Vendors will need to add new analytics solutions, multi-channel metrics, and better collaboration tools in 2013 due to the needs of the always-connected customer, or risk losing business, according to analyst firm, Ovum.
In its 2013 Trends to Watch: Customer Experience and Interaction (October 2012) report, Ovum said that social media response teams will move into the contact centre, driving the need for better social media management tools.
In addition, the firm forecasts that social media monitoring within the customer service function will see high growth in the next five years, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent.
Other trends predictions include: mobile self-service will become more intelligent; customers will have the ability to request a call-back from within a mobile application; and it will become easier to transfer a query from a self-service application to voice, chat, or email.
Ovum also said that traditionally siloed applications, such as performance management, business intelligence, and customer feedback will be merged into voice-of-the-customer (VOC) analytics suites that help enterprises view and compare data across different stages of the customer lifecycle.
“Enterprises need to support today’s customers by providing timely and accurate responses via mobile, web, and voice channels,” Ovum senior analyst, Aphrodite Brinsmead, said. “In order to succeed, they must address customer needs at every stage of the customer lifecycle, and support and integrate data internally.”
Many enterprises will have a mixture of Cloud and premise-based customer service solutions, although, for most companies, core automated call distribution (ACD) functionality is likely to remain on-premise for the foreseeable future due to existing investments and mentality.
Follow Nermin Bajric on Twitter: @nermin_au
