This week I presented new research conducted by CCA and Sabio regarding the customer service challenges for 2012 at an excellent Sabio and Avaya event which took place at the Royal Albert Hall. Attending the event  were around 80 delegates from a wide variety of sectors and activities. The event showcased case studies from Greater Manchester Police, Rentokil Initial and Lebara, providing insight into best practice in the key areas of running a contact centre operation and addressing their Customer Service Challenges.
 
Our ‘Voice of the Contact Centre’ research was conducted to identify the critical customer service challenges that organisations face over the coming year. It suggested that organisations need to be doing more to gain a single view of their customers across multiple channels if they are to meet consumers’ clear requirement to be understood and dealt with quickly and efficiently. The findings were generated from consumer research and interviews with Customer Service and Contact Centre Directors from organisations across the Financial Services, Business Services, Public Sector and Retail markets. The study revealed that organisations are trying to do more with less in today’s ‘austerity’ economy which is driving intense pressure on costs. Organisations are also attempting to meet heightened customer expectations and trying to differentiate their brand by offering a higher quality customer experience. Meeting consumers demands associated with the emergence of multichannel and mobile device use was also seen as a key challenge by organisations. 
 
This research very much mirrored other themes which emerged across the day. Kenneth Hitchin, Founding Director, Sabio presented an array of fascinating statistics around consumer trends in the uptake of technology. In many cases he reported these trends have far outstripped predictions, for example the adoption of smart phones is five times greater than forecast by Forrester in 2006. He also asserted that technologies are starting to define generations more clearly, particularly around social media networking sites and mobile with a likely emergence of 'micro-segments' in generations where even 2-3 years will make a difference in usage patterns. Younger generations tend to use technology in much more collaborative ways whilst older generations use it more transactionally. 
 
Some key facts included:
- 17.6m people use a smart phone in the UK;
- 12-18year olds don't really use the Internet for anything other than social media;
- Facebook is now the most commonly accessed site via smart phone;
- 91% of 14-17 year olds access social media on the move;
- 50% of grocery home shopping now done on a mobile device versus PC or laptop.
 
Whilst avoiding technological determinism, it is important to acknowledge the role of these advances in shaping the landscape in which we operate. An increasingly mobile world is clearly dramatically affecting how people purchase and consume products and services. A number of mechanisms for tackling these issues were suggested by Stuart Dorman of Sabio around using mobile apps and location-based services (for example to show stock levels in nearby stores or when the next train home is from your nearest station). Jorge Blanco of Avaya further pointed out that consumers enjoy choice, often undertaking frequent channel shifts, necessitating the optimisation of all channels offered. 
 
One implication of these challenges is around changing patterns of employment and engaging staff to meet a shifting landscape of customer experience. Rod Sherrif and Matt Kemp from Lebara emphasised the importance of employee engagement within the context of these shifts, especially around a robust recruitment process/selection criteria. This was echoed by Alex Mead of CityLink/ Rentokil Initial where they successfully implemented an incentive structure to facilitate improvements to their customer experience.  
 
We would love to hear your thoughts around what you consider to be the key customer service challenges for the coming year, 2012. We are committed to continually supporting our member organisations to best tackle these issues with the varied and rich resources we have at our disposal. If you would like any more information regarding these please don’t hesitate to get in touch.