Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.
This week, we’re looking at thoughts on the spring budget for retail and hospitality, as well as new questions into whether employee benefits include all the financial help they need. There’s also new research into ineffective AI for customer service, and the real cost of the rise of digitisation in recent years.
Key news
- Meta have announced plans to lay off 10k of their workers. This news comes off the back of the company cutting 11,000 jobs in November 2022. In addition to the 10,000 jobs cut, 5,000 vacancies at the firm will be left unfilled, Mark Zuckerberg has told his workforce. “We expect to announce restructurings and lay-offs in our tech groups in late April 2023, and then our business groups in late May 2023.”
- Digital marketing platform Uberall has introduced new advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT technology. This will assist location-based businesses in generating more revenue. These advancements will be integrated into various solutions across the Uberall CoreX platform – including Messages, Reviews, and Local Inventory.
- MetTel has announced that it is working with Talkdesk to bring the power of AI to the contact centre. “With the combination of the Talkdesk contact center platform and the MelTel Cloud Contact Center, customers can transform their contact centers into profit centers and engines for building greater customer trust and loyalty,” said Chad Haydar, global vice president of channel and alliances at Talkdesk.
- NICE’s CXone has more than 1,000,000 agents and supervisors using the full breadth of its functionality daily. CXone provides leading organisations with full CXi (customer experience interactions) capabilities, creating seamless customer journeys across self and human service.
- Braze announced that native support for messaging channel WhatsApp is now generally available. Marketers will be able to create, orchestrate, and send WhatsApp campaigns directly from the Braze platform to strengthen customer relationships with context-rich conversational messaging that can drive higher conversion.
Commentary share: The 2023 Spring Budget
The UK Spring Budget for 2023 has been released this week by the HM Treasury. This set out the government’s plans for tax and spending policy. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has looked to focus on tackling three of the five key priorities set out by the Prime Minister in January. That is to halve inflation; grow the economy; and get debt falling.
We have comments from the retail and hospitality industries in line with the budget announcement.
“To help reduce the strain of changing consumer habits and boost the hospitality and retail sector, the Mayor of London is pushing to reinstate tax-free shopping for overseas visitors in the Spring Budget announcement. The goal being to encourage international tourists back to London, and to drive demand back into shops and restaurants, who continue to be hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic.
But as consumers are also tightening their belts in response to these economic headwinds, now is the time for retailers and businesses to focus on customer retention and securing customer trust and loyalty.”
– Eric Jorgensen, VP, Enterprise EMEA at Zendesk
“To allow hospitality to thrive, businesses required a major overhaul of the business rates system, a shot in the arm to staffing, and increased support with energy costs. The measures laid out for hospitality in the Spring Budget fall short of the level of support that industry leaders have been crying out for over the past year.
“Hospitality can be a driver for the economy and a source of both jobs and tax revenue, but without the right conditions to grow, we will likely see businesses shut down by high business rates, unaffordable tax bills and short staffing. Short-term support with energy bills may keep the lights on in the coming months, but without further action, the possibility of a return to pre-pandemic levels appears slim. I only hope more can be done to prop up businesses affected by rising costs, and that people will continue to support pubs, bars and restaurants in their communities.”
– Sam Martin, CEO of Peckwater Brands
Employees need financial aid – is this being provided?
Research from Blackhawk Network Extras has found that small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) must be paying particular attention to their employee benefits. The survey of 500 HR decision-makers (HRDMs) and 2,000 UK employees sought to understand attitudes towards workplace benefits. With clear disparities between what employees want vs. what they are currently receiving, businesses should review their benefits package ahead of the new tax year.
The key finding from Blackhawk Network Extras’ research is that employees want more support, and failing to provide this could result in staff walking out the door. Already, 72% of businesses have suffered staff resignations over the last six months. 33% of all employers surveyed have noticed an increase in the number of staff leaving.
However, the cost-of-living crisis cuts both ways. Many organisations are also feeling the pinch and might be unable to swing an inflation-busting pay rise or monetary bonus that might help them hold onto staff.
76% of employees are looking for more ways to save money on what they buy. Businesses have listed gym memberships, bikes, and childcare as the top three things employees can currently save money on via their benefits. Yet more than half of employees (51%) reported that financial assistance with groceries was the top benefit their employers should be offering – followed by travel to work by car, and technology.
HR decision makers need to listen to what their staff are telling them and adjust their benefits packages accordingly. However, currently, fewer than two in five are planning on reviewing the benefits they offer at least quarterly. While less than a quarter have considered expanding their benefits package in response to rising inflation, 25% have no plans to change or expand their package this year.
Many HRDMs anticipate that cost-related benefits are only likely to grow in importance over the next 12 months. And it would seem that many employees agree. Almost half are concerned about what their financial situation will be like in 12 months’ time. Over a third expect inflation to impact their financial situation significantly.
The ineffectiveness of AI for customer service
New research from Sprinklr has found alarming statistics for customer service teams and brands. The survey found significant challenges throughout the customer service journey, from basic data collection to deploying advanced solutions like AI. More than half of all respondents said they struggle to even capture meaningful data about customers. 6 in 10 are struggling with ineffective AI solutions.
Key findings from the report include:
- Digital and AI Deficiencies. 62% of brands acknowledge inconsistencies in their digital customer communication. This includes not communicating the same information and not staying true to their brand voice. The majority of companies are also struggling with ineffective AI solutions (60%) and insufficient resourcing (54%).
- Disconnected customer experiences. Only 22% of customer service leaders say their organisation has completely unified customer data. The findings are nearly as alarming for enterprise systems (30%), objectives and metrics (30%), contact channels (33%), and departments (34%).
- Impersonal Interactions. A non-trivial 11% of respondents admitted that they make no effort whatsoever to personalise interactions. Another 36%, meanwhile, limit personalisation efforts to referencing “basic profile details” in some or all communication. The remaining 53% are making strides toward personalisation, but only 12% of all respondents are predicting customer needs and proactively tailoring interactions based on specific needs, intentions, or sentiments.
- Insufficient Insights. Nearly 51% of brands say they are struggling to even capture meaningful data about customers. 67% of companies face difficulty analysing customer data. 64% struggle to unify data. 63% report challenges using data to improve customer experience operations. A majority have trouble empowering frontline agents with relevant context (58%), and sharing insights outside the contact center (55%).
“Recent years have ripped up every rule in the customer service playbook. Focus has been given to creating new experiences, ramping up personalisation and much more. The reality of it is these things aren’t either/or. Customers want it all and for brands to create a future fit model they need to be overcoming every last data hurdle.
Companies are facing significant challenges in delivering a unified and personalised customer service experience, from basic data collection to deploying advanced solutions such as AI. Our research shows that more than half of companies are struggling to even capture meaningful data about customers, and more than 60% are struggling with ineffective AI solutions, showcasing the increasing gaps of insufficient intelligence hindering businesses today.”
– Adam Quartermaine, Global VP, Western Europe at Sprinklr
Twilio research reveals how disjointed digitisation is costing businesses
Twilio’s newest study has uncovered how businesses’ digital acceleration in 2020 has led to a wealth of channels that now need to be consolidated into nuanced, personalised customer engagement strategies in response to today’s consumer needs. With customer retention a crucial metric amid economic uncertainty, failing to address this challenge could cost businesses significantly.
The research examined the methods of contact offered by 100 of YouGov’s most popular UK brands and contrasted this against consumers’ surveyed experiences.
48% of the top 100 companies now offer online chatbots as a customer service channel. Yet without taking advantage of first-party data to understand their customers and personalise their approach, businesses are missing key opportunities to engage with customers. For instance:
- nearly one in five have cut their phone lines (18%)
- despite 87% of customers wanting to speak to a person directly to solve a query
- 37% of phone lines are not freephone
Consumer opinion reflects this missed opportunity: 39% feel that it is more difficult to reach UK companies now than it was in the past, despite there being more channels available than before.
As the UK has moved from the pandemic into the cost of living crisis, businesses now need to adapt to consumers’ greater desire for personalised, convenient engagement methods. Those that still rely on the channel strategies that offered a lifeline in 2020 will find their customers are now more likely to go elsewhere if the experience feels disjointed. With half of UK consumers (54%) agreeing that customer service could change their mind about a company, using data to understand how customers want to interact and equip customer-facing teams to deal with issues effectively is crucial.
Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. Check back next Friday for the latest updates of the week!