I recently had what I would call a great omni-channel customer experience. We often talk about CX in terms of positive experiences, but the truth is, when things go wrong, this is precisely the moment companies have an opportunity to shine.

My case involved a bed frame which I bought from a large online furniture retailer. The checkout, payment and shipping process was all smooth and quick, which is expected these days.

Avaya (NYSE: AVYA) creates intelligent communications experiences for customers and employees via innovative solutions that enhance and simplify communications and collaboration.

Steve Nuttall, Head of CX Research at Fifth Quadrant, recently sat down with Avaya’s Managing Director ANZ Peter Chidiac to discuss a range of topics including Artificial Intelligence (AI), customer experience (CX), the omnichannel, the move from personalisation to individualisation, and smart cities. 

Although Australians have a reputation for being early adopters of technology, recent research by Fifth Quadrant indicates that Australian contact centres may be struggling to keep pace with innovations taking place globally.

Most-preferred method of contact with bank is online, Avaya survey shows; continued demand for traditional interactions highlights importance of omni-channel solutions 

Sydney, Australia, August 10, 2017 – Australian customers would prefer to resolve their basic banking issues without having to deal with a human being, according to a new survey by market researcher, YouGov. The Avaya-commissioned Customer Experience in Banking 2017 report indicates that Australians’ most-preferred method of contact with their bank would be via the website, while a third, 34 per cent, regularly use mobile banking apps, more than their counterparts in the UK and UAE. 

We’ve reached a tipping point in delivering digital customer experience.

From the published results of a 2016 global research paper by Opinium for Verint on customer experience in Australia & New Zealand (ANZ), when customers were asked to, “select the preferred method you currently use to interact with your service provider,” it was found that the majority of people (24%) still prefer contacting businesses or organisations by phone. While 19% preferred to physically walk into a store to engage with a service representative, and finally only 10% preferred using email.

Omni-channel retail can be described as a consumer-focused approach for the marketing of multi-channel retailing. It is a powerful strategy adopted by retailers for improving customer experience, business performance, sales and loyalty.

A few ideas on reducing churn and improving customer experience.

According to research conducted by our team at Fifth Quadrant, nearly half of customers think that their chances are poor of them reaching a ‘good’ customer service representative, basically one that will resolve their problem or answer their query. The reason isn’t as clear cut as one might think – many large companies are off-shoring their contact centre representatives to 'low-cost destinations' like India, Philippines and Fiji to name a few, where the agents are often viewed as inexperienced or lacking communication skills.

The adoption of the mobile phone and its evolution into a smartphone over the last decade has been an extraordinary story. With millions of apps available coupled with the ability to do our work and make purchases have all contributed to a reshaping of our business world. Here are our 5 simple reasons why you need a mobile strategy as part of your omni-channel strategy. If you don’t yet have one, now is the time to get to work.

Fifth Quadrant’s research has showed that companies with mature customer experience (CX) strategies perform nearly 20 percent better than other businesses in a variety of key metrics including employee engagement and revenue generation. Regardless of the increasing evidence of how great customer experience directly impacts the bottom line, we still see a number of businesses failing to strategically prioritise customer experience and impress their target demographic. Organisations that do prioritise CX recognise that improving CX through better products and operational efficiency will drive customer retention and business growth, and alleviate competitive pressures.

Recently, Dr. Steve Nuttall, Director of CX Research at Fifth Quadrant sat down with Jerry Macey, Executive Manager, Industry Insights for a discussion on the CBA’s recent release of the 2nd Edition of the Retail Insights Report.