Most firms lack the technology needed for satisfactory customer experiences

A majority of customer-facing teams are frustrated with the lack of technology needed to meet customer expectations, according to a new study by research firm Ovum commissioned by cloud-based software provider LogMeIn.

Ovum surveyed 750 customer-facing employees, customer experience (CX) managers, and content managers in seven countries, and found that only 30 percent of field agents have artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and the result for customers is that 20 percent of interactions require a call-back and 13 percent get transferred.

The findings of the survey show that many agents think the technology tools provided by their organizations are not evolving as quickly as their needs are.

Today’s customers expect agents to have increasingly detailed knowledge of products, services, and company policies, so they can achieve first contact resolution, the report said. However, the reality is that only 35 percent of agents say this is possible, as a majority (57 percent) do not have any AI tools and more than half (53 percent) do not use a knowledge base.

“We know that there is a direct correlation between agent frustration and customer discontent, and 85 percent of customer-facing employees expressed a very high degree of frustration because they can’t meet customer expectations,” said Ken Landoline, principal analyst at Ovum.

“As the study highlights, all customer support employees need to be better equipped to meet rapidly growing customer expectations,” Landoline said. “Employees want to step up but are hampered by mediocre training and outdated, inefficient tools. Clearly this needs to change, or customer loyalty and revenue will ultimately suffer.”

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Customer experience Customer data Artificial intelligence HR Technology
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