Why is the potential of technology not recognized?

But let's start on a positive note: 50 percent of contact center managers stated that they see potential for improvement in the area of AI for email/ticket pre-qualification/bots. 28 percent of respondents use chatbots and 33 percent use voicebots or voice-controlled IVRs. This corresponds to an increase of 9 percent in the area of voicebots and 2 percent in the area of chatbots over the last two years. However, it is clear that we are still a long way from widespread use of this technology and that the potential is far from exhausted.

Customer relationship management - for real

CRM is a term that was used extensively in Germany around the turn of the millennium. CRM systems found their way into companies in the 1990s. Companies such as Salesforce started their success story at the beginning of the millennium with the option of using them from the cloud. But only 62.2 percent use a CRM. To be honest, I find that frightening. In his presentation at the Contact Center Summit 2022, Nils Hafner compared CRM to the human brain. I mean, he said something like it makes just as much sense to use a CRM system as our brain. I can only underline that, because the CRM system is the linchpin of any good customer service. The CRM system has long been a commodity (CEX Trendradar) and the usefulness of its use is undisputed. At least that's what I thought until I held the results in my hand.

Another core element of the contact center should be an omnichannel system. According to the PWC study, 81% of consumers state that they have made purchases via at least three channels in the last six months. However, only 46 percent of contact centers use this multichannel or omnichannel technology. This has fatal consequences for the quality of customer service. Because if your customers use multiple channels, then you as a contact center should be prepared to offer service on all channels and be able to answer questions that go from one channel to another without further inquiry. Because many contact centers obviously offer different communication channels (see diagram), a comprehensive system is essential.

Technology is a tool and should definitely be used more. I have managed many projects and have seen the positive effect that the sensible use of technology has: Efficiency is increased and service is improved at the same time. The current balancing act between staff shortages and higher customer expectations can only be managed with the help of technology. Because we can't bake more staff. But AI can support and replace staff.

Now I don't want to anticipate too many of the results, but invite you to watch the recording of our webinar in which we presented the results for the first time.