Recent findings from a research commissioned by Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX), a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies, highlights the predominant role of highly-skilled and knowledgeable contact center and retail store agents in delivering superior customer experience. 87% of the consumers interviewed across The Philippines and Singapore have rated highly skilled agents as key to excellent customer experience. Also, the decision makers at CSPs see agents as pivotal to sales growth (95%) and brand success (75%), despite digitalization and the growing role of AI and unassisted self-service channels.
The Give the Agents Wings report, based on research carried out for Amdocs by Coleman Parks Research, surveyed 3,000 consumers across Asia- Pacific, North America and Europe. 73% consumers in the Philippines and Singapore said they would likely switch brands if they were offered better customer service by another provider – compared to 67% in North America and 70% in Europe.
Agents themselves, however, are often too overwhelmed to provide the ‘wow’ moments that today’s savvy, demanding, empowered consumer expects. They say they are being held back by challenges including the growing number of services on offer (76%), the need to be knowledgeable across multiple products, platforms and technologies (68%) and the increase in customer interactions (40%).
“The Filipino population is tech-savvy and digitally-forward. From ordering goods and services online to resolving issues on live chats, they make most of the digital offerings. Digitalization has transformed customer experiences across the telecom industry, but we cannot discount the critical role of human interaction,” said Deepak Talwar, Regional Vice President and Customer Business Executive, APAC at Amdocs. “We are delighted to announce the launch of Amdocs Customer Engagement that allows contact center and retail store agents to efficiently build and manage customer relationship, providing personalized solutions to consumers and further enabling service providers to improve brand loyalty and boost sales.”