For CXOs, verifying a customer is both the cornerstone and Achilles Heel of customer service. On one hand, properly identifying and verifying (ID&V) a customer is a requirement to build customer loyalty and drive new revenue. But on the other hand, inefficiency has a negative effect. How can you verify the authenticity of a caller in CX, without pushing too hard and losing them as customer?

Research from McKinsey shows superior customer experience increases sales revenues by 2-7%, boosts profitability by 1-2%, and pushes shareholder return up 7-10%. But a negative experience impacts more than just revenue. According to our March 2nd analysis, an organization with 10,000 agents may stand to lose over $26 million annually in burnout cost.

The ID&V Dilemma

Leadership and training can be debated, but CX technology tends to be a major culprit. To keep up with new trends, many new systems are added without plans to properly integrate them in a cohesive manner. For example, your app may utilize biometric login via iPhone’s FaceID, Google’s under-glass fingerprint sensor, etc. but your chat support software has zero visibility into someone who has been verified already. The result is customers who endure some sick initiation every time they attempt to call your brand.

It drives customers crazy. Drives agents crazy. And drives profit and shareholder value through the floor. Luckily, it can be fixed.

In the ChatGPT Era, Why Are Customers Suffering the CX Gauntlet

Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, Jason Feifer explored the customer side to the CX gauntlet. “How do we have stuff like ChatGPT… but also when I call my bank, the automated voice asks me for my account number, and then I get a human being who asks me for my account number.” Feifer’s frustration isn’t an exception—it’s the rule. When I reached out to let him know we knew the answer, he invited our own CX team.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and CX isn’t an exception. Customer self-serve tools can automatically verify a customer and handle most problems, but when they fail to help, which is happening regularly, those systems aren’t integrated into the CX call management systems your agents use.

The agent sees a new caller. But the customer has already been on the phone for a few minutes navigating your number minefield. The result is an angry customer that wasn’t listened to, and an agent that is immediately under the gun.

How to Remove The CX Gauntlet

As companies like Amazon, Apple and GoDaddy make CX improvements, most enterprises will continue to look older, slower and more clueless by the day. It’s an uncomfortable discussion, but CEOs and CX leaders need to focus on the full customer journey and create a strategy to fully integrate the CX technology or rid themselves of service bloat.

Your CXO and CEO can begin this process by finding a group of trusted outsiders—perhaps consider paying them. Have them document your customer’s buying journey DNA, agree on a CX experience together, and meticulously document their experience, and report back on how well you aligned with your ideal customer journey. Do not give your CX department a heads up otherwise your data will be ruined.

The 3 Tree Tech CX team can give you a free CX tech evaluation with only your customer service number. To start the process fill in the form above.

Any gaps should be addressed with the CX team and technology should be integrated or removed. As Skeens explained in the interview technology is no longer an issue or excuse. The technology is available, your organization just needs a leader willing to play the role of minesweeper. Churn is real and every day you push this off, dead accounts will continue to pile up.