For small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the latest trends can act as crucial pearls of wisdom into the ever-changing, cryptic world of customer experience (CX). One of the latest and most significant customer service trends being the rise of omnichannel customer experience.
Keeping abreast of such trends can provide invaluable insights into what customers truly desire from your service, and can thus, set your business up for success without needing to be a CX expert.
Take this insight for example – a recent study reveals that the average consumer alternates between three devices to complete a single task. And to interact with businesses? They utilise anywhere up to ten different channels1. This simple statistic highlights that customers want choice and convenience from interactions. And so, to win their custom, businesses must deliver consistent and seamless service across all of their preferred channels.
This is the very essence of the omnichannel customer experience – providing superior, unified service across multiple platforms, be it social media, email, or any other touchpoint.
In this blog, we will delve into the top customer service trends, exploring why the omnichannel customer experience is becoming a cornerstone of modern CX strategies. Join us as we dive into the world of CX and discover how to leverage omnichannel strategies to enhance your customer interactions and business performance.
Omnichannel customer service trends
Customer expectations, much like the market landscape, remain remarkably fickle. This unpredictability, paired with restricted resource, makes SMBs hesitant to react to emerging trends.
Amidst the ongoing discussion on omnichannel customer experiences, it’s natural for SMBs to question whether this concept is merely hype or a sustainable trend worthy of investment.
To understand if your business should be considering an omnichannel customer service strategy, let’s see what the trends have to say about expectations:
1: 91% of customers prefer to purchase from brands that utilise historic interaction data to tailor promotions and recommendations2.
Customers want brands to get personal. In fact, a recent study shows that 6 in 10 consumers actively advocate for the use of historic interaction and purchase data to shape personalised experiences3.
It’s clear that recognising and leveraging unique preferences, such as communication channels and purchasing habits, can go a long way in yielding loyalty and repeat revenue. However, relying solely on agent memory isn’t sufficient for executing personalised journeys. Businesses require a robust platform that facilitates omnichannel communications, ensuring seamless data storage and accessibility across all touchpoints.
2: 70% of customers expect anyone they interact with to have full context3.
Modern customer service doesn’t follow one linear journey. With the proliferation of technology, a customer can initiate support on one channel, switching to another mid-interaction. Depending on the size of your business or nature of the query, conversations may also exchange hands between agents or departments as a result.
Regardless of what unexpected shifts a service journey may face, customers demand consistent visibility and context throughout. They expect every employee to be well-informed about their query, progress and desired outcomes, and in the process of doing so… they do not want to repeat themselves.
Addressing this expectation requires a strong omnichannel communication strategy. By centralising customer interaction data, businesses can seamlessly track and transfer context across channels, ensuring a smooth and personalised service experience for every customer interaction.
3: 40% of customers highlighted multiple communication channels as the most crucial aspect of modern customer service4.
In the realm of modern customer service, providing multiple communication channels is paramount.
While traditional voice calls can offer a personal touch, what customers really want from service is choice. They seek the freedom to select the most suitable channel for their specific circumstance and query, recognising that not all interactions require a physical conversation.
Offering diverse communication channels benefits both customers and businesses. By embracing digital methods alongside traditional avenues, businesses can alleviate the strain of high call volumes on their phone lines and employees, while reducing manual intervention, enhancing efficiency, and enabling smoother interactions.
4: 90% of customers want service that is seamless between all channels5.
While it’s clear customers value choice in their interactions with businesses, they expect this flexibility without sacrificing the quality of service experienced.
Today’s customers anticipate a unified experience, whether they’re engaging through social media, email, webchat or phone calls. Consistency is key, but they also want fluidity across touchpoints. This means being able to seamlessly track conversations across channels, ensuring context is maintained, offers are personalised and outstanding issues are proactively addressed.
Achieving this level of integration enhances transparency and fosters trust between businesses and customers, ultimately leading to smoother and more satisfying service experiences.
5: A 10% increase in average order value experienced in businesses that successfully execute omnichannel service strategies6.
Businesses that successfully implement omnichannel customer service strategies can see substantial rewards. Research highlights that companies executing these strategies experience a 10% increase in average order value.
Effective omnichannel customer service not only boosts spending but also encourages customers to shop more often. Another study reveals that shoppers exposed to omnichannel experiences are more likely to double their shopping frequency – and the reasons are clear7.
Centralising customer data in a unified platform allows businesses to deliver personalised offers and leverage relevant upsell opportunities, leading to higher-value purchases. Additionally, by streamlining the shopping process across channels, businesses eliminate purchase barriers, making it easier and more convenient for customers to spend their money.
So, should SMBs invest in omnichannel experiences?
Given the evident advantages outlined by omnichannel customer service trends, it’s clear that investing in an omnichannel strategy is not just beneficial but essential for SMBs. Providing a seamless, integrated customer experience across multiple channels ensures that your business can meet and exceed customer expectations, driving loyalty and boosting profitability.
For SMBs looking to thrive in the competitive marketplace, embracing omnichannel customer experience is a strategic move that aligns with modern customer expectations. By adopting these strategies, SMBs can unlock significant growth opportunities and stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of CX.
How can Daisy help you excel in CX?
At Daisy Communications, we empower SMBs across the UK with the technology needed to deliver competitive customer experiences. Our contact centre software, DHV Contact, connects businesses with tools to implement an effective omnichannel customer service strategy, streamlining interactions across email, webchat, SMS and voice into one user-friendly (and budget-friendly) platform.
As an independent business, we believe superior customer service shouldn’t be exclusive to big business. We’re here to make sure that’s a possibility.
So, are you ready to transform your customer experience?
Dive into our starter guide to contact centre software here – or if you’re not stopping for long, join our mailing list here to receive the latest CX news straight to your inbox.
1Ninetailed, 2024. 2Accenture, 2018. 3Zendesk, 2024. 4Business Wire, 2021. 5CX Today, 2019. 6Adobe, 2018. 7McKinsey & Company, 2022.
Make the right call for customer service, choose DHV Contact.
Learn more about our contact centre solution and how it can transform your service or complete our short form to arrange a meeting with a specialist.
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