Four contact centre CX myths
In the last several years, the rise of CX as a top focus for contact centres has resulted in the proliferation of various CX myths. These myths could lead even the most dedicated and well-intentioned contact centre stakeholders astray. From cost to mindset, the truth of these myths will enable faster, more effective CX transformation.
Myth 1: CX is just a contact centre challenge
The contact centre is often seen as the hub of CX. The responsibility and execution of CX are most often placed solely on the Head of the contact centre and the agents. In many organisations, other departments will refrain from being involved in CX, with the mindset that the contact centre staff are the CX experts and the job of CX should be left to those experts.
The truth
While it’s true, the contact centre agent can be seen as the face of the organisation and therefore play an instrumental part in CX, the contact centre should not be the sole custodian of responsibility for CX.
CX has a far-reaching impact within an organisation and is too important to be seen as a departmental matter. In truth, CX is a form of corporate culture and like any culture within an organisation, active participation from the majority is necessary.
Consider this; a customer has various touch points within their journey. These touch points are not limited to the contact centre.
A single phone call, with positive customer sentiment, does not a complete CX journey make. CX should form an integral part of the business strategy, flowing from the executive team down. It is a company-wide effort to attract and retain the loyalty of the customer. Each member of the organisation must see themselves as the owner of CX and have a customer-centric mindset.
Myth 2: You need to have a big budget to deliver great CX
It is commonly accepted that big innovation comes only with big expenditure. Some organisations may even dismiss CX and digital transformation as ‘buzz words’ with little intent to transform, citing cost as the barrier.
The truth
This may be the biggest myth of them all, and those organisations that believe it are probably already lagging way behind.
Going from immature to mature in the world of CX doesn’t often happen overnight. Apart from the fact that building brand advocacy takes time, a change in process means change management. It is acceptable to tackle CX transformation in stages.
Contrary to popular belief, not every stage has to be a costly one. One of the single most important stages is a paradigm shift. The only absolute that an organisation must invest in to be successful is a customer-centric strategy. When people, process and product align with the belief that the customer is king, the organisation has gone a long way to growing its CX maturity. Consistency, not cash, is key.
Myth 3: The customer is always right
This is a sensitive myth to broach as many organisations are not willing to accept it as a myth. Many organisations will try to entice customers with the promise of great service by emphasising that “the customer is always right”. However, this may have the opposite effect.
The truth
If the customer is always right, then the employee is always wrong. This will have a considerable impact on the morale of agents. When agent morale is low, poor CX customer experience can be expected.
There are of course cases to be made where a lacking employee simply does not deliver an acceptable standard of CX (this is a separate conversation). However, if “the customer is always right” is placed as an organisational value, there are going to be far more cases of difficult customers abusing employees.
It is inevitable that some customers will not be pleased and are going to make a switch. It is not worth causing an employee to resent the organisation for the few difficult customers. It is counterproductive. A disgruntled employee is unlikely to provide consistently excellent CX.
Myth 4: CX is all about the technology
CX is all about what CX technology system you have in place and how advanced your digital capabilities are. It’s about how integrated and automated your workforce is and whether you are cloud-enabled or not. At least that’s what they say.
The truth
CX is a people solution, simply enabled by technology. While technology is important in digital CX, it’s only one component in effecting organisational change to positively impact the business and its clients. CX Technology isn’t a silver bullet. CX includes changing mindsets, processes, and stereotypes.
Investing in a combination of CX technology and a trusted contact centre partner can yield great results, if the organisation is simultaneously implementing customer-centric culture.
The technology does automate certain interactions, but it should not be mistaken as a replacement for human interaction. Aside from streamlining processes and making your customers’ lives easier, technology empowers agents to make more meaningful connections and create lasting positive impressions.
The biggest part of CX is changing the way we think as an organisation.
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