3 Industries That Can Benefit Immediately from Digital Customer Service

Every business is different, and so is every customer. But when it comes to the benefits of digital customer service, these seem to go across the board.

It’s hard to think of the downsides of digital customer care, but there are a few industries that really can benefit from integrating digital channels and a more personalized approach to omnichannel: telcos, online retailers, and banks.

1) Telcos

Competition among telcos is harder than ever, and brands have got to start differentiating themselves on more than price and product alone. The fact is basic telecommunication services are essentially commodities these days, and everyone knows that competition over price and features only can go so far.

With more telcos than ever competing on customer experience, it makes perfect sense for these companies to look for powerful digital customer service tools to help them delight customers and differentiate themselves from the competition.

And studies show that telcos who use digital customer service as part of a comprehensive customer engagement strategy reap big benefits almost immediately:

• 76% of telecom customers say they're satisfied with customer journeys that are digital only.
• That's in contrast to 57% who are satisfied with traditional channels.

The bottom line: Competition among telcos is all about customer experience these days, and because today’s customers demand digital customer service options, these tools and platforms are a great way to excel.

2) Online Retailers

Because of the nature of online retailers, many of these companies never actually come face-to-face with their customers.

This can make things very convenient for the customer, and it means that it can be harder to establish trust and loyalty because there isn’t that intimate connection between brand and customer. This leads to lower spending and fewer repeat purchases over the long-term.

Digital customer service and an omnichannel approach that includes powerful tools like chatbots and live chat are just the thing to help solve this issue. Responsive service on social channels lets customers know they can rely on the brand to be there for them. This helps establish a sense of trust over the long term.

This sense of trust, combined with live chat and chatbots, can pop up automatically for the customer at the point of sale or at the moment of a possible cart abandon, and it can prove to be silver bullets for online retailers looking to boost sales and loyalty while offering customers the self-service options they demand.

The bottom line: Online retailers can establish trust and loyalty by offering responsive service and self-service options like live chat and chatbots. Having these options on-site is a great way to encourage more purchasing.

3) Banks

It’s no secret that banks have a customer service problem. The average interaction with a bank, in person or online, feels like they’re stuck in the mid-20th century.

Banks are special because they’re dealing with people’s money, which is very personal. That means they’ve got to offer responsive customer service options and communication, and they’re got to keep a personalized tone.

Mobile banking transactions are expected to more than double by 2022, and visits to retail bank branches may decline as much as 36% during the same period.

Banks can learn a lot from companies like Zappos that are super-responsive, very friendly, and completely personal in their communication.

Digital customer service can help banks be there for their customers more consistently and can put a face on the big bureaucracy of the bank with personalized communication. This goes a long way to improving customer sentiment and increasing loyalty.

The bottom line: Banks have a bad reputation among customers, and they can improve this reputation by offering more personalized service and more down to earth, responsive communication over in-demand channels like social media.

NICE CXone is designed to scale for businesses large and small. Our clients include telcos, banks, and online retailers. Get in touch or learn how you can engage in smart digital conversations with your customers.