Data from one recent survey yields clues about how some APAC countries are faring in balancing technology and the human touch

In a Q2 2022 international survey on customer experience (CX) involving 4,900 business decision makers performing CX-related work around the world,58% of India and Australia (31%) respondents ranked themselves ahead of Japan (12%), Singapore (19%) and South Korea (21%) in their ability to act on customer feedback.

According to the report, rethinking the role of support teams requires investing in training and tools to ensure agents have what they need to uncover leads and close deals. In turn, businesses will reap the benefits. As consumers keep raising the expectation bar, the way forward, the report cited, is to ensure businesses have the right knowledge, skills and technology to meet them.

Ranking respondents in terms of “Champions”, “Risers”, “Emergers” or “Starters” in CX competency, some of the findings based on respondents from the five selected APAC countries were:

    • 79% more APAC Champions than Starters were “well-trained to look for sales opportunities during customer interactions”. APAC Champions were 2.1 times more likely to have their CX engagements uncover new sales opportunities
    • 7% of Singapore respondents qualified as ‘CX Champions’. Currently, Singapore ranks 10th across the 13 global markets surveyed.
    • 58% of India respondents indicated they were “quick on turning feedback into change” compared to those of Australia (31%), Japan (12%), Singapore (22%) and South Korea (22%).
    • APAC Champions indicated that chatbots resolved 1.8 times more inquiries without human involvement than Starters. Among chatbot adopters, APAC Champions were 45% more likely than Starters to cite pre-configured logic and parameters to helping customers to reach the right channel for their specific issue
    • APAC Champions were 1.5 times more likely than Starters to report being able to message asynchronously with users
    • APAC Champions were 64% more likely than Starters to be effective at keeping their online help center up to date
    • 44% more APAC Champions than Starters cited their use of a mix of AI chatbots and human representation when it came to customer service channels to balance automation and the human element of CX.
    • 44% more APAC Champions than Starters cited their use of a mix of AI chatbots and human representation when it came to customer service channels to balance automation and the human element of CX.

According to Jeff Titterton, Chief Operations Officer, Zendesk, which commissioned the report, no matter where a business falls on the CX maturity scale, the changes needed to stay on top are consistent:

    • Balance human and automation strategy
    • Integrate key data from critical apps
    • Evolve the role of CX

“The biggest changes businesses face to keep up with—let alone get ahead of—customers’ expectations are both operational and cultural. The role of CX cannot be understated, and business leaders still need to not only prioritize their investments, but make them work well for their teams. We understand how daunting this can be, but the data underscores just how significant the opportunity is when you get it right,” Titterton said, adding that better collaboration between sales and support teams can optimize customer engagement across all touchpoints, reduce churn, and build stronger relationships.

The firm recommends APAC organizations to engage customers in relationship-driven conversations; deliver nothing less than exceptional service, and make sure it is all integrated across the entire business.