As customer demands grow, so does the need for customer experience operations to go beyond what’s known to be traditional customer service. There’s an expanding urgency for brands to offer a dynamic and highly personalized service and a need for a contact centre to evolve into more than just a complaints hotline.
The industry is undergoing a transformation, and customer service models like gig customer service – also known as GigCX – are becoming the mainstream. The sector is calling out for unrivalled personalisation and an authentic experience for customers and prospects. Actual experience with a product or service, rather than customer service training, is becoming crucial.
How is the gig customer service set to provide all these things and remedy the tired customer experience industry? The answer to this trending question is in the following important points.
- Customers and prospects want answers – and they want them now
The pandemic has truly taught us that when faced with disruption, customer expectations remain high in their favourite brands. With a range of uncertainties across the board during the pandemic, brands have seen a huge fluctuation in demand, and in turn, varying numbers of customer queries to the contact centre.
We have seen many companies fail in efforts to meet increased levels of demand this year, which lead them straight towards higher levels of a bad experience. The mathematic is simple – longer wait times and unanswered contacts all bring us to overall poor customer service.
Despite the economic changes, customers expect a top-notch service irrespective of disruption. More than ever, the flexibility, accessibility, and availability of customer services have become a lifeline of survival for brands.
Gig customer service agents make a vital part of business survival strategies. Based all over the world, passionate brand experts can jump online and handle queries whenever the need arises. Long gone are the 9-5 opening restrictions, and staff that require two weeks’ worth of training before starting the job.
Gig agents who work on behalf of their favourite brand only need a few hours to put their passion and knowledge into practice. They become the true advocate ‘wow’ factor, which guarantees customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Authentic experiences are in high demand
One can’t imagine the worse situation for customer service than bringing together a frustrated user with an unenthusiastic script-reading agent. Yet, we’ve seen this setting as a common pitfall of many businesses.
Gig customer service offers brands the easy way out of the situation. With it, businesses have the chance to be more responsive and empathetic than ever before. Where competition is rife, customers are more likely to sway towards a brand that truly shows an understanding of their needs, wants and pain points.
That said, empathy cannot be lifted from a call centre script, nor does one model fit all. As revealed in recent research, 59% of customers say that the pandemic has raised their standards for customer service, and a lack of personalisation and understanding from a call centre agent will no longer cut it.
The obvious perk of a gig customer service is that users can have their queries met by someone who has true hands-on experience with a product or service. Likewise, human connection can do its ‘thing’ and connect people to one another in the world’s most challenging time.
- The rise of the new Customer Success KPIs
The change in customer expectations brought with it the need for an evolution in traditional customer service KPIs. Not only do these changes concern how we measure the quality of service and cost, but brands are now considering the longevity of a customer-brand relationship.
Companies of all types are now considering Customer Lifetime Value as a KPI in its own right. After all, without customers, company success will be limited. Likewise, we’ve seen an uptake in the subscription model approach by retailers looking to win over and keep their customers. Although not new, what we are witnessing is a total revamp in brand priorities.
Brands often assume that resolving a customer query automatically leads to longstanding customer loyalty and engagement with a product. However, the opposite often rings true. Customer is less likely to use a product or fully engage with a service without dedicated interaction. This is where gig customer service agents step in as people who can offer better communication, and therefore, stronger relationships.
Final thoughts on GigCX
In all, gig customer service teams are fundamentally changing the customer journey, ensuring that brands can offer value for their customers at every stage. People now want guidance from other people, as well as experiences that are true to the product or service they are using. Creating meaningful customer experiences for people is no longer a tick-box exercise, but an opportunity to develop community-based trust.