Ten Business Predictions For 2022

For the last ten years I’ve been sharing predictions and trends, mostly focused on customer service and customer experience (CX). I approach these ideas with the customer in mind—what they are experiencing, what they want, what they expect. The pandemic has thrown many challenges our way. Many of us were forced to change the way we do business. I don’t believe anything completely new was invented. However, we were forced to use, change and adapt to existing technologies and business processes faster than we’ve ever had to in the past. Furthermore, leadership realized that long-term strategic plans had to be put aside and replaced with in-the-moment decisions to keep up with the challenging business environment. So with that in mind, here are my predictions and trends for 2022.

1.?Customers are smarter than ever.?The first prediction for 2022 is the same one I’ve opened with over the past several years. Each year customers become more aware of what great customer service and CX looks like. They are being trained by companies like Amazon, Target, Walmart and other iconic brands that tend to get the customer experience right. It doesn’t matter the type of business you are in, or how big or small, your customers no longer compare you only to your competition, but instead to the best service they have ever received from any brand.

2. B2C expectations are starting to become B2B expectations.?Following up on the first prediction, customers in the B2B world are starting to expect some of the same levels of service and customer experience that they receive from their favorite retail brands. Earlier this year a client in the healthcare industry compared the poor delivery experience he had with a half-million-dollar imaging machine to the perfect experience he had with Amazon delivering toilet paper.

3. Convenience is a competitive expectation.?Not even three years ago I wrote?The Convenience Revolution?when creating a convenient experience was a differentiator that disrupted competition and even entire industries (think Amazon, Uber, Airbnb and others). The pandemic accelerated the adoption of convenience as companies increased options including delivery, improved self-service solutions and better use of technology. It’s simple. The company that is easier to do business with will win.

4. Self-service options are increasingly important. Our?2021 Achieving Customer Amazement Research Study?revealed that 41% of American consumers who need help now turn to a digital self-service solution over traditional phone support. Companies must understand that customers want quick answers to their problems and questions and are willing to forgo traditional phone support if there is an easy (as in convenient) solution. That percentage will grow, especially as forward-thinking companies provide easier, more intuitive digital help.

5. Conversational AI continues to improve.?When I was a kid, I was fascinated with Arthur C. Clarke’s?2001: A Space Odyssey. The computer, HAL, could talk and make decisions. At the time, it was science fiction. Today, it’s reality. Some of the more advanced conversational AI solutions are becoming so good that, in some cases, they are almost indistinguishable from human-to-human interaction. And here’s the reason it is a 2022 prediction: it’s less expensive than ever. Conversational AI applications are now within reach of smaller businesses. So not only will conversational AI improve, it will be more commonplace.

6. Progress on a cashless society.?I remember reading Bill Gates’?The Road Ahead?in 1995. One of the chapters focused on how we would become a cashless society, where we could transfer cash from business to business and person to person with a device we would carry with us. That device is our mobile phone, which is so much more than a phone. Just today I saw a street performer in New York City. As he “passed the hat” after his performance, he also had a sign for the audience on how to Venmo him a tip if they didn’t have cash. The pandemic accelerated the use of cashless technology. More and more we will see companies accepting electronic payment. In some cases, businesses will no longer accept cash. Some argue that this will discriminate against certain customers, a topic to cover in another article. Just know this is coming and it’s something that can’t be stopped.

7. Personalization is becoming the competitive differentiator.?Our customer service research?indicates that 75% of Americans are more likely to be loyal to a company or brand that delivers a personalized customer service experience. Today’s customers are starting to expect that brands will promote what they are interested in versus what they are not. They expect companies to remember who they are, know what they’ve bought in the past and predict what they will need in the future. Customers who are willing to share the information needed to personalize their experience expect the company will treat that information like it is gold, properly protecting it and not abusing the privilege of having it.

8. Privacy is more important than ever.?This is a follow-up to No. 7,?personalization. The customer expects that if they share information that allows a company to have a better relationship with them, the company won’t violate the privilege of having that information. It’s an implied promise. It’s also a legal issue. Don’t abuse personal information or you may lose more than the customer’s trust. You’ll also lose the customer.

9. What a company stands for becomes part of the CX.?This may be one of the most important trends and predictions I’ll share in this article. More and more, customers are expecting brands to stand for something important to their community or even the world. It makes customers feel good to buy from and support companies that stand for something, making it part of the customer’s experience. Often, the cause is environmental sustainability, but it can be anything that’s important to the customer. Some customers choose a cosmetic company because it doesn’t test its products on animals. Some choose a retailer because of its charitable contributions to important causes in the community. This is even more important to the younger Gen-Z and Millennial generations, which are becoming our largest and most powerful groups of customers and have acknowledged that a company’s “impact” is part of their decision to do business with one company over another.?

10. The Great Resignation will be a history lesson.?During the pandemic, many employees were laid off. At first, it hurt, and for many it still does. Yet, some employees realized there might be a better way of life. When given the opportunity, they chose not to come back. Some who were gainfully employed simply chose to quit. However, the companies that took care of their employees, both in the way they were paid (salary and benefits) as well as how they were treated, were minimally impacted by the trend. My prediction is that many employees who “resigned” will find that having a job is a better idea than not, but it has to be the right job. Or, having a higher paying job, with the responsibility and stress that comes with it, could be tolerable under a new set of conditions. Employees will return, but they will demand to be treated the right way. Companies will find ways to offer employees fair compensation and treat them better.

As I created this list, I had many more predictions, trends, and insights I could have included. I believe that most, if not all, of what’s on this list can apply to any type of business. The first nine of these fall into the area of customer experience. No. 10 focuses on our employees. Without a good employee experience, you won’t have a consistently good customer experience.?The Great Resignation?has forced some companies to struggle in both the employee and customer experience, but this should change in the not-too-distant future.

I always appreciate your comments, and if you have any predictions you would like to share, feel free to post them in the comments section below.

Here’s to 2022 being the best year ever!

Shep Hyken?is a customer service and customer experience expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times, bestselling business author.?For information on Shep's virtual?training programs, go to?www.thecustomerfocus.com.

This article was originally published on?Forbes.com (part 1 and part 2).

Check out Shep's latest research in his?2021 Achieving Customer Amazement Study.