A New Era for Customer Service in India

The service landscape in India is evolving at a breakneck pace. The Sixth Edition State of Service report provides a pulse check on the priorities, challenges, and opportunities of over 5,500 service professionals worldwide. 

As customer service trends reveal that customers are setting their expectations sky-high, organisations are under more pressure to deliver personalised service at scale while delivering more value to the business. But there’s good news, too. The introduction of artificial intelligence and enhanced data capabilities are transforming how quality service is delivered, offering exciting opportunities to boost agent productivity and generate revenue. 

India’s Customer Service Trends: Everyone Wants More, from Customers to Executives

In India, the stakes are high and climbing higher. 88% of service professionals in the region report that customers are more demanding than ever, with expectations of fast, personalised service at every interaction.

It won’t come as a surprise, then, that globally, customer experience topped the list of both priorities and challenges for service organisations. The biggest priority for service decision-makers is improving the customer experience, while their biggest challenge is keeping pace with customer expectations. 

Multiplying the burden on service, the surge in customer demands correlates with an anticipated increase in cases, with 77% of service professionals in India bracing for higher volumes in the coming year. 

These projections underscore a critical challenge: delivering personalised service at scale – a requirement for maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. Self-service, including knowledge-powered help centres, customer portals, and AI-powered chatbots, stands out as a win-win solution.

There’s a growing desire for self-service, with 61% of customers globally reporting they prefer it for fixing simple issues. And while self-service now solves 54% of customer issues worldwide at organisations that use it, the pressure is on to get self-service right. 72% of customers won’t reuse a company’s chatbot after just one negative experience, so there’s little room for error. 

Adding to these growing demands is the awareness that customer service has evolved far beyond a simple support function and cost centre. Today, it’s at the forefront of revenue generation. In India, 79% of service organisations are expected to ramp up their contribution to the bottom line. 

This dual pressure requires organisations to not only maintain but amplify service quality, so they can meet the expectations of customers and revenue.

Customer Service is Expanding – in Budget, Headcount and Channels

To meet these soaring demands, service departments in India are ramping up their resources. About 85% of service professionals in the region anticipate an increase in budget, while 80% expect to expand their headcount — higher than the global averages of 80% and 76%, respectively. This suggests that Indian organisations are preparing to scale up operations to rise to the challenge of today’s customer service trends.

A diversification in service channels – now averaging twelve different modes of customer engagement for organisations in India – indicates a strategic move to interact with customers across multiple platforms.

There’s a clear trend in favour of an omnichannel service experience. High-performing organisations provide service across a broader range of channels than underperformers, making it more important than ever to meet customers where, when, and how they want to engage. Live chat, in particular, has been adopted by 9 in 10 high performers globally – but only among 60% of underperformers.

Customer Service AI & Data Promises Scale

Artificial intelligence’s role in transforming service operations is becoming increasingly critical as organisations look to technology as the solution for tougher workloads and more demanding customers. 

With 39% of Indian organisations fully implementing customer service AI, and 34% exploring or experimenting with the technology, AI’s rollout in India’s service landscape is well underway. 

The benefits are clear: 94% of service professionals in these AI-equipped organisations acknowledge the time-saving benefits of AI, while 89% see cost reductions. 

Service organisations are using AI to increase agent efficiency and productivity, which increases their ability to provide customers with prompt and personalised experiences. The top three use cases for AI in India are automated summaries and reports, customer-facing intelligent offers and recommendations, and knowledge article creation, with plenty more exciting applications emerging.

As service organisations commit to AI, they’re also putting a focus on trustworthy and connected data. 92% of service professionals in India say better access to data from other teams would improve the support they provide, pointing to the importance of a comprehensive data strategy to underpin AI.

In response, 81% of these service organisations report an increase in investment in data integration efforts next year, pointing towards a strategic push to enhance the efficacy and responsiveness of service operations through better data accessibility and connected, efficient service systems. 

How Does Your Service Organisation Stack Up? 

The trends are clear and the data is compelling: service in India has been forever changed by new customer demands, organisational imperatives, and AI capabilities. 

These are just a few insights into the nature of service today. To learn more about what your customers want and how you can wow them with a strategic approach to customer service – from self-service to the contact centre to the field – read the Sixth Edition State of Service report.