Happy Friday! And welcome to the final news roundup of 2022. Thank you all so much for supporting CXM’s news coverage that we launched earlier this year. We will be back on 6th January! 

‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news. 

This week, we’re focusing on digital CX – including the rising importance of the metaverse and immersive experiences, new AI solutions by NICE, and chatbot frustration. There’s also new research into inclusive workplaces – or the lack thereof.

Key news

  • We’re less than 10 days away from Christmas now! If your work are having a Christmas do, there are new warnings that any misbehaviours could get employees fired. This includes actions of thefts, incapacity, harrassment and violence. Jayne Harrison, head of employment law at Richard Nelson LLP, said: “While the Christmas party is an event there to be enjoyed, it’s important to remember there are boundaries and rules which must be respected. Disciplinary action can be taken against employees who display bad behaviour as it will fall under gross misconduct whether it takes place at the office or a venue further afield.”
  • New Gartner marketing research has predicted that by 2024, 70% of brands will redeploy at least 10% of their media budget to product placement in entertainment content. By next year, 85% of consumers with household incomes above $120K will pay for entertainment subscription tiers, software, hardware or mobile devices that allow them to avoid advertising entirely.
  • New research by Merkle has revealed that 77% of UK consumers say that prices overrides any other reason to remain loyal to brands. 86% also agree that a lack of promotions and discounts is a reason to turn away from one brand to another with better offers. 51% of consumers say that businesses should be prioritising cost-of-living offers and nearly two-fifths (39%) would appreciate strong loyalty schemes.
  • Avoira has extended an exclusive agreement with specialist software developer Xdroid. The groundbreaking software can capture, analyse and transcribe every customer communication. This is regardless of whether dialogue is enabled through telephone, email, chat or social media platforms.
  • M-Cube has launched its “Eventually, Christmas” music selection to provide inclusive songs to stores over the festive holidays. The music selection aims to create a convivial, traditional and festive atmosphere; moving away from the stereotypes of popular Christmas music while embracing cross-culturalism.
  • A new poll by YouGov revealed that 10% of adults in Great Britain are cancelling their gym and sports club memberships, due to the cost-of-living crisis. This amounts to 5.1 million young adults. And experts fear the figures mean the cost-of-living crisis is evolving into a British health and fitness disaster, which would ultimately worsen the nation’s wellbeing even further.

Metaverse and immersive experiences set to become an important channel for every area of businesses

New research from CapGemini Research Institute has found a growing anticipation and interest in the both the metaverse and immersive experiences. Consumers are beginning to see usages and potential for both, in relation to social interactions and interacting with businesses. The research was conducted in summer 2022, surveying 8,000 consumers and 1,000 organisations across 12 countries.

Key statistical findings include:

  • 78% of consumers agree more interactive experiences would enable them to make better purchase decisions.
  • 78% of consumers would like to experience retail shopping and product organisations such as cars, households, electronics and furniture (76%) in the metaverse.
  • 84% of organisations believe immersive experiences will be a key differentiator for their company. 80% say their employees believe that the use of immersive technologies will improve CX.
  • 47% of UK consumers believe immersive experiences will significantly change how they interact with most people, brands and services. Especially during product awareness and consideration, and product usage and support.

Out of the small group of metaverse-experienced consumers, three-quarters say they are currently using it and will continue to do so. This indicates there is potential for businesses that can harness the power of this much-hyped immersive experience.

Organisations across sectors have developed immersive experience pilots and demos at a fast pace in recent years. For the consumer products and retail sector specifically, some businesses are piloting immersive use cases such as AR for virtual home decor, electronics and other items (24%) or to create new, more engaging, consumer experiences (25%).

According to the report, 66% of organisations now have a 1–2-year roadmap for immersive experiences. 15% of organisations aim to have some metaverse presence within one year. A further 45% believe it will be mainstream within three years.

There’s still a way to go for inclusive workplaces

A recent survey by Wildgoose revealed that one in five people (20%) believe their current company lacks inclusivity. It also discovered that 57% of employees had witnessed discrimination or a lack of inclusivity whilst at work. Christmas celebrations can also contribute to this feeling of exclusion in the workplace.

The top leading causes of a lack of inclusivity at work in the UK have been surveyed as:

  • 27% of employees witnessing knowledge that someone is being paid less than another in the same position
  • 21% of colleagues working from home feel overlooked for training and/or promotions
  • 21% of employees witness a lack of facilities, access, or opportunities for employees with a disability
  • 17% of employees avoid company socials to navigate unwanted pressure to drink alcohol

In the lead-up to Christmas, which is widely celebrated in the UK at the end of December, it’s important to note that this is a celebration stemmed from religion. Not every employee will celebrate, or want to, as they practice a different faith. Let’s not pressure employees to partake in Christmas celebrations. In the same breath, we should likewise celebrate their own religion’s events throughout the year!

“The results this year do show an improvement on last year, where 27% of employees said their workplace wasn’t inclusive, compared to 20% this year. However there is still a long way to go until everyone feels they are treated fairly in the workplace. […] There are plenty of indoor team building activities which are not Christmas themed, allowing all to have fun without feeling unseen or excluded.”

– Jonny Edser. MD and Founder of Wildgoose

NICE are empowering agents for seamless CX 

NICE have this week launched Enlighten AutoSummary. This is an AI contact centre solution for automatically generating contact centre summaries of every customer interaction with an agent. 

With this new solution, average handle times and after-call work are reduced. Agents are relieved of the need for manual notetaking, while concise, accurate and actionable information about the interaction is immediately available to the next agent in the customer’s journey.

The interaction notes generated by Enlighten AutoSummary include customer contact reason, actions and outcomes. The solution is underpinned by extensive purpose-built, predictive AI models based on the industry’s leading CX dataset. In addition, Enlighten AutoSummary continuously improves its understanding of specific customer and agent behaviours with machine learning for more informative interaction narratives. 

Here are some of the great positives of the new solution: 

  • Agents can concentrate fully on addressing the customer’s issue during a call, rather than on summarising what is being said.
  • Their service quality is improved with a more comprehensive customer context compared with previous interactions. 
  • This reduces the likelihood of producing inconsistent or incomplete information during the customer call. With traditional, manual note-taking, this can often be the case as agents scramble to note down as much information as possible. 
  • More personalised and frictionless experiences can be created.

Consumers are increasingly frustrated by chatbots and automation solutions

New research by UJET, Inc. has revealed that chatbots increase frustration for 80% of consumers. Considering that chatbots were introduced to the world of CX for ease and efficiency, it seems that they have had the opposite effect!

The research, based on data collected from nearly 1,700 consumers over the past 12 months, reveals ineffective automation technology such as chatbots is causing brands to lose credibility with their consumers.

Key findings include:

  • 80% of consumers who have interacted with a chatbot said it increased their frustration level
  • 78% of consumers were forced to connect with a human after failing to resolve their needs through an automated service channel
  • 63% indicated that their interaction with a chatbot did not result in a resolution
  • 72% felt that using a chatbot for customer service was a waste of time
  • More than half of consumers (54%) believe that a phone call with a live agent provides the fastest resolution and best overall customer experience
  • Brands could significantly improve customer experience by ensuring problems are resolved on the first contact (73%)

“[This highlights]  the challenges brands face with implementing automation to decrease wait times, improve first contact resolution, and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The key to success is achieving the right marriage between virtual and human agents in managing those consumer interactions.”

– Justin Robbins, Senior Director of Corporate Communications (and led the research) at UJET

What do you think of chatbots? Would you agree with the findings that UJET have taken? Do they frustrate you, or do they serve part of a good customer experience for you? Get thinking and let us know! 

To further your thinking, have a read through some previous CXM resources on chatbots:

Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. We will back on January 6th!?

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CXM News This Week in CX