• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 7, 2023

Email is destined to become a more important customer-experience (CX) tool as younger consumers turn entirely to digital. But will it be effective?

Digital CX & Engagement, a new study by Customer Engagement Insider, shows that there is a certain lack of quality control. 

While 63% of contact centers are using an email as a support channel, only 41% are monitoring it for quality, and 37% are tracking performance.  

In contrast, 75% are utilizing inbound phone calling as a channel, and 71% are monitoring it for quality, while 69% are looking at performance.  

In general, only 15% “feel their digital engagement journeys are connected across channels.” And 72 say they are partially but not completely unified.  

Yet email stands out —i n contrast, only 35% are using Chat (web-based), while 29% are analyzing quality and 29% are looking at performance.

Text is used by 32%, but a mere 13% monitor quality and 11% performance.   

Overall, 96.5% of companies view improving the digital experience as a major priority, the study states.  

“As younger generations enter the marketplace and workforce, the need for voice will continue to fade as other avenues such as chat, email, and social media rise in popularity,” the study notes. 

Case in point: brands like Frontier Airlines and Breeze Airlines have adopted “a digital-only approach to customer service, focusing on channels like email, chat, and social media,” the study states. 

Frontier has an automated message on its customer-service number, directing customers to their website and app. And Breeze Airlines has no number at all. Instead, it “directs customers to reach them via Facebook Messenger, text, email, or their app or website.”

Of course, there one other benefit to using email as a CX channel — you have to collect the email addresses. This approach can also be used for permission-based marketing.  

However, all the channels must be carefully integrated into the CX tech stack.

“Voice-centered KPIs like service level, hold time, and transfers don’t translate to digital channels like chat, email, or social media,” the study cautions. 

It continues: “These channels don’t have the same type of urgency as a call. Without a way to manage and measure KPIs and make them relevant to specific digital channels, you’re likely to make expensive scheduling mistakes.”

Customer Experience Insider surveyed leaders in marketing, the user experience, customer experience, operations, information technology and/or customer service in February and March 2023.