Limited staff, budget & technology are the main hurdles
There is a strong need for greater efficiency in customer service operations, particularly in today's rapidly shifting business environment, according to a study of the state of the customer service industry by omnichannel SaaS platform provider Kustomer.
The survey of over 120 customer service professionals, across a variety of industries, found that 92% of organizations say more efficiency is needed, and 51% reported that there is a much greater need for efficiency than a year ago.
Kustomer surveyed customer service professionals across twenty industries including healthcare, food, beverage and grocery, and finance and insurance industries to better understand the current customer service environment, what tools and strategies businesses are currently using to achieve efficiency, and how technology can play a more central role in turning customer service organizations into profit centers.
Key findings included:
"When business is booming and a wealth of resources are available, efficiency may not be the number one priority for a customer service organization, but as the pandemic continues to challenge brands and customer expectations continue to shift, the power of an efficient and effective customer service organization cannot be underestimated," said Brad Birnbaum, Co-Founder and CEO of Kustomer. "As businesses have no choice but to do more with less, having the technology tools in place that can minimize the impact of decreased resources and make agents' jobs easier will play an increasingly important role in delivering a stellar customer experience while ensuring profitability."
"Now that we have a greater understanding of the efficiency pressures and challenges facing today's customer service organizations, the adoption of intelligent tools that can handle low level tasks and free up agents' time to handle challenging inquiries becomes even more essential," added Birnbaum. "By combining tools like AI-powered technology, sentiment analysis, intelligent routing and chatbots, the Kustomer platform provides agents what they need to deliver highly efficient service, build long-lasting customer relationships, boost brand loyalty and make valuable contributions to the company's bottom line."
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