Trust in trying times
We don't need to tell you it's tough out there. Brands aren't spared from macroeconomic trends. There's inflation, instability, an insufficient supply of talent, increasing expectations from customers. Challenges abound in every direction. Trying times like these underline the importance of partnership — and there's no productive partnership without trust. That's certainly true for those who outsource aspects of their CX. Of the 712 surveyed enterprise executives, nearly half (49%) of those who outsource engage with a single provider. When you consider that an additional 42% engage with only two or three providers, you see that the overwhelming majority of respondents opt to keep few partnerships. If you're only outsourcing to one or two providers, there is little room for error, or for a bad fit. Challenging economic climates call for intelligent growth, not growth at all costs. That means brands who outsource need to have a high degree of trust that their providers will deliver — that means consistently meeting key performance indicators (KPIs), sourcing the talent needed to scale or effectively introducing efficiencies with emerging technologies. In tight economic circumstances, that trust is priceless and a high-quality partnership can pay for itself. Remember: we're talking about your customers. Delighting them and earning their trust will get them talking about you and wanting to come back for more. Trust us on this one.
In 2023, there are clear challenges that enterprises need to manage when it comes to CX delivery. Business continuity, security / information protection and agent management are persistent headaches for CX managers for most enterprises. Thus, outsourcers looking to win new business need to emphasize their capacity to help clients best navigate these pain points, whether on the front lines of CX delivery, or via more customized professional service engagements. The reality is that an outsourcer that can make itself invaluable to an enterprise client will be more likely to secure a long-term commercial engagement.
— Peter Ryan, principal analyst, Ryan Strategic Advisory
Why brands renew their outsourcing contracts
This year's Ryan Strategic Advisory survey results reveal fascinating figures pertaining to outsourcing contract renewals. For starters, a staggering 43% of respondents have not yet renewed their contract(s) with their CX provider(s) or do not plan on doing so. And when it comes to the factors that influence renewals, it might be surprising to learn that, despite a challenging economic climate, price isn’t the most important factor. In fact, only 19% of the respondents cited price as the reason for renewal. This raises an important question: What factors have the most influence on whether a contract is renewed?
Nearly half (43%) of respondents have not yet renewed their contract(s) with their CX provider(s) or do no not plan on doing so.
End-to-end capabilities: An emerging expectation
While ability to scale, meet language requirements and consistently meet KPIs ranked highly in both the 2022 and 2023 surveys, the ability to meet end-to-end needs has emerged to be an increasingly important factor for contract renewals. It should come as no surprise. With rising customer expectations, brands who outsource aren't only looking for traditional customer service delivery. Forget ticking a box: They're looking for partners who create new boxes and can tick those too. That might mean assembling effective teams of agents capable of supporting countless channels, including phone, email, chat and video. It might mean introducing or enhancing automation in the form of customer-facing chatbots or behind-the-scenes agent-assist bots. It might mean understanding customer journeys and data in order to facilitate new levels of personalization. It might mean protecting customers, customer trust and brand reputation through fraud prevention and detection. For some brands, it might mean many or even all of the above. And while the definition of end-to-end capabilities might vary from one business to another, it is safe to say that brands today expect innovation from their CX providers. In fact, through co-innovation, brands can reduce risk, and the cost of investment, through the sharing of resources and by leaning on a top-tier partner's wide-ranging expertise.
Outsourcing CX in 2023
Two thirds (67%) of the interviewed decision-makers outsource more than one function to any one CX provider. And, as the chart shows, traditional CX like live chat is the most commonly outsourced function by some distance. This confirms the important role that customer care agents play in the delivery of support today. New tech makes headlines on a daily basis, but there is still a place for empathetic human beings willing to lend a helping hand to customers in need. That's especially true today, when economic pressures are rising stress levels and a single bad customer experience may just turn them away for good.
The fine print
Ryan Strategic Advisory's 2023 Front Office CX Omnibus Survey sounded the views of 712 enterprise executives, each of whom has strategic decision-making authority over contact centers in their respective organizations. Interviews were conducted over the telephone during Q1 2023 in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish (depending on the respondent’s country of residency). Vertical markets in the sample base included: cybersecurity, green enterprises, retail banking, insurance, healthcare, government, retail, games, eCommerce, technology, fintech, travel/hospitality/leisure, telco, born-digital, media and utilities. The revenue mix for respondents ranged from between $10m to over $5bn (USD). Note: Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100.
