"Speak to a representative, please." "Speak to a representative!" "REPRESENTATIVE!"

Sound familiar? There is nothing more frustrating than having this type of phone interaction with voice-activated software when trying to get a real human on the line to resolve a customer service issue. It's not fun for the customer, and it could be lethal to the company in question if a critical mass of its clients gets fed up with the experience and defect to a competitor.

Customer-service quality has always been a hot-button topic for consumers and businesses alike, as the above phone example demonstrates. But today's stakes run even higher in a digital world where the tools and options to engage have mushroomed, customer preferences have grown, and giants like Apple and Amazon have reinvented how companies deal with consumers, ushering in a new standard of sorts.

Today, 89% of companies in the overall economy say they now compete primarily on the basis of customer experience they provide, not necessarily the products they sell. It's a new competitive advantage. Fewer customers today are determining their loyalty to a provider or brand based on product and/or price. Buyer empowerment now rules the day. As a result, it is the quality of the customer experience (CX), or the perception of that quality, that often sways whether clients stick with or ditch a brand.

Contact us today to learn how we can take your brand to the next level.