The Rise of Immersive Experiences

Over the past three years, so many changes have been hard to put into words. From the first shocks of the outbreak to the current economic instability, companies worldwide have had to make big changes in almost every part of their operations. Customers' standards have changed a lot, which has caused a lot of trouble in customer service.

Some companies may have been caught off guard by this huge shift in what customers expect, but those who have been paying attention know that the events of the past few years have only sped up changes that have been happening for almost 20 years. As we move into 2023, new ideas are coming up, and businesses need to look at their situations and make big changes.

Customers are in charge now and have made it clear that they want engaging customer experiences. They don't want to wait for companies to catch up anymore slowly. We've seen that companies that saw this big and exciting change and made big investments in response saw real results, like better customer happiness scores (CSAT) and a clear return on investment (ROI).

So, what do we mean when we say an event is "immersive"?

Customers want to connect with companies in a natural way that doesn't feel forced. This fascinating new world is the result. The immersive customer experience (CX) is based on a simple idea: people want to be seen, heard, and treated as highly valued customers, not just as transactions or tickets. This is true whether it's chatbots that talk like humans or conversational experiences that let customers switch between channels easily. By giving customers what they want, companies can strengthen customer relationships, which is a huge plus.

Research shows that business leaders fully understand how giving great customer service drives income, and many are positive about the future of their companies. According to a study done by Zendesk, 81% of these leaders see customer service and help as becoming more important over the next year.

These are not just guessed objectives. Seventy-three percent of these leaders can show that the number of customer service requests has increased in the last year, and three-quarters expect the number of proposals to grow even more next year. When added to an 11% rise in general first-response times, these increases in help calls show that companies face big problems that require regular investments to stay competitive, a view shared by 79% of business leaders.

But the economy still needs to be clarified, especially in Europe and for small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. Over three-quarters of business leaders know that putting money into customer service can help their companies through tough economic times. This gives them a careful sense of hope. Half of them think their businesses will do better in 2023, and an impressive 81% believe their companies will stay the same or improve. Surprisingly, shoppers are slightly less positive about the economy's future, with 43% and 65%, respectively, saying that they think things will improve.

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