The COVID-19 crisis has pushed us all out of our comfort zones – both merchants and consumers. What might have evolved over a decade happened within eight weeks in 2020, when retailers quickly launched e-commerce websites and figured their way through digital payment, order fulfillment, and warehouse management processes. Consumers got equally adventurous too.

Customer service is crucial to the success of a business. If you’re new to the concept of customer service or just want to keep yourself up to date with the latest trends, we’ve got you covered.

What is the most important thing you can do to reduce churn and increase word-of-mouth referrals? The answer is obvious, but it’s often overlooked: improve your customer service. No matter how awesome you think your product is, or how skilled your customer support team is, your customers are most likely to remember the direct interaction they have with your company.

During Freshworks’ Q2 ’23 Launch Event on June 22, we unveiled new product features that can bring the power of generative AI to businesses of any size. Access to AI is necessary for these new tools to have lasting business impact. The market for generative AI is expected to reach $36 billion by 2028, a tenfold jump in five years. “AI is just not a buzzword anymore,” Freshworks founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham explained to Diginomica.

Building software that delivers value to customers comes naturally to us at Freshworks. Sometimes, it also comes “artificially”—such as through innovations in artificial intelligence, including generative AI. Businesses around the world are already realizing the transformative potential of generative AI through automation and productivity-enhancing tools.

The disruptive nature of generative AI in business is becoming apparent. We sat down to chat with Prasad Ramakrishnan, chief information officer (CIO) at Freshworks, to understand how he believes generative AI will impact and transform the service management industry. Here’s what he has to share with CIOs on how generative AI can be leveraged to improve employee experience and agent productivity.

There are many moving parts in play when trying to explain, let alone execute, an exceptional customer experience. It truly takes a village and a good customer experience strategy to get things done effectively. Staying on top of your CX strategy is vital as customer behavior and digital channels of engagement continue to change how business is done. But it’s easy to be overwhelmed even before you get started.

With 92% of consumers expecting to continue to contact customer service at or above pandemic-era rates, we are facing a future where companies that aren’t customer-centric will have a hard time surviving. This is why companies must keep up with customer service trends so that they’re able to cater to these evolving customer needs.

A good customer service strategy can be extremely rewarding in the age of soaring customer expectations. People love to publicly acknowledge when they’ve had a memorable customer service experience. On the other hand, poor customer service can make them forget all the good experiences your company has offered. Building an airtight customer service strategy is the best way to weather the demands of today’s savvy customers.

Call center agents are often asked to do the impossible: Make every customer happy—while struggling with slow tech, increased workloads, stress, and burnout. Thankfully, many in the world of CX are discovering how to spell relief: AI. According to “The New CX Priorities,” a new industry report from Freshworks, CX leaders must treat customer support as a strategic function with far-reaching impact across the organization.