The Future of Customer Support – What to Expect?

Business is all about the future. You pick an idea and execute it with the intention that it will stand the test of time.

As AI takes over, more people are looking into ways to future-proof their careers and business. In this havoc of change, the future of customer service seems very unpredictable.

Before I transformed my life as a business owner, I felt like I was living in a series of unfortunate events. While others were capitalizing on futuristic trends, I sought stability through traditional methods.

I missed numerous opportunities by neglecting emerging trends and future predictions. I missed the Tech hype of the early 2000s, the social media hype of 2009, and even the crypto hype of 2017. However, I do not want to miss the AI hype.

To future-proof your business, it is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. So, here are a few customer support trends to get you ready.

Top 5 Customer Support Trends

1.    Online Over Telecommunication

Step into the shoes of a customer for a minute. When was the last time you called a brand for negative feedback? Now, think about the last time you left a bad review online.

Most people try to resolve issues over the internet. They leave reviews, drop comments, or send direct messages. If you think it is a farce, these stats might help you change your mind. Qualtrics states that 59% of users prefer companies that respond to their queries via social media. To reach these customers, 76% of local businesses are already relying on social media. In the future, most customers will completely switch to online communication and will stop calling for customer support.

To adapt to this trend, renowned brands like Xfinity are enhancing their customer service by offering online support alongside their dedicated Xfinity customer service number.

Experts believe that the rise of an introverted generation raised in front of screens is one significant factor in preferring online communication to one-on-one conversations. Another crucial factor is the widespread accessibility of the internet.

2.    Chatbot Over Manual

As mentioned earlier, people like communicating online. The demand for chat support is rising. As per Help Scout, 41% of customers prefer chat support when compared to just 32% who prefer calling.

Keeping that into account, you can choose to recruit more people in chat support, or upgrade to using AI chatbots. Most tech companies have already shifted to chatbots. These brands have also integrated chatbots on their websites.

This is helping customers to communicate without going into long waiting queues. Moreover, it is a great way to cut operational costs. Using chatbots is especially helpful for small brands with a limited budget.

3.    Self-Service over Full Service

The future is all about independence and empowerment. Brands actively working on customer empowerment will eventually maintain their winning streak. So, how to empower your customers, you ask? Self-service.

We have seen self-service becoming successful in the retail industry. People like to buy their things, scan their items, pay, and check out. As the flagbearers of innovation, Apple and Google have already upgraded to self-services. On the contrary, traditional brands are still following full service model.

This will now initiate a domino effect leading to medium and small startups as well. In the next few years, it is expected that every big online brand will shift to self-service dashboards.

4.    Personalization over Generalization

The days of generalization are over; now customers demand personalization. Jamie Edwards, Co-founder at Kayako calls it “Unification and Personalization”.

With every interaction online, customers leave digital footprints. With the right strategy, this data gold mine can help your brand outshine the rest. For instance, some brands are using AI agents, fed with consumer behavior data from the digital footprints over the internet, to boost customer service efficiency. This helps AI agents to anticipate the needs of customers, offer timely support, and predict issues that might occur in the future.

This might sound like a vision, but advanced tech companies are already benefiting from this.

5.    People Skill over Technical Skill

You sign up as a customer support agent. Next thing you know, the company shoves you into a 6-month lengthy course about brand guidelines. This is a standard practice in the customer support industry, so no one bats an eye. Surprisingly, the future of customer support or any business is less tech-focused and more people-focused.

Before you question it, take a few minutes to analyze big brands. Most tech companies are moving toward code-less solutions. From designing to software development, the future is “drag and drop” friendly. So, why customer support is still tech focused.

To address this shift, more companies are now maintaining online brand databases. Agents can just extract data when needed. This reduces the need of any formal training related to brand. Now big companies are hiring for customer support with just one prerequisite – be a people’s person.

This is the reason companies are hiring people who love to talk and enjoy conversation rather than tech-savvy individuals who can use fancy jargons.

As the tech world is shifting, business world is shifting at the same pace. Most big brands are already benefiting from this shift by following trends and becoming more people focused. The above-mentioned trends are just a few instances but as a business owner, you need to stay keep an eye on evolving trends.