Of countless technological innovations that have come into the market, few, if any, have had a bigger impact on every facet of our lives than smartphones. The explosion of the mobile platform has created a need for providers to reevaluate their customer service and CX practices to cater to a generation that simply can’t imagine a world without smartphones. A survey from CSG Systems International examined this paradigm shift, and explored the expectations of customers, both current and future when it comes to the mobile platform and its providers.
One prevalent demand is for an increased leveraging of AI technologies to turn mobile services into a more capable personal assistant. Notably, 53 percent of survey subjects are looking for a virtual assistant able to take action on their behalf to do things like order dinner or set meetings at work. Early steps to implement this AI, in the form of assistants like Alexa and Siri, have shown promising returns thus far, and continue to gain steam as the capabilities and number of integrations improve.
Personalization, as has long been predicted by marketing analysts, has become a necessity for mobile providers looking to engage a younger generation. Nearly 60 percent of surveyed millennials valued this personalized experience to the point of offering to give mobile providers additional personal data to achieve it. This data transparency has quickly become a recognized trend among millennials, with shoppers across all verticals willingly giving up more and more information in return for a more convenient and tailored experience.
As phones continue to evolve, so too do the challenges faced by mobile providers. A prime example of these newfound hurdles is the prevalence of media streaming, with 83 percent of millennials planning to watch online videos on their phone. This is a crucial point of focus for providers, especially considering that over half (57 percent) of respondents noted that improved media streaming is a driving factor behind willingness to pay more for mobile service.
The proliferation of phones as an all-in-one device has placed a significant amount of pressure on mobile providers. Customers expect more than ever from these companies, and many feel as though their lives revolve around their ability to leverage their smartphone for everyday tasks. As companies attempt to keep up with these increasing demands, it only be a matter of time before we see, as predicted by a third of respondents, mobile service coming from as-yet-undetermined telecom outsiders.