Between advanced AI-driven solutions, low-code capabilities, and self-service options, there are plenty of new customer service technologies to be excited about. But striking the right balance between your existing tech stack and the latest advancements could mean the difference between high customer satisfaction and high technical debt. Listen as service tech experts Sean Callahan, Chris Contreras, and Stuart Chandler talk the best approach to going modern, strategically.  

Key Takeaways:

[3:31] While many of us are generally understanding and personable as customers, that’s not always the case. CS agents are confronted with difficult situations, and new digital technologies can serve to make the lives of agents much easier. 

[4:02] Chris shares that Mountain is providing an almost entirely self-service platform for their customers, and how tech touch enablement is a natural evolution of where the platform is headed. 

[4:50] At Mountain, there are still humans interacting at each stage of the customer journey, and it does not minimize the human touch point but maximizes the input that real humans provide. 

[5:44] We should be looking at how quickly our systems and workflow can support what our customers need to do. 

[8:35] After you figure out how you’re going to execute the interaction and simplify it, then comes the technical underpinning, where you start building your tech stack. 

[8:51] We can’t bypass our existing tech infrastructures if we want to create smoother customer service experiences. 

[10:12] An explosion of CS channels has made it easier for customers to be in touch with businesses, but only if organizations correctly integrate those channels into their overall strategy. 

[13:19] Great customer service leaders milestone map the experience of their customers at every step. 

[14:48] It’s not just AI that’s changing the shape of the CS tech stack - low code is also opening the door for quick solutioning without the need for a more seasoned engineer. 

[20:30] The younger generations are geared towards more interactivity online, and organizations will get smarter about how they build the interactions. 

[24:24] Investing upfront in smoothing out your tech stack can pay off big time in the future, and optimizing your customer service to incorporate tech touches like self-service can make a big difference when it comes to winning over the Zoomer generation AND your bottom line.  

Quotes:

• [1:58] “I think you're going to see and we already are seeing greater customer autonomy, self-service channels that work a little bit better, that are more reliable, that are more available universally in different channels.” - Sean
• [4:02] “The tech touch enablement of our solution is almost a natural evolution of where the platform is headed.” - Chris 
• [4:11] “We want not to minimize the human touch point, but maximize the input that the human provides.” - Chris 
• [6:04] “Now you flip it upside down and say, ‘Who is the customer? What do I need to do for him or her? And I need to work those processes around them’?”  - Stuart
• [8:51] “We can't just bypass our existing tech infrastructures if we want to create smoother customer service experiences.” - James 
• [10:12 - “An explosion of customer service channels has made it easier for customers to be in touch with the businesses they buy from, but only if organizations integrate those channels into their CS strategy.” - James
• [13:19] “You should be milestone mapping the experience of your customer from the handoff and sales all the way through the renewal and everything in between.”  - Chris 
• [2:56] “A lot of these companies do have legacy tools that just don't work quite as well as they could and should, and as a result, it's affecting their bottom line. Frankly, it's affecting their ability to deliver the service that they want to deliver.” - Sean 
• [24:54] “If we focus the strategy on the customer first, the tech will always follow.”  - James 

Continue on your journey:

• pega.com/podcast

Mentioned:

• Sean Callahan 
• Chris Contreras
• MNTN
• Stuart Chandler 
• Coforge