Why you need to have a GigCX strategy, now

Welcome to our latest blog series! We'll be exploring why you need to act now and adopt a GigCX strategy before it's too late. In this instalment, we're taking a closer look at why adopting GigCX will avoid you and your brand suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out!)

The growth of GigCX

Customer service is being shaken up for the better. The disruptive proposition of gig customer service - or GigCX - enables enterprises to deliver a hugely personalised and authentic customer experience at a significantly lower cost. But it's also disruptive in that we have a worldwide mission to ensure GigCX Experts - the people best serving their customers - have flexibility to suit their lifestyle and work for the brands they know and love.

Recent events have no doubt acted as a catalyst for greater adoption of GigCX, and as a result, more and more organisations are seeing the benefits of this model. In fact, in our latest 2021 GigCX report we asked CX leaders how much of their customer service will be GigCX by 2025. In response, 90% believed at least 20% of their workforce would be GigCX. Half thought over 40% and one-fifth believed it to be over 80%! Not only that, but 90% said they're likely to invest more budget into GigCX over the next 3 years (up from 60% last year).

The gig economy is growing fast and for good reason. But what is the true value of GigCX, and why is it so important to act now?

Don't miss out on the perks of Gig

The customer service space is not as it once was. Products and services are becoming increasingly complex. Varying levels of demand - both planned, and unplanned (such as COVID) are a logistical nightmare, and traditional contact centres are increasingly costly to operate. No doubt if you combine all these pain points, you're looking at an unsustainable, expensive, and often too rigid CX system. 

But it doesn't have to be this way. The GigCX model was born to be agile, and GigCX Experts working on behalf of a brand are handpicked to offer the service quality needed, without the burden of unnecessary costs. How? The GigCX model enables customers to speak directly with a product expert - someone who uses the product and service themselves- who is available anywhere in the world, at any time. So no matter how complex a query is, there'll always be someone on hand to offer an empathetic and authentic experience for the customer.

The remote nature of GigCX Experts also gives brand continuity assurance. By working on a 24/7 schedule, Experts grow and shrink in line with supply and demand, so brands can enjoy enormous resilience in the case of an unexpected event. Likewise, costs are often lowered as a bi-product of the other benefits - if the quality is increased and personal knowledge is used correctly, then customers are less likely to need multiple conversations to solve their problem, and in less time.

Times are changing 

COVID has undoubtedly helped spur the growth of GigCX along, accelerating organisational, customer, and workforce trends that were all forcing organisations to adapt or risk being left behind. In fact, 89% of UK contact center leaders say that the COVID crisis has changed the UK contact centre industry forever. For example, it has opened our eyes to the benefits of flexible working, which is now seen as an expectation rather than luxury.

Yet this flexibility and freedom for people to work to their own schedule is also a solution to agent churn and attrition. In the US, there is about a 35-40% churn rate in contact centres, and in large enterprises, they are replenishing about 4000 people a year. GigCX Experts - who work whenever they want - can therefore be the answer to many brands' recruitment challenges.

We are also seeing a global trend in consumer behavior towards moving service and purchasing habits away from stores towards digital channels. Today, 57% of customers would rather contact companies via digital media and 45% of customers predict digital channels will be their main way of contacting brands in the future. Since GigCX is made for digital contact more so than voice contact, this means that enterprises who do innovate can go full steam ahead into the digital world.

The bottom line

Customer expectations are evolving, the workforce has taken a whole new shape and going digital has become more paramount than ever. Yet many brands are not keeping up with the pace of change. That's why it's time to act now and adapt your CX strategy. Otherwise, you'll be left with a serious case of FOMO - watching the brands that have innovated reap the benefits.