As 2023 ends and a new year begins, now is the perfect time for C-suites to look back at the past months and make a plan for the future. What were your company’s biggest challenges, and how did you overcome them?Â
What were your most remarkable success stories and your notable failures? Most importantly, what lessons did you learn that you can apply to your business strategy for 2024?
If unsure what to include in your New Year’s resolutions for business, you’re in luck. This article will guide you through the emerging customer service trends for the coming new year and how you can apply them to your daily operations.
What Is a New Year’s Resolution for Businesses?
Before we dive into the latest customer success trends, let’s discuss what a “New Year’s resolution” even means in a business context.
Think about how individuals write New Year’s resolutions about losing weight or breaking a bad habit. Similarly, company leaders must reflect on their previous strategies and consider what they want to improve to retain their competitive edge in an ever-evolving business environment.
Whether you’re a small business owner or the C-suite executive of a Forbes 500 enterprise, it’s always a good idea to continually reassess your operational models, study the latest industry developments and trends, and use data to guide your decision-making.Â
A clear, actionable plan can help you properly coordinate and communicate your expectations to your employees, monitor progress, celebrate milestones, and assess whether your strategies are working as intended.
Pro Tip: Focus On Customer ExperienceÂ
When drafting your business plan for 2024, one aspect of your operations you cannot afford to overlook is the customer experience (CX).Â
In today’s competitive global market, having a high-quality product or service is no longer enough to stand out. You must provide stellar experiences to attract customer attention and foster brand satisfaction and loyalty.
Investing in customer experience adds value for your consumers and improves your bottom line. Here are a few notable data and statistics highlighting why you should make CX a priority this year:
- 73% of consumers say positive experiences are among their most important considerations when choosing brands, behind price and quality.
- Businesses prioritizing and investing in CX reap an 80% revenue increase.
- Customers are willing to pay 18% more for products if they’re repaid with better experiences.
- 80% of companies expect to increase competitiveness by focusing on CX.
- The average customer shares their favorable experiences with at least six others, elevating brand awareness.
New Year’s Resolutions for Business Owners: 5 Ways To Improve Your CX Strategy This 2024
If you seek innovative ways to upgrade your customer experience for the upcoming new year, here’s how you can get started:
#1: Optimize customer touchpoints with human-centered AI design.
It’s no secret that artificial intelligence dominated headlines in 2023, sending the business world abuzz with both excitement and trepidation.Â
The rise of ChatGPT and other conversational AI ignited passionate conversations about the changing nature of work. Shortly after, customer service leaders worldwide quickly sought ways to implement these technologies into their operations.
A Deloitte study predicted that the global conversational AI market will be valued at $14 billion by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 22%. Many businesses plan to use AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to speed up response times and reduce customer service tickets.
However, one mistake many executives make when writing resolution ideas involving AI is thinking that chatbots can replace human customer support. The truth is that these tools can help improve efficiency and productivity, but they cannot provide the empathetic and humanized experience that consumers crave.
Pro Tip: Human Customer Service and AI Should Work Together
According to a 2023 report, 77% of consumers still believe that a “human touch” is necessary for creating positive customer experiences. Although they think chatbots help improve CX, 70% prefer human interaction.
Instead of viewing AI as replacing traditional labor, use it to support and amplify human customer support capabilities. This approach is known as “human-centered AI design,” and you can apply it to multiple customer touchpoints across your entire buyer journey.
The key to optimizing your CX is outlining your customer touchpoints and identifying which ones will benefit most from AI support. Afterward, work closely with your customer service team members to make a plan of action and guide them through your new processes.
#2: Leverage generative AI for content creation.
Beyond chatbots, generative AI is another emerging technology making waves in the business world. A Gartner study estimates that about 30% of marketing messages from large enterprises will be generated by AI by 2025. Industry experts recommend testing generative AI for content creation.
How does this tie into the customer experience? Much like conversational AI tools, generative AI can optimize different aspects of the buyer’s journey.Â
For instance, companies can use generative AI to create effective landing pages, using customer data to personalize marketing campaigns to get the most attention and clicks.Â
Generative AI can also sift through all customer service interactions (whether through phone, email, live chat, or social media), summarizing the most common client problems and using it to generate FAQs and knowledge base content.
#3: Amplify customer service for transportation and logistics.
Running a business means paying close attention to all aspects of your operations and ensuring each department functions smoothly and efficiently. For many companies, logistics and transportation are critical to their growth and success, ensuring proper order fulfillment and delivery.
However, did you know logistics is also essential to the overall customer experience?Â
Think about it: Your buyer experiences unexpected problems with their delivery, whether severe delays, sudden cancellations, or product defects due to transportation errors. In these cases, they may feel less inclined to do business with you again.Â
Companies must view the transportation and logistics process as a critical part of the customer journey. As such, they must invest in CX strategies that amplify efficient transportation, seamless order fulfillment, and constant buyer communication.
One way to do this is by integrating real-time analytics and tracking technologies into every step of your supply chain. Doing so can allow customers to check their order status anytime, and companies can send immediate notifications in case of potential problems or disruptions.
#4: Design an ROI model for your CX strategy.
When goal-setting for the new year, successful people set timelines for their plans and have ways to measure their progress and achievements. The same should be true for business leaders hoping to elevate their customer experience.
How will you know that your customer service game plan is working as intended if you don’t implement ways to measure it? Set your support team up for success by designing a comprehensive return on investment (ROI) model for your CX strategy.
#5: Calculate the ROI of your CX efforts.
Once you’ve designed your ROI model, measure the effectiveness and efficiency of your CX strategies using the right KPIs and formulas.
Remember that customer experience is a holistic journey spanning multiple touchpoints across different platforms. From initial awareness to post-purchase experiences, you must assess how each buyer journey step affects your bottom line.
We recommend zooming in on key metrics like Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Customer Effort Score (CES). Using these metrics can help you evaluate the success of your CX efforts in both the short and long term.
Turn Your Business New Year’s Resolution Ideas Into Reality With SuperStaff
This New Year’s Eve, jump-start your 2024 customer success strategy by partnering with SuperStaff.Â
As an experienced provider of call center outsourcing solutions, we can identify the gaps in your CX processes and help you fill them by leveraging a vast pool of offshore and nearshore professionals.
For us, CX is more than just a single transaction; it’s about building lifetime relationships with your client base. Our team offers a holistic approach to customer experience, from boosting your brand’s online presence to optimizing post-sale support.
Are you ready to make your New Year’s resolutions for business come true? Contact us to get started today!