AI and human-to-human interactions are the best way to deliver an amazing customer service … [+]
Welcome to Part Two of my 10 trends and predictions for 2025. (In case you missed it, here’s Part One.) So, let’s get right into it, starting with No. 6.
6. Customers will not tolerate a poor or mediocre experience and will give you fewer chances to make it right. Our annual CX research (sponsored by RingCentral) asked, “How many chances would you give a company after a bad customer service experience before switching to a new company?” The answer is 2.2 chances on average. They may let you slide once or twice, but that’s it. Customers will give you fewer chances if you make a mistake. Furthermore, they aren’t tolerating a mediocre or average experience. Almost one in four (23%) are likely to leave, even if they are satisfied overall. A satisfactory/average/mediocre experience is not good enough in today’s uber-competitive environment.
7. The phone will become less important for customer support. I’ve predicted this before, and each year, I was wrong. I keep thinking that customers will find self-service customer support quicker and easier than having to pick up the phone, dial a number, wait on hold, etc. Yet despite the rise in AI-supported self-service, the phone has increased in importance over the past few years. In 2024, 70% of customers prefer to use the phone for customer support. In 2023, the number was 69%. In 2022 it was 65%, and in 2021 it was 59%. Even with the numbers trending toward using the phone, this will change. The digital support experience continues to improve as more companies invest in technology that powers the self-service option. A more consistent experience from one brand to the next gives customers higher confidence that self-service is easy and will work for many of their issues. That doesn’t mean the phone is going away. It just won’t be the first line of support for more customers.
8. Hyper-personalization will improve. If you have a Netflix account and are impressed by how accurate their recommendations are, you’ve experienced personalization—and that experience will get even better, hence, hyper-personalization. AI will look at a customer’s data, including their history, buying patterns, how they compare to other customers and more. The result is a highly personalized experience, allowing the brand and its employees to make suggestions through automation or during human-to-human interactions with customer support agents, salespeople and anyone else interacting with customers. Data will become more actionable and continue to improve the customer experience.
9. The difference between AI bots and live (human) voice conversation becomes harder to notice. Conversational AI in text form has improved to the level where the difference between technology and human interaction is virtually indistinguishable. Typically, it’s the speed of a text response that is the only way to tell the difference between the two. (It’s obvious that we mere mortals can’t type as fast as the AI-fueled bot.) And in some instances, voice communication has improved to where it’s hard to tell the difference. That doesn’t mean that AI will replace humans in customer support and sales, which brings us to the final trend below.
10. AI will not be the ultimate answer to delivering a great customer experience. AI will make customer support/CX better, but it won’t eliminate the department. It will continue to become a more popular first option for many customers. Companies that have replaced their customer support agents with AI-fueled technology are backpedaling. At least for now, it’s not working. As I interview executives from some of the largest brands in the world, they agree that it still takes human-to-human communication to give a customer the best experience. AI will support the employees (see prediction No. 2), making combined AI and human-to-human interactions the best way to deliver an amazing customer service experience.
As we wrap up my list of 10 trends and predictions, let’s emphasize that customers demand and expect more (go back and read prediction No. 1). Strong customer support is not a nice-to-have but a must-have for any and every organization. If you don’t provide the customer’s desired experience, you put your organization at risk as customers will look for an alternative company or brand that will.
I wish you a happy New Year. May 2025 be your best year yet, with even better years to follow!
