Customer Experience Outsourcers Use Intelligent and Self-service Options to Improve Customer Journey

Outsourcers integrate advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to improve the customer journey and agent experience, finds Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, European Customer Experience Outsourcing Services Market, 2020, reveals that outsourcers are increasingly relying on advanced technologies to meet client requirements in the customer experience (CX) outsourcing services industry. The European market is mature and characterized by demands for specific languages, cultural affinity, and nearshoring. COVID-19 has adversely affected the industry in 2020 and Frost & Sullivan expects total market revenue to reach €16.23 billion, a 7.5% decline. Outsourcers, however, display exceptional agility and flexibility when meeting the business continuity challenge. Assuming a reversal of fortune in the next 3 to 4 months, Frost & Sullivan expectsthe market to recover to €20.03 billion by 2024. To stay relevant in the rapidly evolving market, outsourcers must develop new tools to address digitally native customers, cybersecurity challenges, and business continuity as a service.

"By integrating advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, outsourcers transform the customer journey. Offering customized, automated, and self-service solutions, outsourcers have moved beyond cost and labor arbitrage to instead focus on seamless, omni-channel, value-added experiences," said Deepali Sathe, Information & Communication Technologies Senior Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Customers have evolved and expect intelligent interactions and immediate responses. True partnerships developing between clients and outsourcers will enhance the agent experience, mitigate complexity, and encourage empathy."

Leonardo Sampieri, Information & Communication Technologies Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan, added, "Sectors such as telecom, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI),  and travel and hospitality will see the most changes and will need service providers to help them drive a digital transformation in CX. Healthcare is an area of fast growth, and with COVID-19, the vertical is expected to see rapid growth across Europe that significantly affects outsourcers."

Some of the other areas of focus that can help outsourcers gain competitive advantage are:

• Cybersecurity and customer trust: European customers in particular are more concerned about data privacy. To enhance CX, companies need to strike a balance between user friendliness and effectiveness.

• Personalization: Utilize technology and expertise to enhance CX outcomes with customization. CX reflects the effectiveness of operational excellence and outsourcers must integrate technologies that enable better management of customer sentiments.

• Partnerships: Focus heavily on partnering and expanding the ecosystem. Thinking beyond products and services to identify other important parameters to differentiate in a rapidly commoditizing market will require a flexible and innovative strategy. 

• Portfolio diversification: Outsourcers that cater to the diverse requirements of specific verticals will enjoy immense growth prospects, as it adds another dimension to the overall value proposition and extends ease of deployment.

European Customer Experience Outsourcing Services Market, 2020 is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan's Information & Communication Technologies research and analysis available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.

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Source: Frost & Sullivan