A Powerful Symbiotic CX And EX Relationship Is Achieved with The Right Tools

Written by Jennifer Shambroom, Clickatell's Chief Marketing Officer

As companies continue to place more emphasis on customer experience (CX), the burden on the teams responsible for its delivery grows. Adding to their load, our most recent survey shows customer service teams are also increasingly responsible for organizational revenue, with 81% of customer service leaders saying they are compensated based on performance and sales within their teams. While ensuring your teams are equipped with the most appropriate technology is imperative in terms of their CX performance, the right tools will also boost your teams’ employee experience (EX). For meaningful impact, CX and EX must work hand in hand, powered by great technology.  

Delivering great CX requires the right technical support 

Clickatell’s Chat Commerce Trends Report, which is based on a survey of more than 340 senior customer service leaders in the U.S., was undertaken to better understand the rising pressure faced by customer service teams, and how the right technologies could help them deliver on their mandates. 

Responses clearly indicated that while the revenue-generating responsibilities of customer service departments have significantly increased, many of their technical capabilities have remained the same.

The feedback from the surveyed leaders showed that 95% reported technology or process challenges in their departments, which they said was hindering success. A particular challenge is their lack of ability to offer appropriate payment facilities, with 43% saying their customers find their payment technology hard to use, and 41% admitting their reporting and analysis is disjointed.

We know that today’s customer has come to expect a low-friction, engaging and seamless experience that allows them to engage with their favorite brands in the way they choose, and over the channels they prefer. Anything less can result in frustration and these negative experiences can even escalate into confrontational interactions with customer support teams. And, if the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that frustrated customers and heated interactions with support staff will result in resignations, placing a real strain on operations.  

For business leaders looking to optimize their customer experience, happy workers are a crucial piece of the CX success puzzle. And this is not simply a subjective supposition, research conducted by Salesforce shows that “...a unified customer and employee experience is a winning growth strategy that can increase revenue by up to 50%.” 

It’s clear then, that creating an effective symbiotic relationship between CX and EX is key to delivering on revenue targets. How to achieve this winning relationship must start with ensuring both customer and employee experiences are optimal. And the best place to begin your efforts should be to ensure you have provided your team with the tools they need to keep your customers happy. 

Boosting EX (and CX) by providing your teams with the right tools

While the customer service leaders interviewed in our survey were only too happy to share the collective pressure they were under, they were also united in their understanding that, with the right support and the right technology, they and their teams are far more likely to achieve their performance and revenue goals.

One of the biggest frustrations identified by those surveyed was the lack of appropriate tools when it comes to taking payments. A full 96% of customer service teams in the revenue producing departments are responsible for taking payments from their customers. However, the majority are being forced to use antiquated processes, such as sending a bill or invoice (60%) or taking credit cards (53%).

The solution lies in a technology almost everyone has access to and loves to use: Chat. And Chat Commerce in particular.

Of those surveyed, 97% agreed their customer service teams would benefit by using chat-to-pay technology saying it could help them improve response times, increase customer engagement, improve their teams’ efficiency and boost customer satisfaction. Importantly, they said the technology is convenient, easy for their customers to use, and lowers the risk of fraud - all of which significantly reduce the likelihood of negative customer interactions. 

In fact, so enamored were the CX leaders by the benefits of Chat Commerce, that nearly half (48%), of organizations that don’t currently accept chat payments plan to do so in the future. Additionally, 88% of leaders agreed that using chat channels for payments would help meet revenue goals, and 97% said that chat payment investments pay for themselves.

The evidence is abundantly clear that just as CX must remain a key focus for brands hoping to attract and retain customers, business leaders should also be paying close attention to EX issues. However, when it comes to delighting both your customers and your employees, equipping your teams with the best and most appropriate technologies lays the foundations on which you can build your success.