New Year Predictions: A Trends Round-Up

Several CH Consulting Group partners gamely consulted their crystal balls in an effort to bring you a round-up of New Year predictions. Here are their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities awaiting businesses in 2017.

As alluded to in a recent CHCG blog, Traditional Annual Planning is Dead: Do This Instead, company founder and CEO Christa Heibel stressed the importance of understanding your business’ customer experience strategy. It’s no surprise that Heibel cites CX on the top of her 2017 trends list, which includes the further continuation of omni-channel implementation; customer self-service; and customer service support across social media platforms. She predicts emerging technologies will include:

• The IoT: The Internet of Things isn’t toasters-taking-over-the-world sci-fi, but rather the ability to increase efficiencies and improve customer experiences. “The technology that connects increasingly more “things” is going to sling-shot businesses into the future,” Heibel says. “Those who aren’t prepared and holding on tight will be left in the past.”
• More Big Data: The IoT also has the ability to collect TONS of information. “Companies who want to win will not simply collect data, but use it in effective ways to drive better customer experiences,” Heibel says.
• Going Mobile: More than $1 billion in this year’s Black Friday sales were generated via mobile devices, which was a 33 percent increase over 2015. “The stats alone are pretty staggering,” Heibel says. “Every company has to have a solid mobile approach when it comes to customer experience. This technology is no longer a nice-to-have, and those who treat it as an afterthought will suffer.”

Finding Focus
According to CH Consulting Group partner John Welsh, who has more than 35 years of experience in the call and contact center industry, the plethora of emerging technologies and new perspectives can make it challenging for businesses to find focus. “There are really three trends organizations need to be aware of and incorporate into their business plans for 2017,” he says.

• Not Just Millennials: Baby Boomers and older generations are embracing technology, and they shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to understanding customer experience. This demographic is comfortable using live chat and call backs, and is a growing part of businesses’ CX strategies.
• Personal Space: In 2017, companies will face the tight-rope walk of providing ever-increasing personalized service – like knowing customer likes and dislikes – without breaching personal privacy. “Personalization is one of the most powerful trends in customer experience,” Welsh says. “Those who get it right will be market leaders.”
• Staying Connected: Consumers’ use of social media, including instant messaging through platforms like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, will continue to grow. “As consumers expect more and more connection with brands via the platforms they use most, companies must devise ways to monitor the quality of customer service going out on these platforms,” Welsh says. “They will also have to include strategies for maintaining these connections.”

Other trends
Another CHCG partner, Berni Hollinger, who has financial, operational and analytical experience and has served as CFO and Controller for several companies, predicts the continued trend of consolidation due to payroll crunches. “Although consolidating properties and departments has been popular for the past 10 years, it will become even more so in the future as organizations struggle to maintain profits,” Hollinger says.

Part of the challenge for companies, according to Hollinger, will be finding the balance between the increasing cost of healthcare and the trend of delayed retirement. “With many organizations already offering higher wages to attract – and keep – qualified staff, payroll is quickly becoming one of the top concerns in all industries,” she says. “This brings us back to more consolidating of departments and work sites to maintain profit margins.”

CH Consulting Group can help you chart a course for business growth and success in the New Year. To find out more, contact a CHCG consultant today.