CSGS - Smart Notifications Take Gold in New Research on Top Customer Journeys and Channels

February, 16 2022 08:35 AM CSG Systems International Inc.

(NewsDirect)

CSG ^® (NASDAQ: CSGS), theleader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management andpayments solutions that make ordinary customer experiencesextraordinary, today released its 2022State of the Customer Journey report . Drawing on over 10 billioncustomer journey interactions, the research found that companiesreached their customers through an ever-broadening mix of digitalchannels, finding increasingly sophisticated ways to connect withtheir customers at scale.

The report highlighted the efforts of global brands to deepenlevels of engagement with their customers by shifting focus away fromsales and customer acquisition toward long-term loyalty and customergoodwill, both at and after the point of sale. As such, use cases likesmart notifications and digital customer service became vitallyimportant and made significant gains during socially distant times,with consumers now expecting these instant interactions online orin-store.

Top takeaways from thisyear’s research include:

Smart notifications takecustomer journey gold as top channel: With the world moving fasterthan ever, brands embraced “micro-moments” to capture customers’attention at the right time and in the channels they already use. Casein point: smart notifications accounted for more than 50% of journeyinteractions and took the top spot as the number one customer journeyuse case in 2021. Notably, SMS texts presented a unique opportunityfor immediacy, engagement and personalization. CSG found that SMSnotifications increased by almost 1,000% year over year, and for goodreason: 90% of messages are readwithin 3 minutes .
Voice and SMS make a powerful 1-2punch: It turns out consumers still want to “phone a friend,”as total phone calls increased in volume by 290%, with inbound callsaccounting for 31% of total calls in 2021. This trend highlights thegrowing importance and value of intelligent automated phone systemtechnologies like interactive voice response (IVR), which can betterunderstand customer needs and offer more self-service options forfaster resolution. Like voice, SMS saw a big increase in adoption,with overall message volume more than quadrupling year over year(304%). As businesses adapt to notifying consumers in real-time,whether to confirm a delivery or provide a fraud alert, SMS will soonbecome a requirement to compete.
Email makes a rebound: Despite the rumors heard year after year, email is not dead. Emailinteractions grew steadily since last year’s report (+145%). Ittriumphed as the most popular channel for journey interactions forcustomer notification, onboarding, digital customer service andacquisition. Email’s scalability and low technical requirements forpersonalization continue to make it a powerful “must-have option”for any company’s digital channel mix.
Journeyinteractions rise across the board, acrossindustries:
- Financial services : Timely, accuratecommunication is especially important when it comes to managing andprotecting our wallets. To meet this expectation, financial servicesinstitutions became the ambassadors for channel mix diversity, with40% more variety in their communication channel delivery than otherindustries. Not only are banking customers being kept better informed,but banks are building greater trust and confidence with theircustomers, which will lead to more business down the road.Interestingly, phone channels reigned supreme, accounting for 69% ofdigital customer serviceinteractions.
- Telecommunications : The telecom industryalso had a lot to gain from channel diversification. Communicationsservice providers (CSPs) got savvier with their channel mix (+36% thanaverage) to retain customers long-term while also pursuing innovativeways to acquire new subscribers. In a highly competitive market, CSPscan ensure current customers are happy by making their experiencessimple and easy. On the acquisition front, CSPs need to leveragesophisticated segmentation and analytics to show that they know whatfuture customers are looking for, and then be able to adapt theircommunications and interactions in real-time to deliver value evenbefore the customer signs up.
- Retail : Retail brands aremastering the channels they’ve used for years — on average tappingtwo — but are now standing out in other ways. They are broadeningways for customers to interact with the brand, whether throughe-commerce with convenient upsell suggestions during checkout (thedigital version of snacks in the checkout line) or hybrid options likebuy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS). Overall, the opportunity tocreate the best journeys in retail will come from increasing everydayvalue-add and orchestrating transactional messages through the mostintelligent journey workflows possible.

“Winning with customer journeys is quitestraightforward: be where your customers are,” says Mark Smith, VPof digital engagement solutions at CSG. “If it’s across sixchannels, your brand should have a uniquely enticing presence in each,but also ensure you offer consistent value and experience. The goal,especially after the hardships of the pandemic, is to uplift yourcustomer and elevate the experience they have with your brand in themost proactive, predictive and personalized way possible. This digitaltransformation shift is here to stay, and businesses are realizing thebenefits of digital communications that are intelligently coordinated,as evidenced by the expanding channel mix and rise in smartnotifications.”

Methodology

CSG trackedmore than 10 billion customer journey interactions in 2021 through itscustomer journey orchestration platform, a component of CSG Xponent™ .CSG defines a customer journey interaction as an instance where an APItriggers an action to be taken on a channel within the customerjourney. New this year, CSG supplemented its journey orchestrationdata with data from voice and messaging channels (U.S. only), alsospanning 2021, with 2020 volumes for comparative reference.

Read CSG’s full analysis, findings, andrecommendations in the global industry report: Stateof the Customer Journey 2022 .

About CSG

CSG is aleader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management andpayments solutions that make ordinary customer experiencesextraordinary. Our cloud-first architecture and customer-obsessedmindset help companies around the world launch new digital services,expand into new markets, and create dynamic experiences that capturenew customers and build brand loyalty. For over 40 years, CSG’stechnologies and people have helped some of the world’s mostrecognizable brands solve their toughest business challenges andevolve to meet the demands of today’s digital economy withfuture-ready solutions that drive exceptional customer experiences.With 5,000 employees in over 20 countries, CSG is the trustedtechnology provider for leading global brands in telecommunications,retail, financial services and healthcare. Our solutions deliver realworld outcomes to more than 900 customers in over 120 countries. Tolearn more, visit us at csgi.com and connect with us on and .

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