our international case load."
Harry Fox Head of operations, Pogust Goodhead
Another customer experience innovation example is the use of predictive analytics, where AI transforms numbers into golden nuggets of insight. It’s not just about collecting data; it’s about turning it into actionable insights that pave the way for an innovative customer experience. AI algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to anticipate customer needs and preferences, allowing our customers to proactively offer tailored solutions.
"AI enables us to be more proactive versus reactive, which significantly improves the customer experience we provide; when they call our service desk, it's often in the request of assistance for major incidents with productivity and financial stakes. Our AI initiatives with Talkdesk enable us to get ahead of potential challenges and harness the data to continually improve our service desk experience."
Thomas Grosso Jr. Executive director, service desk, CAI
Now, let’s focus on security and compliance. Authentication processes are the backbone of customer trust. AI data security tools protect sensitive customer information ensuring your customers feel safe and your business is compliant with the tightest regulations. AI-powered tools such as voice biometrics authentication provide a safe and quick means of customer authentication and enhance security without relying on traditional passwords and personal information.
"We are utilizing AI to become more efficient. As previously mentioned, we have a complex verification process… Verification itself can take 1-2 minutes. With the use of Talkdesk’s Voice Biometrics we have been able to offer voice authentication to our customers. Within three months of launch, we had over 800 customers sign up and received excellent feedback—the customers love it. Callers no longer need to answer a series of questions to have something done on their account. To date we have seen a reduction of 80 seconds per call for those enrolled in Voice Biometrics."
Pavanpal Virdee Director, call center operations, Home Trust Company
Leveraging AI in customer experience innovation is about finding ways to exceed customer expectations, deliver memorable experiences, and use technology as a tool to enhance human connection. With the right approach and mindset, businesses can tap into the power of AI to create truly innovative and unforgettable customer experiences.
2. Don’t hold back on adding new technology.
Embracing new technology is key to staying ahead of the game when it comes to customer experience innovation. Let customers tap into a frictionless self-service experience that feels like a personal concierge while your agents focus on solving complex issues.
Another way to improve customer experience is by leveraging contextual data. The right tools can gather information about customer preferences, purchase history, and browsing behavior enabling the delivery of personalized experiences and tailored recommendations that leave a lasting impression.
"The most obvious improvement from the member’s perspective is the significantly better and broader range of self-serve options. Now, they get answers to routine questions much more quickly. They’re also getting a more seamless experience. The contextual information our agents see when answering calls results in a more personalized interaction. In addition, members can have their calls routed easily to the right agent, if necessary, which speeds up resolution times and improves customer satisfaction."
Patrick Patterson Chief information officer, LegalShield
Routing the right calls to the right agents is also an important element of the customer experience innovation strategy. AI-powered routing systems connect customers with the most suitable agent to efficiently address their needs streamlining the support process, leading to faster issue resolution, and achieving higher satisfaction rates.
"By flowing the right calls to the right people with assistance from Talkdesk Virtual Agent™, we can best provide a courteous and respectful experience for everyone who contacts us, regardless of whether they become a JK Moving customer. Call flows in Talkdesk Virtual Agent™ parse out support queries from sales queries, and route the calls appropriately. This also allows our sales agents to focus on active sales tasks and succeed in what they do best."
Ken Cohen SVP business development and consumer sales, JK Moving
Think about Amazon’s recommendation engine or Spotify’s personalized playlists. That’s the power of innovative customer experiences. They’re not just good, they’re personalized, intuitive, and make each customer feel special. Features like self-service, contextual data, and call routing processes have the power to create memorable customer experiences.
3. Seamless integrations promote customer experience innovation.
One way to promote customer experience innovation is by thinking outside the box when it comes to using new technologies. Seamless technical partnerships aren’t about using what comes in the box, but thinking outside of it. Explore new possibilities for enhancing the customer journey with unconventional uses of existing products and seamless technology integrations that support your contact center business. Go beyond conventional tool usage and reimagine a creative combination of technology to solve more problems in a faster way. The right technology partner is critical to help foster this environment.
"Talkdesk has helped us find unconventional ways to use the products that support our business and to take our customer experience to the next level, whether that is having a better understanding of where we are thriving, identifying specific areas of customer service improvement, or simply delivering an overall quality service experience for our customers. Today, our contact centers offer customers a 100% uptime SLA."
Mari Stoner Customer experience team manager, Patagonia
Out-of-the-box integrations with other contact center systems and a suite of industry-leading apps are powerful tools for driving customer experience innovation. For example, seamlessly connecting the contact center platform with CRM databases empowers our customers to gain a holistic view of their customer’s journey and preferences. This enables them to provide personalized and proactive support throughout the entire customer lifecycle. Instead of just keeping tabs on customers, find out what they really want and how to use technology as a means to deliver their wishes.
"The business impact of integrating Salesforce and AWS Polly via Talkdesk AppConnect has contributed to smarter routing capabilities, the ability to anticipate customer needs and better resource optimization for staff. We are holistically making gains in the quality of support at our contact center and making it even easier for customers to see BCLC as an organization worth advocating for."
Martin Lampman Director of customer care operations, BCLC
Centralizing and consolidating contact center technology is another key aspect of driving customer experience innovation. Bringing together various communication channels, tools, and systems into one unified platform allows our customers to simplify operations, improve efficiency, and provide a seamless experience across different channels. However, ensure that this consolidation doesn’t merely unify systems but creates a seamless transition for customers across the various channels. Empower your customers to effortlessly navigate from chat to phone support and your agents to have comprehensive insights at every interaction point—all through a single pane of glass workspace.
"Rolling out our inside sales model over the past few years has resulted in significant cost savings and revenue growth, amplified in this past year since integrating Talkdesk and centralizing our contact center technology across customer care and inside sales. We're targeting a $150 million reduction in annual expenses thanks to the consolidation efforts of our new sales coverage model in local markets and streamlining inside sales within the Salesforce-integrated Talkdesk platform."
Gary Matalucci Vice president, inside sales, Republic National Distributing Company
Embracing unconventional integration approaches, leveraging CRM systems, and centralizing contact center technology has enabled our customers to drive their customer experience innovation to new heights. The key lies in finding innovative ways to leverage these technologies and constantly exploring new possibilities for enhancing the overall customer journey.
4. Build strategic alliances.
Strategic alliances are pivotal for leveraging innovative technologies, insights, and best practices from industry leaders. Collaborating with external partners gives companies a wealth of expertise and resources to improve their customer experience innovation efforts. For example, partnering with the right cloud contact center platform provider enables companies to deliver exceptional customer experiences that set them apart from the competition. It also promotes a culture of innovation within the company.
When it comes to building strategic alliances, driving digital options is a key consideration and our customers are a testimony to its success.
"We're focused on driving digital options for our customers to resolve their technical support questions and challenges. Talkdesk enables us to move in that direction while providing a best-in-class contact center experience—for both our agents and customers."
Raymond Stevenson Senior manager, CX operations and data science, Motorola Solutions
The unification of disparate teams across the entire customer experience cycle creates impactful synergies. Breaking down silos and fostering collaboration encourages departmental cooperation by bringing together diverse skill sets and perspectives into a cohesive strategy while siloed approaches fade away to give place to seamless customer experiences.
"Bringing together standalone teams across the entire CX division has given us the foundation for many more CX initiatives. It may be early days, but our agents already see the benefits of a more collaborative environment. They’ve gained time because they no longer have to switch between platforms. The new solution creates an environment in which it’s much easier to access and digest data. Most importantly, these advancements offer customers a seamless service experience."
Rita Michaud Director, CX project management, Serta Simmons Bedding
Overall, building strategic alliances not only drives digital options but also promotes a culture of customer experience innovation within the company. By working together with external partners, companies can unlock new possibilities and create unforgettable experiences for their customers. The synergy born from strategic alliances doesn’t just elevate individual initiatives, it sets the stage for sustained innovation and success.
Join the 2023 class of CX Innovators Award winners, as they build on these tips and share insights and advice on improving customer experience, how they optimize workflows, and the impact AI is having on their operations.
Register today!
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