Top 9 customer service trends you shouldn’t miss (2024 updated)
Customer service is not just a support function anymore but a significant factor affecting a business’s growth. The way companies interact with their customers is constantly evolving. Yet, amidst this constant change, one enduring truth remains — the importance of consistently ensuring customer satisfaction.
According to a survey by PWC, 73% of the buying experience is influenced by how you treat your customers.
To ensure customer satisfaction, staying updated with current trends and exceeding them when possible is essential. This has a direct impact on the growth trajectory of a business.
Here are the nine most important customer service trends that every organization should follow to thrive in this ever-changing landscape.
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What do you mean by customer service trends?
Customer service trends involve the ever-evolving technologies and systems that define modern-day service solutions. It is a dynamic space that encompasses new technologies, omnichannel support, strategies, and AI implementations that businesses adopt in response to changing customer preferences.
These evolving customer service trends are aligned with customers as they bring enhanced flexibility for them to choose a mode of their interactions with service representatives.
Customer service trends you must explore in 2023
1. Allocate more budget for customer support
Companies now know their investment in improving customer service can yield substantial returns. A well-funded customer support department enables you to enhance the quality and responsiveness of your customer service.
Expand your team by hiring and training professional customer service agents. This will revolutionize how your company connects and engages with its customers. Also, implement a customer service platform that enables you to manage your customers and interact with your customer support teams all in one place. It also helps you automate the customer service operations.
Exceptional customer service is the key to customer loyalty. Loyal customers make repeat purchases, make word-of-mouth publicity for your business, and contribute significantly towards the company’s bottom line. Happy customers’ recommendations never get underestimated.
They are one of the direct channels for your company’s organic growth and increased sales.
So, allocating more funds for the betterment of customer service not only fosters customer engagement but also catalyzes organic growth and increased sales.
2. Offer a personalized approach to your customers
The more you cater to your consumers’ preferences, the more personalized they feel. Whether you are an e-commerce platform suggesting products based on previous purchases, a food delivery business remembering a customer’s most ordered dish, or a subscription service providing services tailored to your user’s preferences, personalization plays an important role.
Every customer you provide service to should feel important and valued. Your customer service team must provide accurate solutions and be prepared to handle unexpected situations. At last, it is all about meeting customer expectations while maintaining a seamless customer service experience.
Personalized customer experience fosters customer trust, directly impacting your business performance.
3. Automate your customer service operations
In the era where AI systems are leading almost every business, especially those associated with technologies, it has become crucial to switch to automation to ensure proactiveness. According to Twilio Segment, more than 90% of companies use AI-driven personalization to drive growth to their businesses.
Automating your customer service operations can bring convenience to your business. You should implement automation in your business thoughtfully to ensure it enhances, rather than detracts from, the customer experience.
To do so, utilize AI-powered customer relationship management platforms. They have an in-app GPT bot that automatically addresses customer queries and provides quick resolutions. With platforms like DevRev on board, you don’t need customer support agents on standby; users can directly interact with the bots and get their queries solved.
Striking the perfect balance between automated processes and human interaction is necessary to avoid giving up on customers who require your customer service teams for specific issues.
4. Implement self-service customer support
Instead of waiting hours to connect to the customer support executive, people have started using platforms with resources like a knowledge base and FAQ pages. These resources help users find their answers by themselves without any support from human agents.
If customers require assistance beyond what is available in the knowledge base or FAQ pages, they are directed to a support executive for further assistance. This reduces wait times and bifurcates your customers depending on the level of support needed.
Self-servicing tools allow your business to scale your support operations, reducing wait times and improving overall satisfaction.
5. Establish a strong customer network
Providing excellent customer service is not enough; you must build and maintain healthy customer relationships. A network of loyal customers can be a powerful asset. A community of valuable customers can advocate your brand for positive word-of-mouth marketing and constructive feedback.
This trend resonates with the importance of personalized communication with your customers. Building a network and collecting customer feedback will contribute to your business's sustainable growth and success. Additionally, these customer networks provide valuable insights that enhance your product development and service operations.
6. Build trust through data privacy
To deliver a personalized experience, businesses must gather and process customer data. This naturally means your customers, on the other hand, will be concerned about the future use of their data, and they must understand its intended purpose and usage.
About 44% of customers are comfortable with AI-powered recommendations, but they care about the company's reputation for data privacy and transparency.
7. Switch from single-channel to omnichannel support
Omnichannel support is the newest customer service trend that started during the pandemic. It lets your customers contact you via multiple channels like email, live chat, video chat, social media platforms, messaging apps, and calls. So, with omnichannel support, you can bring all of your customer support channels under one roof.
Why would you rely on a single-channel support system when customers are looking for businesses with multi-channel support? Omnichannel support helps you streamline all your customer's needs and conversations in one platform. By making availability across multiple communication channels, you can create a seamless customer experience.
8. Provide face-to-face video support
Customers expect great customer service when it comes to delivering a personalized touch. Face-to-face video support bridges this gap and helps you provide significant customer service. This trend is particularly relevant for businesses in technological sectors such as product development companies, app & web development companies, and AI development companies.
By providing face-to-face video support, you can offer your customers a high level of assistance beyond text or voice-based communication. By offering product demonstrations, troubleshooting technical issues, or conducting virtual consultations through video support, your customer service reps can enhance customer engagement. Customers are more likely to remember the personalized experience they receive via video.
9. Provide mobile-first customer service
With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, customers expect companies to deliver a seamless experience. A mobile-first approach means optimizing your website so it is responsive and user-friendly on mobile screens. This process involves modifying every communication channel, keeping in mind mobile users’ preferences.
Approximately 46% of customers prefer using their smartphones to complete the entire buying process, from research to payment completion.
With a mobile-first interface, users can easily find the support page and connect to your customer support team in just a few clicks. Additionally, providing chatbots and integration to redirect your customers to a mailing app will enhance their experience. By implementing this trend, your customers can connect to you anytime and anywhere.
Now that you know the essential and recent customer service trends, let’s move on and explore the advantages you will get when you implement them.
What are the advantages of following new customer service trends?
Following customer service trends is a strategic move to benefit your business significantly. Staying attuned to these trends is the key to achieving a competitive edge and going a mile further than your competitors. Here are some of the benefits of implementing the latest customer service trends:
Enhanced customer satisfaction
You can exceed customer expectations by aligning your customer service methods with modern trends. As a result, customer satisfaction levels improve, which can boost loyalty and foster repeat business.
Improved efficiency
Automation and self-service options are only two customer support trends that aim to speed up operations and decrease response times. This enhanced efficiency benefits customers and lowers operational costs for your business.
Increased customer loyalty
Implementing personalized experiences, data transparency, and strong customer networks can foster deep connections with your audience. Customers who are loyal to your brand are more inclined to support it, advocate for it, and contribute significantly to your revenue.
Brand reputation
Being at the forefront of customer service trends demonstrates your commitment to delivering exceptional experiences. A strong brand reputation can help you grow your consumer base and maintain your position in the industry sector.
Conclusion
Staying updated with the changing trends in the technological business space has become necessary. Where customer expectations continue to rise, and competition remains fierce, the nine emerging customer service trends will work as a guide to exceed them.
With a careful balance of personalization, automation, and transparency, you can successfully deliver an improved customer experience. However, customer queries that used to take days or weeks can now be solved using an advanced customer support tool like DevRev.
DevRev is an AI-powered customer support tool designed for SaaS and development companies. DevRev OneCRM brings together the management of customer support tickets and development processes all in one place for a seamless experience.
