Top 3 Goals for Customer Care in 2022

Does 2022 offer a different landscape than the pivotal years of 2020 and 2021? How are companies navigating the new business landscape given ongoing uncertainties? In our 2022 BPO and Customer Care Dynamics survey and report, 200 business leaders working in 25 industries revealed their top challenges and priorities for the year ahead.

The pandemic has taught companies that serving and retaining customers is the strategic core of their business. Despite a changing and volatile environment, both individual and commercial customers have high expectations for prompt, issue-resolving customer service on their channel(s) of choice.

Let’s delve into the top three goals that leaders have for their customer care and experience this year.
 

#1 Improve Service Quality

Customer service is job #1 for brands. The pandemic has made a lasting impact that corporate leaders will not soon forget. Consumers are now savvier shoppers and more technically proficient. Immediate answers, knowledgeable agents and multichannel responses are just part of today’s customer service model. Competition is high, and the consumer experience is essential for ongoing loyalty.

Consider these statistics around customer loyalty:

• 80% of consumers feel more connected to a brand when customer service solves their problems.
• 78% will continue to do business with a brand if it rectifies its mistakes.
• 20% will “forgive” a brand for a mistake.
• Two-thirds of customers, including business partners, expect companies to understand their needs and expectations, and they don’t want to be treated like a number.

Expectations are rising, and customers want their experience with one industry to be the same with other industries. Put simply, customers expect every brand to provide an Amazon-like approach that makes inquiries and problem-solving effortless.

As leaders focus on providing a better customer experience and staying competitive, it is no wonder that they ranked “improve service quality” as the top strategic goal, with 38 percent of respondents ranking it at the top in our survey.

Validation comes from data showing that nearly half of people believe small businesses improved customer service during the pandemic, but 71 percent believe that large organizations worsened during this memorable time. It is clear that customers have high expectations and anticipate knowledgeable customer support from companies both big and small.
 

#2 Reduce Overhead and Costs

It’s no secret that great service quality comes at a cost. Ranking #2 on the list of strategic goals, 32 percent of respondents cited “reducing overhead and operational costs” on their list of strategic goals.

In the Institute of Economic Affairs 2021 Business Confidence Survey, 43 percent of companies said they had no change in performance from spring to fall of 2021, but 35 percent noted worse business performance, given the current business environment, constraints and policies. Additionally, 69 percent of CEOs plan to expand their workforce, but 74 percent said they have problems attracting qualified people. Most companies anticipate a positive year but will continue to monitor costs.

U.S. inflation is now running at twice the annual target of 2 percent, driven by increased labor and raw materials costs. According to the Federal Reserve, these pressures will ease up in mid-2022. The Fed’s December 2021 report noted that many companies passed on higher prices to customers with little resistance. But some sectors, including services, tried to hold prices steady to avoid losing customers.

With labor shortages across the U.S., the Fed also anticipates that wages will continue to increase since the unemployment rate is at a record low of 4 percent as of January 2022. And it is important to keep in mind that overall U.S. corporate profits are up by 37 percent, leading to concern that some companies may be raising prices above higher internal costs to increase their bottom line.
 

#3 Drive Better ROI

Driving better business outcomes/ROI ranked as #3 on the list of strategic goals, with 29 percent of respondents noting it. And for many companies, measuring ROI means measuring customer experience (CX). Companies that are considered CX leaders showed more than five times the revenue growth over businesses whose CX programs lagged behind, according to a 2020 Forrester Research report.
 

More Insights and Intelligence

Interested in learning more? Download our 2022 BPO and Customer Care Dynamics report, which offers valuable intelligence around how leaders and specialists are facing challenges, investing in technology and planning for the next normal around customer support, effort and loyalty.