With every new year comes an opportunity for businesses to surprise and delight customers. And 2019 will be no different. Companies will continue to look for ways to engage customers during every touchpoint on their journey and, in the process, will become wiser to their changing and growing demands. However, in the coming year, it’s imperative that businesses adapt to show customers that they are, in fact, listening. When businesses find the right balance between people and technology, expand how they view data, listen to their customers and meet them wherever they are—they will succeed

1. THE FUTURE OF THE CONTACT CENTER:
KEY PREDICTIONS FOR 2019

2. TECHNOLOGIES WILL CONTINUE TO
EVOLVE AND COMPANIES WILL BECOME
WISER TO GROWING AND CHANGING
CUSTOMER DEMANDS. HERE ARE FOUR
KEY PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD.
IN 2019,

3. “A
rtificial intelligence (AI) is changing the entire
business landscape. Gartner1
predicted that
in 2018, AI would create more jobs than it
eliminates, and in 2020 it will become a positive
net job motivator, creating half a million new
jobs. The link between digital transformation
and the customer experience is an
imperative—and 2019 will be the
breaking point.
PREDICTION #1:
THE FRAGMENTED CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE WILL COME TO A
BREAKING POINT
– KRIS MCKENZIE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
& GENERAL MANAGER FOR EMEA, CALABRIO
1
Gartner, “Predicts 2018: AI and the Future of Work.” December, 2017.

4. As companies implement new AI-driven technologies such
as chatbots and voice search, they neglect to think about
the impact on the customer experience. Customers will
become increasingly frustrated with the lack of human
interaction and a fractured customer journey as
businesses struggle to tie together channels. Customers
expect to seamlessly switch from self-service options on web
and mobile to chat, email or phone.
Businesses should take a step back, plan customer-centric
technology implementations and consider how it ties into
the whole customer journey. To win, they must offer
customers the right mix of new technology and
traditional service. This includes maintaining the human touch by making it easy to
access the best person for more complex issues.
PREDICTION #1: THE FRAGMENTED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WILL COME TO A BREAKING POINT

5. “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL TAKE ON A BIGGER ROLE IN THE
CONTACT CENTER. ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS THAT REVEAL
POWERFUL VOICE-OF-THE-CUSTOMER INSIGHTS WILL CREATE HUGE
POSSIBILITIES FOR PERSONALIZING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY.”
GERBEN VAN EEKELER
SENIOR IT ARCHITECT, RABOBANK
PREDICTION #1: THE FRAGMENTED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WILL COME TO A BREAKING POINT
CALABRIO CUSTOMER QUOTE

6. KEY FINDINGS FROM “ARE YOU LISTENING? THE TRUTH
ABOUT WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT IN A DIGITAL WORLD”
48%of consumers said they are more loyal when they can get a hold of a
company quickly and easily.
58%of consumers believe that picking up the phone and talking to a
representative is the way to get the best and most efficient service, they prefer
different methods depending on what they’re trying to accomplish:
23%
said email
10%
said website
7%
said social media
PREDICTION #1: THE FRAGMENTED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WILL COME TO A BREAKING POINT
Are You Listening? The Truth About What Customers Want in a Digital World Calabrio, 2018

7. “C
ompanies know they must adapt to
change in order to grow and stay
relevant, but they aren’t relying on
enough data to inform change. In 2018, we
discovered a discrepancy between the
value executives place on analytics
and the extent to which data
is actually analyzed.
PREDICTION #2:
BETTER REPORTING SOLUTIONS
WILL CLOSE THE ANALYTICS
GAP
– TOM GOODMANSON, PRESIDENT & CEO,
CALABRIO

8. We surveyed 1,000 executives and found that while nearly all agree that data and
analytics are integral to informing sales and marketing changes, more than half of
them currently rely on only one data point—such as revenue figures or social media
interactions—to inform decisions. They aren’t getting to voice-of-the-customer data to
understand what their customers want.
In 2019 this will change. IDC estimates enterprises will
spend in excess of $2 trillion on digital transformations in
2019. Companies who lead successful change initiatives
will do so by implementing omnichannel analytics from the
contact center to get to the root of what customers want.
Improvement of data integration and reporting across
the business will give the C-suite easier access to
the data and knowledge needed to fully optimize customer
experiences.”
PREDICTION #2: BETTER REPORTING SOLUTIONS WILL CLOSE THE ANALYTICS GAP

9. KEY FINDINGS FROM “BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION AND
ANALYTICS”
85%of executives agree data and analytics are important to
informing sales and marketing changes.
39%said they rely too heavily on one data point to inform
decisions. Broken down further we found 63 percent of CMOs and
65 percent of CIOs rely on one data point.
PREDICTION #2: BETTER REPORTING SOLUTIONS WILL CLOSE THE ANALYTICS GAP
Business Transformation and Analytics Report: Driving Change in a Customer-Centric World, Calabrio, 2018

10. IN ADDITION, A RECENT CALABRIO CUSTOMER SURVEY
FOUND:
Nearly 33%said internal data
and analytics will drive change in 2019.
43%said they’ll use contact
center data to get an accurate view of
their customers.
PREDICTION #2: BETTER REPORTING SOLUTIONS WILL CLOSE THE ANALYTICS GAP

11. PREDICTION #2: BETTER REPORTING SOLUTIONS WILL CLOSE THE ANALYTICS GAP
“WE HAVE TO EVOLVE THE DEFINITION OF “VOICE OF THE
CUSTOMER.” WE WORK ON ASSUMPTIONS A LOT OF THE TIME
WHICH CREATES WASTED TIME AND EFFORT. WITHOUT DIVING
INTO ANALYTICS AND GETTING IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER WE’RE
MISSING OUT ON GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW OUR BUSINESS
AS CUSTOMER NEEDS EVOLVE.”
CHRISTINE KOLBESON
SENIOR IT MANAGER, RACKSPACE
CALABRIO CUSTOMER QUOTE

12. “I
n the midst of what many call the fourth
industrial revolution in which digital,
physical and biological worlds are
colliding, companies must consider the
impact technology has on the
customer experience.
PREDICTION #3:
COMPANIES WILL LEARN THE
ART OF LISTENING
– REBECCA MARTIN, CHIEF MARKETING
OFFICER, CALABRIO

13. While consumers expect a quality product for a reasonable
price, they also want an emotional tie to a brand, and that
comes through a human connection.
2019 will see companies finally learn the art of
listening by developing a strategy that engages
customers in the right way, at the right time and on
the right channel. Leveraging analytics, smart companies
will monitor the entire customer journey across channels to
ensure a consistent experience that drives loyalty.”
PREDICTION #3: COMPANIES WILL LEARN THE ART OF LISTENING

14. KEY FINDINGS FROM “ARE YOU LISTENING? THE TRUTH
ABOUT WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT IN A DIGITAL WORLD”
WHAT DRIVES CUSTOMERS TO BE LOYAL TO A COMPANY?
61%
said great products
and services
50%
said when I complain
they listen to me and do
something about it
48%
said I can get a hold of
them quickly and easily
PREDICTION #3: COMPANIES WILL LEARN THE ART OF LISTENING
Are You Listening? The Truth About What Customers Want in a Digital World, Calabrio, 2018

15. RECENT CALABRIO SURVEYS POINTED TO THE HUMAN
CONNECTION:
71%of respondents confirmed emotion will be a more
important part of the customer experience in 2019.
79%think interacting with a human versus a chatbot or digital
self-service channel (e.g. email, Twitter) is an important part of good
customer service/the customer experience.
PREDICTION #3: COMPANIES WILL LEARN THE ART OF LISTENING
Are You Listening? The Truth About What Customers Want in a Digital World, Calabrio, 2018

16. “IN ORDER TO MEET THE NEEDS FOR THE MODERN-DAY CUSTOMER,
BUSINESSES WILL NEED TO SHOW MORE EMPATHY AND CONNECT
ON A HUMAN LEVEL WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS.”
JULIET ROBINSON
OPERATIONS MANAGER, CREDIT UNION OF COLORADO
PREDICTION #3: COMPANIES WILL LEARN THE ART OF LISTENING
CALABRIO CUSTOMER QUOTE

17. “E
very year we hear a new statistic about the
growing number of customer touchpoints,
whether customers are communicating
with companies using instant messenger, the
latest smart home device or one of the ever-
expanding self-service options. When
it comes to customer experience
technology, companies often think
more must be better. But
there’s a catch.
PREDICTION #4:
COMPANIES WILL UNDO
THE CHANNEL CHAOS THEY
CREATED
– MATT MATSUI, CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER,
CALABRIO

18. In our recent report, The Danger of Digital, we found that 58 percent of
companies have a set process to follow to add a new communication
channel. It’s so easy to add new options that, in the rush to adopt,
companies are failing to understand how they will affect the entire customer
experience. While many have channel-specific implementation strategies, they often lack a
coordinated strategy across channels—and the result is a fragmented customer journey.
To mitigate channel chaos in 2019, companies will take a step back and finally lay the
right groundwork for omnichannel success. Not only will they audit existing channels to
understand which options customers prefer, they’ll apply analytics to determine which
channels are most effective. Additionally, companies will enact quality assurance metrics
across all channels—not just on the phone. With these cross-channel insights, organizations
will gain a firm understanding of customer preferences and create a complete view of the
customer journey, making it easier for customers to move between channels or be transferred
to a live representative.
PREDICTION #4: COMPANIES WILL UNDO THE CHANNEL CHAOS THEY CREATED

19. KEY FINDINGS FROM “THE DANGER OF DIGITAL”
93%of companies think it’s important to provide a seamless, quality
experience across all channels, yet only 45 percent believe they are effective at
delivering that experience.
PREDICTION #4: COMPANIES WILL UNDO THE CHANNEL CHAOS THEY CREATED
From there, they can use analytics to extract critical insights that will help them adapt hiring
and training strategies to ensure a consistent customer experience. With this integrated
approach, companies will finally deliver on customers’ expectations and drive key insights
across the organization.”
The Danger of Digital , Calabrio, 2018

20. “ENSURING THAT YOUR CUSTOMERS RECEIVE A CONSISTENT
EXPERIENCE WHETHER THEY VISIT IN PERSON, REACH YOU VIA
PHONE OR A DIGITAL SELF-SERVICE CHANNEL WILL BE A KEY
DIFFERENTIATOR FOR CONTACT CENTERS IN 2019.”
KATE GOSEWICH
TECHNICAL SUPPORT SUPERVISOR, VANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION
PREDICTION #4: COMPANIES WILL UNDO THE CHANNEL CHAOS THEY CREATED
CALABRIO CUSTOMER QUOTE

21. KEY CONTACT CENTER
PREDICTIONS FOR 2019
In 2019, technology will continue to drive customer expectations.
Consumers expect a seamless experience at every interaction
point and companies will be expected to deliver on it. That means
businesses must work smarter to understand what customers
want. By analyzing customer insights to drive business decisions,
and developing the right mix of digital and personal connections,
companies can deliver on their brand promise.

22. Calabrio is a customer engagement software company that provides analytic insights to catalyze growth through customer service contact centers. The
Calabrio ONE®
software suite empowers everyone in an organization, from contact center agents to the CEO, with easy-to-use tools that provide a better
understanding of the customer. Every customer interaction yields insights that expand customer consciousness, which is how leading companies now
drive growth and long-term corporate prosperity.
Calabrio ONE is a unified workforce optimization (WFO) software suite–including call recording, quality management, workforce management, voice-of-
the-customer (VoC) analytics and advanced reporting–that transforms the contact center into a customer engagement center and a valuable source of
customer insight.
ABOUT CALABRIO
The clean and simple way
to capture every customer
voice—across every
channel. Create a unified
view of the customer,
see the big picture with
new clarity and leverage
comprehensive voice-of-
the-customer data to drive
key business objectives.
Call Recording
Highly automated and
efficient evaluation of
100% of your customer
interactions. Shorten
feedback loops and target
training to drive better
agent performance that
directly improves customer
satisfaction.
Quality Management
Smart forecasting,
scheduling and admin
tools that drive elevated
WFM strategies. Efficiently
predict and respond to
dynamic customer call
volume and deliver a
consistently outstanding
contact center experience.
Workforce Management
Sophisticated speech and
text analytics engines that
harness the voice of the
customer—and intuitive
outputs that bring that data
to life. Leverage predictive
and prescriptive insights
to deliver value to sales,
marketing, IT, product
development and business
development teams.
Calabrio Analytics
Amazingly integrated
reporting and analytics
tools that integrate
customer and business
data from across the
organization. Break down
data silos, eliminate
tedious reporting, visualize
critical metrics and see the
full story your data tells.
Advanced Reporting
Find more at calabrio.com
Calabrio, Calabrio ONE® and the Calabrio logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Calabrio Inc. All
other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.