Driving and adapting innovation for digital transformation

Digital transformation is one of the most common and sometimes overused terms discussed in the business world today. Simply defined it is the adoption of digital technology by an organization with the goal to improve efficiency, value or innovation in products, services, or overall growth strategy of a company.

And it is really in the concept of technology adoption where the main challenge for most companies lies. On too many occasions we find that this adoption is carried out without prior analysis or study and investments are made in solutions that do not add any value to the service.

We have all heard recently that the pandemic has fueled digital transformation, and it really is: in a 2021 survey, 55 percent of European companies stated the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for digitalization and 46 percent of companies reported that they have grown more digital.

In short, digital transformation is essential to a modern company’s survival today. It also drives efficiency and value for a company’s customer service function and can greatly improve customer support and experience for its customers.

Having worked with hundreds of companies over the years, we have learned that innovation and customer support that is not personalized or adapted to each company often fails to have a transformative and positive impact on the larger transformation of a business. When undergoing digital transformation, key decision-makers are advised to consider all the factors that will impact the customer service department and which digital technologies will be the most efficient. Most companies neither have the resources nor expertise to do this in-depth review with internal resources, which is why it is critical for them to work with an advisory or consultancy like Transcom to understand beforehand what solutions to invest in and implement. Without a clear overview of the digital solutions that exist in the market today, companies often end up losing precious capital by investing in the wrong tools and technology.

A good solution for one company could be a disaster for another. One size does not fit all when it comes to technological tools, customer service and support.

The companies that offer consulting or advisory services, such us Transcom, can provide a range of services that include:

•  Support for innovation, discovering new solutions and technologies, and new ways of applying them.
•  Advice on customer experience, delving into what customers need to create personalized experiences, knowing the sector in depth, and having experience and success stories.
•  Data analytics, a fundamental element of any digital transformation strategy.

If a company does not invest in making sense of all the data that is generated through customer service and experience, they cannot access valuable information to improve their business. There are undoubtedly many innovative solutions with the capabilities to transform customer service, and companies can be overwhelmed by such a wide range of solutions. For this reason, and at the risk of being repetitive, we always recommend carrying out a prior assessment to help establish the correct strategies. However, among all the possible solutions, I would highlight the following three that every company should consider when applying digital transformation to customer service/experience:

•  Chatbots are the fastest-growing brand communication channel. According to a report published by Salesforce in 2022, 23 percent of customer service companies use AI chatbots and many more are keen to take advantage of this technology. Transcom’s robot helpers take care of the simpler tasks - quick fixes, employee assistance, personalized experiences, and traffic routing. And with text-based channels being about 20 percent more efficient than voice, it allows companies to focus on bigger issues that require human intervention. These bots are also used in other messaging channels such as WhatsApp.
•  Speech & text analytics: More companies are relying on speech analytics for contact center applications than ever before. One of the biggest drivers of this growth is an expanding outsourcing industry, improved scalability, lower cost, and the need to enhance agent productivity. Transcom relies on analytics to understand the cause and effect behind every word, tone, and character so that strategies can be carried out to improve the customer experience.
•  Automation: powered by AI and natively integrated into a company’s omnichannel services (whether it’s voice, mail, chat or social) is an essential solution for a company to consider so that their talent can focus on more meaningful and strategic tasks. Automation can reduce AHT by over 50 percent, which enables agents to focus more on interactions with people, instead of managing systems.

The analysis of the viability of these initiatives will always be a good start to carry out the digital transformation of companies, and together with an expert company in accompanying this strategy, the result will undoubtedly be much better.

 

Miguel Villaescusa, Country Manager, Transcom Spain