How CX leaders can meet the ‘greatest challenge in decades’

How CX leaders can meet the ‘greatest challenge in decades’

Customer service leaders “are facing their greatest challenge in decades,” argues McKinsey partner Eric Buesing in his latest report on the state of customer care in 2024. The catalyst of change, of course, is AI, which presents executives with a high-stakes dilemma over the next few years:

“The transition from a care paradigm dominated by human agents to one steered by AI technologies may be the biggest disruption in the history of customer service. Can organizations find a route to hyperefficient, digitized customer care while retaining the personal contact and responsiveness that customers require?”

These are big questions we cover closely in The Works , and it’s the core theme behind our new roundtable piece featuring several leading minds in the world of business technology and customer service. We asked for their take on one main question: Where should executives place their smartest strategic bets in customer experience (CX) right now to make the critical transition to AI-powered customer service??

Should they go all-in on developing generative-AI-equipped chatbots that juggle not just rudimentary tasks and questions but resolve complex customer problems on their own? Or should they—as customer service guru Shep Hyken argues—equip their best agents with AI tools to provide the fastest and highest-quality support until an emerging army of intelligent chatbots are ready for prime time??

Check out what Hyken, XM Institute founder Bruce Temkin , and others have to say about a critical issue for every business today, regardless of size or industry.?

Read the roundtable on The Works .

What CX trailblazers can teach others

Our roundtable experts aren’t the only source of strategic insight on the AI-powered future of CX; a small number of trailblazing companies offer their own insight through lived experience. Consider that just 12% of organizations currently consider themselves CX leaders, according to a recent global survey commissioned by Freshworks and conducted by Forrester.?

What are those leader organizations doing that other companies could learn from? In a recent report on The Works, we identified several winning strategies that CX leaders have in their current playbooks:

  • Predicting customer journeys: 83% of CX leaders are using AI to predict customer journeys and proactively engage.
  • 360-degree customer profiles: 85% have a 360-degree view of their customers with data.
  • Intelligent ticketing: 77% are using AI to route customer queries via chat.

Check out the full report on The Works .?


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?Shep Hyken

Customer Service and Customer Experience Expert | Keynote Speaker | NYT Bestselling Author | Shep helps companies deliver AMAZING customer service experiences!

7 个月

Thank you, Freshworks, for including me in the article. I'm a firm believer that while AI is important to the customer experience, it is just as important - and maybe more so - to support employees. For employees, AI can streamline processes, provide information and answers to their customers' questions, give insights on their customers so they can create a more personalized experience, and more.

R Wilfred Raju

MD| CTO| IT Head| AI| Business Solution| Management| Healthcare IT Consultant| Six sigma Black belt & Global Business Leadership Certified Professional| Author

7 个月

Indeed, the evolving landscape of customer experience presents a monumental challenge for CX leaders. It's all about adapting strategies to meet shifting consumer behaviors, technological advancements, and market trends. Embracing data-driven insights, fostering agility, and prioritizing customer-centricity will be pivotal in navigating this transformative period. Excited to delve deeper into strategies and best practices to overcome this challenge together!

J.L. Try

Stop Marketing, Start Profiting! As your coach/consultant, I teach you step-by-step strategies to dramatically improve your profit without spending more money on advertising.

7 个月

I think there are some great conversations in here about where to put your emphasis on AI usage. A lot of great software already uses a type of AI in the way they surface client information to agents, or helps them to answer questions for a customer. But it all pivots around the human being using it, so making sure you have a clear understanding of the operational features is going to be important. Good read, thanks Freshworks!

Vinoth Kumar

LinkedIn Top Marketing Voice | ?????? ?????????? ???????????? ???????? Certified S? D?????? M???????? L??? ?? EvolveBPM The White-Labeled, Back-Office superpower for global Agencies & Publishers.

7 个月

This newsletter offers a compelling glimpse into the evolving landscape of customer experience (CX) in the era of AI. The insights from industry experts and CX trailblazers shed light on the complexities of this transition and provide valuable guidance for businesses navigating this journey. Thank you for sharing!

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