2017 was the year of opportunity in digital self-service, according to CallVU's semi-annual survey of customers' preferences in the United States.
The survey discovered that consumers, including Baby Boomer and Gen X populations, continue to be interested in self-service options as a way to improve efficiency and save time.
For businesses, moving customer services into the digital sphere also means saving time and resources. Digitizing customer services also frees up staff to handle more high-value tasks.
More businesses than ever are pursuing their own digital transformation by offering a variety of self-service solutions, including web, social, and apps.
In 2018, Ori Faran, CallVu CEO and founder, says he expects companies to introduce more non-human service options, both self-service and BOT driven, as well as hybrid solutions "integrating the power of human and digital."
Faran highlights that more companies than ever before either implemented or began discussions around a digital strategy in 2017, and that momentum has carried over to 2018.
Looking at the year ahead, Faran identified three key trends in digital self-service in 2018:
- The emergence of the contact center as the new Virtual Branch;
- Movement from multi-channel and Omni-Channel concepts to a "post-channel" solution in which organizations will focus on value (services) rather than on siloed or roughly sewed channels; and
- Increased reliance on automated processes based on BOTs and artificial intelligence together for a seamless transition from non-human to human interactions – and vice versa.
Related: Embrace the shift! Transforming the insurance industry from the outside-in
In a conversation with PC360, Faran elaborated on each of the three trends and how they will be prominent across all industries, but took particular note of how insurance companies will be affected and benefit from adopting them.
"Insurance companies will really gain from digitizing their sales processes. For example, looking at collaboration and co-browsing where they can share screens and send and sign documents with their customers on their cell phones, eliminating the need for faxing and snail mail."
Claims are also going to be made so much easier in an Omni-channel architecture, Faran explains. "Think about roadside assistance," Faran offers as an example. "That entire process can be handled through an app now, filing and submitting a claim with pictures from your cell phone, thereby eliminating the need for phone calls, and the claims are handled in minutes."
For more on these digital self-service trends and to see how consumers responded, take a look at CallVu's consumer study on customer service needs.
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Danielle Ling
Danielle Ling is an experienced video journalist and business reporter. As associate editor, Danielle manages all multimedia and reports on industry news and risk-related coverage, managing all weather-related content. A University of Maryland and Philip Merrill College of Journalism alum, Danielle previously served as a video journalist for Verizon FiOS 1 News NJ, Push Pause. Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].
