Did you know that consumers are inclined to leave for a competitor after a single bad experience with a brand? That’s one of the key insights from the 2020 Zendesk report on customer experience trends. Exceeding customer expectations therefore requires going back to basics and focusing on what recent technological advances have made possible: putting conversation back at the core of a customer experience (CX).

Is there anything more natural than a conversation? We have been practicing this skill on a daily basis with a large number of people since childhood. A conversation is a sum of interactions that are sometimes stimulating, sometimes boring, sometimes purpose-driven, sometimes passion-driven.

Nowadays, there is no reason why what is true in terms of interactions between individuals shouldn’t be true of interactions between brands and their customers. The latter want to talk to brands using the same channels (social networks, messaging applications, text messages, etc.) they use with their friends and family – resulting in stronger connections and a closer relationship with a brand!

A CCaaS solution provider needs to enable its users to reconcile different interactions within a larger conversation. The goal? Give brands the ability to converse as naturally as possible with their customers to establish, and then continue to create, a common story.

Conversation as natural as possible

In order to achieve this, conversations must be modeled on real exchanges between individuals, i.e. appear as natural as possible. This must remain true, whether these conversations are:

• Oral or written,
• Initiated by the customer (inbound) or by the brand (outbound),
• Between a customer and an agent, a bot, or both (augmented agent).

A powerful CCaaS solution is conversational, but also collaborative and integrated with a company’s knowledge bases which are enriched by its stakeholders. Indeed, nowadays, whether they are in direct contact with customers on a daily basis or not, a company’s employees are its best ambassadors.

An effective CCaaS solution also employs artificial intelligence (e.g. natural language processing, semantic analysis, and emotion detection) to enable brands to better serve their customers’ needs.

Conversation: Stop focusing on the channel

As we have seen, simply managing interactions is no longer enough. Customers expect brands to offer seamless interactions, which can take place at various times and across one or multiple channels. Here the brand’s ability to offer a coherent journey is key.

Delivering smooth, clear, and satisfying customer journeys fosters trust and loyalty in a brand, while forming a deep connection that must be at the heart of any relationship. At ease with a brand as they would be with a friend, a consumer will more easily accept guidance and advice. Through meaningful conversations, a brand will be able to build a long-lasting story with them.

If you would like to know more about how to engage your customers in meaningful conversations you can read out white paper.