On average, your friends have more friends than you. – The Friendship Paradox
Paradoxes have always sparked my interest. Take the Friendship Paradox for example, which states that, on average, your friends have more friends than you.
In Customer Experience (CX), we’re seeing a big paradox as well. In this article I would like to explain the CX Technology Paradox, what causes it and how we can overcome it.
The Technology Paradox
In the search to improve customer experience, businesses have heavily invested in technology. Yet, in the last decade, paradoxically, many have seen a decline in quality, efficiency and customer satisfaction. How can this be? To overcome the challenges created by technology, we need to embrace even more technology, hence the technology paradox in CX.
The technology paradox in CX is a compelling conundrum. Despite the proliferation of advanced tools and systems designed to streamline operations and improve customer interactions, many organizations have experienced the opposite effect. Instead of smoother and more efficient processes, companies face increased complexity. This ultimately always led to frustrated customers.
Take chatbots for example, there are two problems with the business rule chatbots we’ve seen in the last decade. The average chatbot is designed to answer the simple questions so that the more complex questions can be answered by the agent, leading to lower call volumes for agents and quicker resolution times for customers. Because it should answer the easy questions, the chatbot gets a salient place on the website leading to higher total traffic volumes. But as the chatbot can only answer easy questions, the handover rates are higher than anticipated, leading to more volume pressure for human agents.
Causes of the Paradox
Several factors contribute to this paradox:
- Fragmented Systems: The introduction of multiple, often incompatible technologies has led to siloed data and disjointed processes.
- Lack of Integration: Many organizations struggle to integrate new technologies with existing systems, resulting in inefficiencies and data inconsistencies[1].
- Lack of “technological glue”: Technology needs to be integrated with other technologies in order to work, each introduction of new technologies leads to exponentially more integrations. There was not enough focus on bringing all the data and information together.
- Insufficient Training: Employees often lack the necessary training to effectively use new technologies, leading to underutilization and errors[2].
How to Bridge the Gap
To navigate this paradox and truly enhance CX, companies need to adopt a balanced approach that combines human expertise with technological advancements. Here’s how:
- Embrace Human+Tech Centered Work
- Invest in Staff Training: Equip your team with the skills needed to leverage new technologies effectively. This includes both technical training and soft skills development to ensure they can provide empathetic, personalized service[3].
- Enhance Tech/IT Skills: Foster a culture of continuous learning within your contact center, focusing on developing tech and IT skills among your staff.
- Invest in “technological glue”:
- Streamline Workflows: As technology in your contact center grows, so does complexity. Invest in workflow automation tools like Processes to ensure seamless integration and interaction between different technologies.
- Single Customer View: Utilize tools that provide a comprehensive view of the customer journey, enabling more personalized and efficient service.
- Think Big, Start Small with AI
- Strategize AI Implementation: Determine your AI strategy based on your business goals. Decide whether AI will assist your agents or serve as customer-facing digital agents.
- Pilot Projects: Start with small, manageable AI projects that can deliver quick wins. For example, use AI to summarize calls or assess agent performance, thereby freeing up your agents to focus on more complex tasks.
Conclusion
The technology paradox in CX is a wake-up call for businesses. To truly enhance customer experience, companies must move beyond simply adding more technology. Instead, they need to integrate it thoughtfully, invest in their people, and adopt a strategic approach to AI. By doing so, they can turn the paradox on its head and achieve the seamless, efficient, and satisfying customer experiences they aspire to deliver.
By addressing the technology paradox head-on, businesses can transform their CX strategies and achieve the high-quality, efficient, and satisfying customer interactions that today’s market demands. The time to act is now.
References
[1] The AI Paradox – hkdca.com[2] CX work is becoming more flexible and specialized in a bid to tackle …[3] What Is A CX Tech Portfolio? – Forrester
