Seamless, Personalized Customer Experience the Focus of Today's Call Centers, Says ISG Research Report

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Contact center services are evolving rapidly to provide a seamless, personalized customer experience through automation and analytics, while transforming the traditional call center into an opportunity center for the business, according to the ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center Customer Experience Archetype Report released today by Information Services Group (ISG) (NASDAQ: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The latest in the ISG Provider Lens™ series, the report assesses the capabilities of 19 contact center services providers based on four buyer archetypes, and highlights how the drive to be more customer-centric is redefining the traditional call center function for many businesses.

"With ever-changing customer expectations and increasing use of technology, especially among tech-savvy millennials, the contact center industry has had to rapidly embrace digital technology and solutions – even before other industries," said Jan Erik Aase, director and principal analyst with ISG Research, and editor of the report. "Contact center services have evolved from merely addressing customer queries to providing a seamless customer experience that is highly personalized. Along the way, they are transforming traditional call centers into opportunity centers that are also responsible for brand-building, selling and marketing."

Aase points out that, in addition to traditional contact center performance metrics, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, reduced average handle time (AHT) and better first-call resolution (FCR), customer service agents today are being measured by the value they create in terms of leads, customer insights and revenue.

"Digital is no longer a differentiator in customer service, it's an imperative," said Namratha Dharshan, a principal analyst with ISG Research and co-author of the report. "Omnichannel solutions and cloud capabilities are now table stakes for contact center services. Among new, cutting-edge approaches, the use of automation technologies like chat bots and intelligent self-service are on the rise, as is the use of advanced analytics to better understand customer needs and make the entire service experience more personalized and pro-active."

According to the 2017 ISG Automation and AI Survey, 82 percent of businesses say that automation and AI are either important or extremely important to improving the customer experience. The same research shows 30 percent of customer queries to contact centers today are resolved through non-voice channels, and that by 2019, 48 percent of businesses are likely to adopt virtual customer service agents.

The ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center Customer Experience Archetype Report analyzes contact center services providers by each of four buyer archetypes, highlighting those that stand out in serving each group. The four buyer archetypes are:

1. Customer Service Buyer: This type of buyer typically does not consider their contact center operations a core part of their business. They are not innovators but have reasonable call and contact volumes that require a traditional managed services approach.
2. Peak-Season Buyer: These clients, typically found in the retail, insurance and healthcare industries, seek flexibility to add or shed agents during peak demand periods. They seek round-the-clock support, flexible pricing and consider a virtual workforce to be important.
3. Digital Enthusiasts: These clients seek to leverage digital capabilities to serve their customers, many of whom are tech-savvy millennials that expect more personalized services, useful information and the ability to engage across multiple platforms.
4. Automation Seekers: These buyers are looking to minimize their costs by reducing the number of agents required to handle queries. They want providers able to leverage automation and analytics to deliver customized, personalized and rapid responses to their customers.

Of the 19 providers assessed in the report, none were identified as leaders across all four buyer archetypes. The providers that were named leaders in three of the four categories included Conduent (Customer Service, Digital and Automation buyers) and Sutherland (Peak Seasonal, Digital and Automation buyers).

The ISG Provider Lens™ Contact Center Customer Experience Archetype Report is available to subscribers of ISG Insights™. An executive summary of the report is available on this webpage.  For a complete version of the report, please contact ISG.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (NASDAQ: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including 75 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; technology strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

SOURCE Information Services Group, Inc.

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