Why a CX Hub Could be Your Competitive Advantage in the Battle for Customers

Even as customer experience increasingly shifts from being a peripheral concern to being a foundational pillar of modern business strategy, many businesses are finding that their traditional customer service models and approaches are no longer meeting their needs. Customers now want seamless, personalised support on their channel of choice and immediate support when needed, and brands are struggling to live up to expectations. The solution lies in transforming a previously reactive customer support department into a proactive Customer Experience (CX) Hub.

This shift in customer expectations marks a significant departure from the historical view of service. Previously, it was traditionally seen as a back-office function; if a customer had a problem, they would get in touch, and this was very often a ‘grudge’ engagement. Today, this model is obsolete and standard call centres are proving insufficient to meet these new requirements. 

Modern consumers expect service to be available on their terms, not the brand’s, and they want to choose which communication channels they want to engage on. The huge growth seen, locally,  in the adoption of instant messaging is a prime example of this trend. While popular applications such as WhatsApp enable immediate communication, a siloed or poorly implemented approach can instead lead to further customer frustration or even result in reputational damage for the brand. 

Businesses must evolve to meet customers where they are present, by offering choice, convenience and a consistent experience across all touchpoints – and if organisations can’t get this right, they will likely lose the customer to a competitor who can.

Mastering omnichannel communications

While organisations must move beyond traditional call centres and toward multi- and omni-channel solutions if they are to deliver enhanced CX, simply adding new channels is not enough. The reality is that success depends not on the tool, but on what one does with it. Without proper integration, businesses are still operating in a siloed approach that will lead to inconsistent service as customers are forced to repeat themselves as they are moved from one channel or customer service agent to another.

On the other hand, integration that is done right is immediately noticeable to the customer, who experiences reduced friction and enjoys a consistent and seamless journey every time they interact with the brand. Proper integration also has several significant internal advantages for the business:

• Empowered agents: Customer service agents are provided with context and a full history of the customer’s past interactions with the brand, enabling them to have personalised, better quality conversations.
• Better data and analytics: By getting rid of internal silos, businesses can gain a comprehensive view of the customer journey. This treasure trove of insights can help reveal trends in customer wants and needs, identify training opportunities for agents, and even highlight gaps in systems or processes.
• Improved compliance: Having a single pane of glass ensures that all engagements with customers happen on official communications channels where they can be tracked and recorded, strengthening compliance and reducing risk.

Finding the right channel for the right job

While being able to support engagements across multiple channels is crucial for the modern business, a comprehensive CX strategy goes further by embracing an ‘opti-channel’ approach, or ‘right-channel’, where the business determines the optimal channel to be used for a specific type of engagement. Not all engagements carry the same weight; for instance, sending a legally binding contract via a social media platform might be inappropriate and insecure. Needing a customer to agree to terms and conditions might require a recorded phone call, a formal email, or a secure message within the business’s own custom mobile application.

With ‘right-channelling’, the intention is to define the most appropriate channel for each type of transaction from both the businesses’ and the customers’ perspective, as it helps eliminate compliance challenges and streamlines workflows.

Critically, even as customers are guided to the ‘right channel’, their experience must remain consistent. All communications, regardless of channel, should still be integrated into a single pane of glass, as this ensures that the customer service agent has access to all relevant information. By providing customers with the ability to move seamlessly across channels, brands can deliver an experience that is both effective and secure.

The CX Hub: Where AI and automation are transforming service

One of the reasons for transitioning to a CX Hub is to enable a business to provide personalised service to its customers at scale, and this is where artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are becoming indispensable. Numerous use cases have shown that when implemented correctly, automation alleviates pressure on customer service agents, freeing them from mundane tasks and allowing them to focus on what they do best: handling complex interactions with the business’s most precious assets – its paying customers.

More commonly, automation is being applied to high-volume, low-complexity interactions. FAQs and knowledge bases are ideal candidates for automation and are now frequently integrated into web chat and WhatsApp interfaces. This strategy not only reduces the burden on human agents but also meets the growing customer expectation for self-service options and instant responses.

The impact can be dramatic. Intercape, a local bus company, saw its automated FAQ conversations soar from around 30,000 to over 190,000 in just three months by effectively automating common queries. This approach also creates a valuable feedback loop; by analysing which questions are answered successfully and which are not, organisations can continuously retrain their AI models to further improve service quality. 

Taking the first steps

While the benefits of automation are immense, it is not without its risks. Over-automating or implementing solutions without a clear strategy can lead to new problems, such as sending duplicate or conflicting communications that will only frustrate customers even further. To avoid these pitfalls, a structured and considered approach is essential.

The first – and non-negotiable step – is to conduct a customer journey mapping exercise, as this process is crucial to understanding the various systems, processes and people within the business that shape the customer experience. This document will provide a single, cohesive view of the digital journey across all touchpoints, ensuring that any automation that is implemented is aligned and complements the brand’s overall CX strategy.

With this holistic view in place, the key is to make sure that you start, even if you only start small. Ask yourself: “What is our current state, and what is the first, logical step we can take on our automation journey?” Identify one specific area to focus on initially, whether it is onboarding, payments, renewals or just FAQs. Focus on getting that implementation right, perhaps by starting with a pilot programme to measure, analyse and refine, before expanding further.

By taking a step-by-step approach, your business can begin its transformation from being reactionary in its approach to customer service to a dynamic, intelligent CX Hub that builds lasting customer relationships.