--- title: More Human Newsletter --- More Human, a monthly newsletter from VIPdesk providing resources, trends and opinions about the Customer Service industry | View in browser Hello Human,   Welcome to the March edition of our "More Human" CX industry newsletter. As in our previous editions, the objective is to highlight key developments and trends within the CX industry to provide inspiration and strategic guidance to CX leaders and contact center professionals.   More than ever, Customer Centricity as an overarching company objective is on every decision makers mind. While companies are still operating within the economic framework of the pandemic, the successful rollout of various vaccines has brought hope around the world that we are finally on a path to overcome the pandemic. This is the reason why most researchers are projecting a significant economic recovery in 2021. After seeing the biggest decline since the great depression, Morgan Stanley Research projects in their 2021 outlook that the V-shaped recovery in the US is now entering a new self-sustaining phase and is on track to deliver a stellar 5.9% GDP growth in 2021. The majority of the growth will materialize in the second half of the year and will play out in lockstep with all major economies around the world. The wave of economic activity will be carried by the most impacted sectors such as Travel & Hospitality, Dining, Entertainment and of course traditional Retail all gasping to cope with satisfying pent-up demand.   What will this mean for the Customer service industry? Below are the major trends we see going forward:   1.) Consumers expectations have gone Digital: The pandemic has catapulted all Digital trends forward and there is no turning back. Regardless of a shift-back towards pre-pandemic life, the convenience and flexibility of a digital customer experience is here to stay. We believe that the customer experience has benefited tremendously from this development as it has resulted in a wider availability of more efficient and more "liked" contact methods. Customers are quickly getting used to the efficiencies presented by instant gratification channels such as Chat, Messaging and Social Media. At the same time, brands are taking advantage of the wider availability of insights via powerful QA tools. In place of "noreply@business" emails, businesses are able to deploy interactive digital platforms for remote customer engagement. This trend has created the necessity for brands to put customer experience at the heart of their digital operations. We'll continue to see more customer insights being captured in the contact center and being deployed strategically elsewhere in the business. See Forbes' 11 Customer Experience Predictions for 2021.   2.) The increase in e-commerce driven Customer Service volume is here to stay:  US Department of Commerce Data shows a quantum leap in ecommerce activity which share of total retail has jumped 5.5% from 15.8% in 2019 to 21.8% in 2020. Since ecommerce retail has a significantly higher order/contact ratio due to the added delivery component, customer service volume increased dramatically. McKinsey research revealed more customers plan to continue buying online even after the crisis has ended. Zendesk found that even though tickets are stabilizing, the average number of requests clients are receiving, is at least 16% higher than pre-COVID-19. Customer engagement teams should expect that trend to continue for the weeks and months ahead due to the lasting shift from traditional retail to e-commerce. However, with traditional retail recovering, we do not forecast another leap this year but expect a leveling out on current levels. In addition, it is expected that the rebound of Travel & Hospitality will add another tidal wave of volume in the second half of the year.   3.) The shift to remote Customer Service organizations will continue:  According to Gartner, pre-outbreak of the pandemic, nearly 7 in 10 (68%) of customer service and support organizations worked from traditional call centers, and less than 10% of team members worked from home. That ratio has now completely flipped, as going forward, 71% of contact centers will at least handle some share of their overall volume with remote based agents. COVID-19 also had a huge impact on efficient agent on-boarding and management. For many companies, the pandemic has also sparked a shift in thinking from using a mix of off-shore/on-shore call centers to managing domestic operations only. The spread of COVID-19 in popular offshore destinations such as the Philippines and India significantly reduced workforce availability as a reliable work-from-home option is not easily feasible in those countries.    4.) Brand Ambassador Empowerment will remain critical: As a direct result of the unprecedented increase in customer service volume, it is important that all customer service team members are empowered to handle all aspects of customer inquiries without the need to involve supervisors or other team members. Forester emphasized in their predictions for 2021, the need for a more empathetic service experience dominated their thinking. The purpose of customer service is no longer just to alleviate inconveniences; it is to provide fundamental and necessary services for consumers devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring your team members have the skills, trust, and empathy, will allow them to make the right decisions to deliver excellent customer service even after the direct impacts of the pandemic have disappeared.   5.) The future of CX programs are Predictive Insights tools: Finally, we wanted to point your attention towards a new McKinsey report - The Future of Customer Care - which discusses the disadvantages of popular backward looking survey based CX programs and presents an argument how forward looking data-driven, predictive systems will be the future of superior customer-experience.   As always, please reach out with any questions or comments, I would be grateful for any feedback and suggestions for this publication.   We would like to wish all our readers a successful March and will hopefully starting to see the transition from a reactive pandemic-driven environment to a business climate spurred by optimism and innovation.   Cheers,   Othmar Müller von Blumencron Vice President Sales & Marketing   908 King Street, Suite 400 W  Alexandria, VA 22314 +1-703-348-2236 (office) +1-703-926-7691 (mobile) oblumencron@VIPdeskConnect.com Key Lessons Along the Entrepreneurial Journey   Nobody is born an entrepreneur. Different people take different paths to achieve success, and there is no set-in-stone instruction for becoming a successful entrepreneur. Hear from VIPdesk's CEO Sally Hurley about the challenges and successes of her unique entrepreneurial journey. Listen Now! The Lasting impacts of COVID-19 on the Customer Service Industry   Most industry professionals agree. COVID-19 has changed our industry forever. While some of the changes will revert  when the pandemic ends, this blog discusses the implications most likely to stay forever. Read More Customer Service Representatives - The real Frontline workers!   Customer Service Representatives are feeling the full impact of the pandemic both from a volume and sentiment perspective. This blogs provides some valuable tips on how to express gratitude for what they are accomplishing. Read More How To Attract and Retain Virtual Team Members During COVID   Unemployment rates are still high compared to pre-covid, yet recruiting is more difficult now than ever. Read our latest blog for our top ten recruiting tips. Read More Remote Working Whitepaper: Your Complete Guide to Happy, Healthy, and Productive Work from Home Team Members   More than ever before, working remotely has been a topic many of our partners have asked us about during the coronavirus outbreak. To help them, VIPdesk has created this whitepaper so everyone can benefit from our years of remote working experience.   Topics: Proven tips for setting up remote team members Best communication practices for remote teams Finding joy in working remotely And much more! Download Whitepaper Upcoming Event Calendars   In addition to the featured events below, SmartKarrot has published an excellent calendar of 20 must-attend Customer Success events in 2021.   ICMI Expo Digital, April 20-21   ICMI Contact Center Expo – A Digital Experience will feature 2 days of live keynotes, interactive sessions and robust networking through AI-powered matchmaking, group chats, roundtables, happy hours and more ways to connect. Additional Information CC Virtual (East) - Frost and Sullivan, May 18-20   Frost and Sullivan has a history of conducting exceptional conferences for the Customer Experience community. The organization characterizes this event as an "Exclusive & Purposely atypical experience" Additional Information 2021 CCW Las Vegas, June 28 - July 1   As the first organization, CCW is planning to hold an in-person show and provide the customer service community with learning, benchmarking and networking experiences they are accustomed to. CCW is currently developing both the event program and the safety and sanitation plan for this ambitious event. Additional Information   About VIPdesk   VIPdesk, a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, utilizes a select team of remote work-at-home Brand Ambassadors (customer service professionals), located throughout the U.S., to provide elevated customer experience for luxury and premium brands. As a certified B-Corp, Women-Owned-Corporation, and Best Workplace winner, VIPdesk is on a fast mission to elevate the human experience with its team members and its partners. Talented team members of VIPdesk not only excel in delivering superior customer service but are passionate ambassadors of the brands they serve. VIPdesk's suite of services include Omni-Channel Customer service handling including all traditional and digital contact channels, full AI and assisted AI solutions, social media management, back office support, and customer experience consulting.   (844) 874-3472  \|  info@vipdeskconnect.com  \|  ©2020 VIPdesk Connect Follow Us on Social Media VIPdesk, 908 King Street, Suite 400W, Alexandria, Va 22314, usa, (844) 874-3472 Manage preferences | | --- |