5G connection is predicted to surpass 1 billion connections in 2023. It is already online in over 34 countries and 378 cities. Now is the time to adapt and predict how the new connection will influence our day-to-day operations and communication.
Being a Support as a Service company, we started thinking — what influence will 5G have on customer support and service in the future, and how can we get a jump-start on these changes?
In this article, we'll cover:
What Will 5G Change?
What is the main difference between 5G and 4G? 5G is 100 times faster. This difference in speed will result in another approach to transactions and operations.
Customer service teams have to be prepared and aware of the changes 5G could bring into their day-to-day work.
Fast Data Collection and Personalization
With the highest speed of 300 megabits per second, 5G can ensure a very speedy data collection and subsequent analysis. Companies will have the possibility to focus on providing a better service for their existing customers. This could ultimately cut business costs — 70% of companies say it is 5 times cheaper to retain a customer than to gain a new one.
AI will have the possibility to learn faster and will require less human help. Additional time and AI-enhancement will allow support teams to redirect their efforts to improving customer satisfaction rate.
Immersive Customer Experience
61% of consumers say they prefer shopping with retailers that provide AR or VR experience. Their pairing can allow technical support to fully learn how to handle even hardware cases without ever touching the technology they work with. Integrating them into every-day processes might become easier due to, again, the speed of connection.
‼️ Of course, 5G alone cannot be held responsible for VR and AR implementation on its own. The process will depend on brands’ and consumers’ willingness to adapt to something new.
Video Customer Support
68% of customers prefer video guides to communication with a human support consultant. 33% of customers attribute their choice to their unwillingness to wait on hold while 30% say reaching a customer support representative is too difficult.
5G has the possibility to fix both by making live video customer support a must-have for any support team. Higher speed and the ability to transmit ultra-high-resolution video can help millions of people talk to support representatives without interruptions in the connection.
Improved Call Quality
Has this ever happened to you: trying to call a customer support team, but the call drops right in the middle of you explaining the issue, and you have to describe everything all over again during the new call. Annoying, isn’t it?
As soon as 5G is deployed, we will forget about this. Making internet calls will become easier and the number of dropped calls could decrease.
With better connection and the possibility to call from anywhere and anytime, customers will develop new or strengthen their need in the old requirement towards customer service and support.
What Will Customers Require?
1️⃣ Omnichannel Support (or More of There Of)
61% of customers do not have the possibility to switch between communication channels without troubles or information loss. Companies providing strong omnichannel presence retain 89% of their customers as opposed to 33% of retained customers for companies with weak omnichannel game.
❓ How to? Adopt a CRM system with an omnichannel approach. It will seamlessly connect with any channel of communication. Prepare your team for the implementation and track customer feedback after the changes are made. Track every metric to make sure you are making the most of an omnichannel approach.
🧐 Possibility to Fix Issues Themselves
40% of customers prefer self-help tools to interaction with a support team. 5G and AI will come to the front of building knowledge bases and will give AI the possibility to embrace more information and process it swifter.
❓ How to? 45% of businesses using a knowledge base report a surge in their website traffic and a decrease in their phone inquiries. Gathering the most frequent and easy-to-answer questions from the customers is the first step in developing a knowledge base. Giving detailed and relevant answers and updating the information as needed will make sure your customers get the best experience when searching for self-help.
➡️ Faster Answers
Faster answers, faster resolutions, faster connection. Everything will have to catch up with the speed of connection.
- 80% expect an email response within 24 hours;
- Average chat response is 2 minutes and 40 seconds;
- 80% of calls are answered within 20 seconds.
5G will establish new speed and new standards for the entire industry and can easily elevate customer support services.
❓ How to? Make sure your team knows the product inside-out and can give answers right on the spot. Establish SLAs and conduct QA to see if your team fulfills the standards. Ask your customers for feedback and make sure to develop based on what they think about your team.
5G and customer support is not the duo that comes to mind instantly. New technology always affects the life of customers, support trends, and the work of customer support and service teams. Their correct implementation has a direct influence on customer satisfaction and churn rates. Preparing for them gives businesses a head start and ensures their customers get the best services without changes and new implementations disrupting their experience.
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Anna started out in financial markets, diving into daily research on bonds and stocks. A passionate reader with a love for historical literature and international cuisine, she’s now all about mastering customer communication. She writes in-depth about customer support, backed by extensive research, and has become an expert on the topic.
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