Indian CXOs See Bumpy Road Ahead in their Journey to Agility

Agility is tied to the longevity of business success and is the new top customer experience (CX) priority for 83% of managers in India. But even though organizations realize the importance of adjusting to customers’ needs, only 10% of enterprise business leaders and 19% of managers in India have actually demonstrated having the minimum set of agility competencies that are needed to classify as “market leading,” according to a study by Zendesk.

The pandemic taught companies of all sizes that customer responsiveness is critical not only for business success but first and foremost for survival. In the past year, organizations had to shift towards new business models to quickly adapt to new consumer behavior. However, the new data released today from Zendesk shows that although organizations in India recognize the importance of anticipating and adapting to customers’ needs, yet it can be difficult for businesses to understand where to start in their journey to agility.

As organizations consider how to recover from more than a year of uncertainty, while preparing to be ready for any emerging trends in the future, the research explores how organizations can adopt an agile mindset. As KT Prasad, MD & RVP, India and SAARC, Zendesk  says, “In India, 93% of companies say COVID-19 sped up digital adoption. With hyper-digitization, organisations have no choice but to become agile to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of the curve.”

According to him, “Customers today want simplicity and convenience despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. This is where agility bears fruits. Successful companies adopt a lean and flexible approach to change, be it tech adoption or its implementation. Investing in the right tools, removing knowledge gaps and rigid processes are all essential. Investing in agility goes beyond providing superior CX. It is a strategic investment for businesses.”

More than half (59%) of customers in India are more or much more likely to buy from a company that offers their preferred approach to service. However, many companies are still missing valuable opportunities to hear from their customers where they are. Only 37% of mid-market companies in India offer three or more channels to their customers, and that number drops to 31% for enterprise outfits.

Customer feedback can act as a warning sign for trouble ahead, or a crystal ball for future trends. Globally, agile leaders are 4.7x more likely to report customer metrics in real time, making it easier to use CX analytics to recognize and respond to these shifts.

Leaders are consistently more flexible about changes in how customer service agents work. In fact, 85% of companies in India offer work from anywhere arrangements and 74% offer alternate work schedules.

To be ready for a landscape of ongoing change, companies are adopting a lean and flexible approach to both technology and its implementation. Globally, the main areas for investment identified are: expanding/adding business process automation (33%); investing in CX technology that easily adjusts to their needs (29%); and adding and/or expanding AI or machine learning capabilities (28%).

The research also revealed that businesses who have led in investing in the tools, process and culture for agility have seen positive returns. In particular, agile businesses were better placed to reduce service costs in the past year. In fact, 68% of business leaders in India report that having high agility reduced their costs by 25%.

Businesses are increasingly seeing the value of adapting to customer needs as the call center takes on a new role. Nearly half (41%) of SMB business leaders view CX primarily as a revenue driver and 19% view it as a cost center. That number goes up for mid-market companies, with nearly two thirds (64%) of them viewing CX primarily as a revenue driver.