In a period of inflation, rising energy costs, staffing shortages, and more, many businesses are at a crossroads in 2023 as they try to juggle economic uncertainties while focusing on delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX). Therefore, it’s never been more crucial for companies to adapt and deeply listen to the customers’ needs and wants. And how you precisely do that can be answered in our eight top CX trends in 2023! Let’s take a look at what has been predicted to prevail over the next 11 months!
#1. More investment in artificial intelligence (AI)
In 2023, AI CX will become even more critical to the success of brands as they leverage AI technology and machine learning to understand their customers better and provide better experiences. 79% of CX professionals have said their company plans to increase investment in AI and automation to gain an edge over their competitors in 2023.
For instance, improving the customer experience means analyzing large volumes of customer feedback to truly understand their wants and needs. AI-based sentiment analysis can accurately determine how customers talk about you, identify specific product issues, and improve their journey.
Heck, today’s AI-driven voice of the customer (VoC) programs can even predict the impact on your KPIs.
#2. Hyper personalization of the customer experience
We can expect to see personalization taken to a new level in 2023 as brands seek to offer superior experiences tailored to individual customer needs. The Shopify chart below shows that 88% of consumers believe that experience is as essential as a company’s products or services. 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% are frustrated when this doesn’t happen.
In 2023, you can leverage the voice of the customer and AI-driven insights to provide more personalized experiences tailored to customers’ demands and retain their loyalty. Honda does this exceptionally well, using technology to analyze customer journeys and create meaningful interactions at each touchpoint, closing the loop by using feedback to anticipate customer needs, which influences how operations are run.
Source: Shopify
#3. Optimizing the customer experience (CX) on a budget
With a predicted recession looming, brands will be prepared to work harder to convert shoppers to loyal customers. However, with budgets also tightening, it’ll be more important than ever to identify the critical touchpoints in the customer experience where they can influence the decision to purchase. Listening to the VoC can help you determine where these are and what steps you can take to optimize your customer’s experience without jeopardizing your budget.
As the chart below shows, customers rate efficiency, convenience, and friendly service as the most valuable elements of CX. CX leaders must strike the perfect balance between quality customer service and cost efficiency. Convenience can mean different things to different customers. Still, simple examples of ways your brand could implement this include making reservations and the ability to amend them being taken online, offering free and fast shipping, click and collect and an intuitive online checkout process.
Source: PWC
#4. Increased demand for human interactions
More direct human interaction, such as less reliance on frustrating chatbots and voice-to-voice conversations, is predicted to be a key 2023 CX trend. Despite brands taking advantage of the benefits of AI technologies, 82% of U.S. and 74% of non-U.S. consumers want more human interaction in their brand experience.
Instead of replacing humans with AI, brands should combine them to create maximum value. AI has the power to analyze and process vast amounts of data from different sources, enabling you to create a more valuable and meaningful CX. However, excellent customer care’s most critical aspect is being there for your customers when they need you. Using AI for the less personal aspects of your business will free up your human workforce to spend more time handling complex human issues and fulfilling roles that require empathy and conversation, like complaints, cancellations, or customer frustrations.
#5. Customer care agent optimization
In 2023 we’ll see brands investing in agent optimization, ensuring their CX agents have the right tools, training, and processes to deliver a phenomenal customer experience that sets them apart from the competition. They’ll also realize an added benefit – that creating happy, optimized agents will help them to retain their best talent.
Why’s this important? 60% of consumers say they’ll switch brands if they have a negative contact center experience. In comparison, 82% of U.S. customers would be more loyal to a brand with customer support agents who can effectively ditch the script to solve their issues. Investing in your agents’ skills and tools, such as by giving them access to VoC analytics to understand their customers better, will give them the confidence to take their CX problem-solving abilities to the next level.
#6. More focus on social media marketing to improve CX
Social media marketing will play a massive role in CX in 2023. Brands targeting Gen-Z and millennial customers will need to pay particular attention since these shoppers are most influenced by social media marketing.
According to Customer Experience Magazine, consumers want greater authenticity from the brands they follow on social media, so getting your social media strategy right from the outset is crucial. Social proof and real-life stories have some of the most extraordinary conversion powers. Short-form video content has been noted as having the highest ROI of any visual social media marketing strategy in 2022.
#7. An optimal omnichannel shopping experience
To make shopping decisions easier and CX even better, immersive AR and VR experiences will continue to be a significant trend in 2023 CX. Brands such as Gucci are already using AR to enable customers to digitally superimpose garments and accessories onto themselves using their smartphone cameras. Meanwhile, DHL is using AR to improve staff productivity by as much as 25%, proving that these technologies can be valuable both in front of consumers and behind the scenes in enhancing the overall customer experience.
Your analytics can be used to reveal how you could use AR to create the immersive experiences your customers want. For example, the ‘View in your Room’ option on Amazon lets users place specific products in their rooms to get an idea of what they might look like – something that could convert inquiries to secure sales and help reduce the risk of returns.
#8. Growth of big data and the need for advanced Voice of the Customer (VoC) analytics
Unsurprisingly, businesses will continue to listen to their customers in 2023. Still, customer feedback will become even more critical as limited budgets require brands to ensure every investment in their CX has the maximum impact.
85% of SMEs say online customer feedback has benefitted their business. To ensure that they continue to get maximum value from customer feedback, we’ll see brands finding ways to make surveys personalized, convenient, and enjoyable. This will show their customers that they value their time and opinions, which should increase the response rate. Higher response rates for your brand will provide high-quality data that could help you make more intelligent, CX-positive experiences that optimize loyalty.
Leveraging that feedback through customer feedback analytic solutions will help you to make meaningful improvements to your products and your customer’s shopping journey. Starbucks is a great example, using data gathered from customer feedback to influence new menu items.
Want to understand how VoC analytics programs like Wonderflow truly help to optimize the customer experience? Get in touch with us now!
