International Survey Probes Into the Future of Customer Service, Considers Consumer Preferences Versus Contact Center Strategies

PCI Pal® survey compares opinion between consumers and contact center professionals in the UK and USA

Having surveyed nearly 3000 consumers and contact center professionals in both the UK and USA, research commissioned by PCI Pal®, the global cloud provider of secure payment solutions for business communications, has found that 61% of consumers overall (81% in the UK and 40.4% in the US) feel that an increased use of technology to handle customer service inquiries, such as chatbots or self-service websites, increases an organization’s security risk.

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“It is clear that consumers still value personalized service, even with all the technology and customer service channels available to them, and so organizations need to make sure they are striking the right balance of people versus technology within the contact center environment.”

Yet, with 55% of contact center professionals envisioning that fewer staff will be employed within contact centers within the next five years as a result of technology adoption, reassurances will need to be provided to customers on the security measures that are in place, to ensure trust is maintained.

Specifically, 20% of US contact center professionals felt that fewer contact center staff will be needed due to increased reliance on online or self-service technologies, while 21% of UK contact center professionals believe that less staff will be employed due to greater use of automated solutions or chatbots.

The survey found, however, that personal service remains king for UK-based consumers, with a collective 59% preferring some form of person-to-person contact if they have an inquiry about a product, prior to purchase. Specifically, 23% said they like the convenience of talking to a real person via live chat, 18% prefer to talk to someone over the phone, while a further 18% would go into a branch or store to talk to someone.

In the US, 35% of consumers would opt to speak to a customer service representative over the phone, followed by 25% who would prefer to use an online self service function to answer their own queries, and a further 17% using live chat with a real operative, showing a greater acceptance for technology-based customer support in conjunction with more personalized options.

Geoff Forsyth, CISO at PCI Pal: “It is clear that consumers still value personalized service, even with all the technology and customer service channels available to them, and so organizations need to make sure they are striking the right balance of people versus technology within the contact center environment.”

“While around a third (32%) of contact center agents believe there will be a greater reliance on digital or automated customer service technology in the future, senior management have an opposing view. In fact, 34% of senior management felt there will be an increased focus on person-to-person contact, mindful that a truly personal service will always be valued by customers.”

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When asked about how contact centers have responded to the pandemic, there was some concern expressed by contact centers staff in relation to security with, overall, 52% believing they were at greater risk of a cyberattack due to agents working remotely from home.

In addition, just over two-fifths (22%) of respondents said they are not confident about one or more aspects of the data security within their organization’s contact center. When asked to explain why, 54% of those based in the US felt that limited or infrequent training was a factor, while 35% suggested that poor leadership or direction on data security rules and processes was a concern. In the UK, 41% agreed that limited or infrequent training was an issue, while 38% suggested that legacy technology is restrictive.

Conversely, consumer confidence hasn’t been affected during the pandemic with 48% of UK-based consumers and 42% of US-based consumers suggesting they are confident with how organizations are handling their personal data and payment information, compared to five years ago – with a further 37% ‘feeling about the same,’ illustrating no heightened concerns amid the pandemic. In fact, when consumers were asked how confident they are in how contact centers are handling their payment information, an impressive six out of every 10 consumers overall confirmed that they are confident.

Added Forsyth, “What is interesting is that while consumers appear to want to have the option of talking to a dedicated customer service representative when support or guidance is needed, the majority of both UK (48%) and US (59%) consumers stated that they prefer to pay for goods or services using an online link, with most suggesting that they feel it is more secure than other methods. It is therefore important that organizations deliver a truly omnichannel service to give consumers choice in how and when they connect and communicate with an organization, as this is clearly what consumers today expect.”