Introduction
In the fast-evolving world of customer service, staying ahead of trends is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. Before the idea of lytra was born, I've conducted a series of 27 expert interviews with Heads of Customer Service from a diverse array of industries. These conversations with upper management executives, spanning verticals like fashion, food and beverage, manufacturing, medtech, telecom, and software engineering, have revealed key insights into the current landscape of customer support.
Here’s a breakdown of what I've learned - and what was the ignition to founding lytra.
Streamlined Interviews Yield Deep Insights
My approach involved 15-minute timeslots for each interview, allowing me to engage with a wide range of experts efficiently. This format proved effective, with many interviewees expressing appreciation for the streamlined process. Interestingly, some experts were so invested in the discussion that our conversations extended well beyond the allotted time.
The Outsourcing Dilemma: To Outsource or Not?
Outsourcing in customer service remains a mixed bag. Only 22% of the companies I interviewed had parts of their customer service outsourced. The reasons varied:
- Integrated Service Teams: In industries like mechanical engineering and manufacturing, customer service is often tied closely with service technicians and product engineers, making outsourcing impractical.
- Lack of Structured Support Levels: Companies without clear 1st and 2nd level support structures find it challenging to outsource effectively.
- Negative Outsourcing Experiences: Concerns over response times and agent motivation deter some from outsourcing
- Close Customer Relationship: Especially in B2B settings, customer service often resembles key account management.
- B2C and Simpler Products: For simpler, B2C products like in retail or telecom, outsourcing can be more feasible and beneficial.
Common Pain Points in Customer Service
Across industries, several pain points emerged consistently:
- Lack of Skilled Workers: Finding and retaining skilled customer service agents remains a significant challenge.
- Distributed Information Sources: Many companies (22%) struggle with scattered IT systems, leading to high job complexity and long ramp-up times for new agents.
- Customer Education: A recurring issue is customers not reading manuals or attempting to solve problems themselves, leading to increased contact with customer service.
- Workload Peaks: 18% of interviewees reported significant and irregular workload variations, making staffing and resource management difficult.
Technology Adoption: Still a Long Way to Go
Despite the plethora of customer service tools available, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to rely on outdated systems - or one at all. A surprising 22% still uses shared email inboxes instead of modern ticketing systems. Even more striking is that 63% do not have a knowledge management system in place. Nearly all interviewees indicated that agents often search for solutions across multiple disconnected platforms, including ERP systems, separate knowledge bases, order management systems, cloud storage, and document management systems.
This fragmentation significantly hampers efficiency and response times, escpecially for more complex customer requests that don't only require a simple answers but data access (read and write).
Key Performance Indicators: What Matters Most?
When it comes to measuring success in customer service, certain KPIs stand out.
Decreasing response time is a top priority, as it directly impacts CSAT. Improving agent efficiency and motivation is crucial for maintaining a productive customer service team. Enhancing the overall customer experience remains a central focus. Additionally, 37% of interviewees emphasized the importance of problem pooling to standardize responses and improve efficiency. Keeping administrative tasks to a minimum is also essential to maintain a streamlined operation. This applies for both, leading customer services teams but also for administering customer service tools.
Conclusion
The insights from the expert interviews highlight both the challenges and opportunities within the customer service landscape. While technology adoption and skill shortages present ongoing hurdles, there is also a clear path forward through improved systems integration, knowledge availability and democratization as well as focusing on relevant key performance metrics.
At lytra, we’re committed to helping businesses navigate these trends and enhance their customer service operations.
Stay tuned for more insights and updates in the future!
