At the heart of every business is the customer, and the hope that the customer’s experience (CX) and journey are as pain-free and frictionless as possible. The dream is to create a system for your user that involves the smallest amount of a customer’s time and energy, and go away with the answer they were looking for.

In fact, that’s more than just common sense. Matthew Dixon, the author of The Effortless Experience, found that customers who had an easier, lower-effort experience were not only 94% more likely to come back, but they were 88% more likely to spend more money the next time.

So when it comes to working out what will make your customers’ lives easier, it’s important to consider the next big thing in CX. You want to make sure that you’re ready for what’s coming up, and that you can implement things before your customers even know they want it.

Voice Control: The Next Big Thing in CX

When it comes to answering to the needs of customers, moving to a voice user interface cancels out a lot of the pain points by providing a more ideal customer experience.

While app development and websites are crucial for information, as is ensuring that you have appropriate customer support established, moving to a voice user interface allows people to find what they’re looking for.

While voice-controlled technology is nothing new, we are finally in a place where the user interfaces are getting closer to what customers would like them to be. Rather than forcing users to conform to a specific set of rules, research and development have led to it being easier for customers to interact.

The limitations of language, accent, and dialect no longer provide the challenge to voice control that they once did. However, that’s not the only reason that voice control is poised to be the next big deal. Here are three reasons that you want to start employing voice technology in your customer experience.

1. It’s accessible & easy to adopt

The joy, for some, of new technology is that it involves being able to learn so much. For others, that’s one of the biggest turn-offs. So when it comes to voice technology, you’re talking about implementing something your customer already knows and understands how to use. The learning curve is virtually eliminated, as users just need to speak.

Current statistics from Google have found that over one in five mobile searches are already done through the voice, and WhatsApp processes over 200 million voice messages a day.

This means that rather than being a challenge or something your customer will need to get used to, they’ll be able to adopt the new way already - because it’s the most intuitive way for humans to interact.

This also cuts out any issues of accessibility for those who, either due to vision issues or movement problems, find that their needs aren’t accounted for. Voice control allows everybody to have agency over accessing new technology.

2. Improving your User Experience

When it comes to measuring the success or failure of new enterprises, there are two things to consider: the first is the user experience or UX, and then the customer experience, or CX. 

Your UX is the way that a user experiences a product - whether that’s a physical good or a website or app. Essentially it comes down to, how easy is this thing for your customer to use? 

This is measured by: 

• adoption rate, or how quickly people will take to the new technology
• abandonment rate, or how quickly people give up 
• completion rate, or how quickly people make it through the full customer journey
• error rate, or the number of times a person makes a wrong turn and has to go back
  

Your UX can make or break your customer’s commitment to your company. In 2015, almost $3 billion was lost in eCommerce thanks to a cart abandonment rate of 68%. Customers blamed this on the site not performing, lengthy checkout processes, or frustration with being able to find what they want. So make no mistake, your UX is vital if your company wants to succeed.

Your CX, on the other hand, is measured in your Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT), your NPS scores, and engagement metrics. These give you a solid idea of how well your company will grow and change, as well as letting people know your reputation. Good scores mean people are more inclined to trust you.

What does this have to do with voice interaction?

If a customer cannot access your business, product or service, or the UX is challenging and frustrating for them to handle, you’re never going to be able to sell them on what you’re offering. Voice interaction interfaces provide the opportunity for customers to enjoy their experience when working with you and increasing the likelihood they will use you again or recommend you to a friend.

3) Voice technology is open potential

Interactive voice technology is changing the way that we look at CX, and it shows no signs of going anywhere. Investing the time and effort now will put you ahead of the curve for something that is rapidly going to become the norm.

It also has a huge range of applications across your business - from people using it to order, to ask questions, to engage with, and to interact with your brand. The universal design on a voice interface makes it much easier for people to interact with your service while doing something else.

The system of voice technology itself has answered a lot of the problems that new technological advances often have. If used correctly, it can provide you with next level customer experience, and allow you to offer a frictionless, enjoyable customer interaction.