ShortCut: Digital Customer Care Index 2021

Success factors for becoming a truly customer-centric company

SHORT

DIGITAL CUSTOMER CARE INDEX 2021

Success factors for becoming a truly customer-centric company
Digitalization has profoundly changed how telcos interact with their customers . Digital customer care is at the forefront of this development .
While in the past , customer care was restricted to in-store services and basic call centers , today ' s companies can choose from a broad variety of technology-enabled solutions . Digital customer care can establish a critical competitive advantage while reducing the cost of service delivery . But what is the state of digital customer care ? How well are telcos prepared to deal with its challenges ? And most importantly : What do they have to do to get it right ?
With the Digital Customer Care Index 2021 , goetzpartners has taken a look at the current state and expected future of digital customer care . We have assembled a panel of 35 experts working in customer care across multiple telcos and related industries .
CUSTOMER CARE : THE CURRENT STATE
Factors driving the digitalization
The findings show that , despite being aware of its importance , most telcos still have a long way to go in becoming a truly customer-centric organization .
Key challenges
Our study shows that the major roadblocks to implementing digital customer care are attributable to people-related issues .
The cited “ Lack of suitable organizational setup ” is often not just limited to the customer care department but relates to the entire company . Technology is another major enabler of digital customer care . The main challenges in this field are typically related to technical implementation and the seamless transfer of data between different channels . Consequently , IT capabilities and the implementation of application programming interfaces , as well as related processes , rank as top priorities .
The journey towards becoming a truly customer-centric company requires major investments with regards to people , processes , and technology .
Employees lack digital skills . This is the major obstacle for digitalizing customer care .
for growth .
DR . ALEXANDER HENSCHEL Managing Director , goetzpartners
The study reveals that all experts consider digital customer care as critically important for their business success ( score of 4.3 out of 5 ). This does not come as a surprise . Excellent customer service is one of the few aspects by which companies can differentiate their service offering and retain a competitive edge .
Nonetheless , the transition towards digital customer care is rather driven by competitive pressure than by companies ' " intrinsic motivation " to actively embrace this new technology . This is supported by the fact that service quality and speed only seem to play a minor role in telcos ’ digitalization efforts .
KEY CHALLENGES FOR DIGITAL CUSTOMER CARE
4.7
Telecommunication
-0.7 %
Lack of digital skills among employees
4.1
Lack of suitable organizational setup
4.1
Poor digital mindset among employees
3.4
Missing financial ressources
2.8
Missing top management support
Scale from 1 = low to 5 = high
2.4
Lack of technical infrastructure