LogMeIn announced the results of a new global commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting that explores how businesses are leveraging visual engagement technology to create a more personal, trustworthy and secure customer experience (CX).

The study, Evolving Customer Expectations Drive Adoption of Visual Engagement Tools: How Visual Engagement Technology Can Solve Top CX Priorities in an Increasingly Remote World, surveyed 300 respondents at the manager level or higher in customer experience/support, eCommerce, or digital innovation; it found that although companies are on the right path by investing in and implementing visual engagement technology – like co-browsing and camera sharing – to meet their top CX priorities, they still struggle to create a seamless and secure customer experience with the tools they’re using today.

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Current Tools Holdback CX Progress

According to the study, CX professionals prioritize customer trust and effortless engagements but are struggling to deliver.

• Building customer trust (67%) and an effortless experience (62%) topped the list of CX priorities for respondents
• Creating those effortless experiences (40%) and building that trust (70%), however, rank among their top challenges for human-assisted interactions
• Specifically, respondents are challenged to create a secure environment for customers (48%) and/or make the customer feel comfortable and safe with the representative (44%)

These diverging data points show that current toolsets are inefficient and don’t seem to be helping organizations when it comes to optimizing the customer experience. Therefore, they need to augment existing engagement channels and invest in other forms of human-assisted interaction.

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Growing Investment in Visual Engagement Technology

Businesses are setting their sights on visual engagement technology, such as video, co-browsing, screen sharing, and annotations to accomplish their top CX priorities and to keep up with customer expectations.

• The majority of study respondents (89%) indicated that they are likely to invest, or increase investments, in visual engagement technology in the next 12 months
• Given the high expectations for the technology, businesses are expecting a high ROI, with over half of respondents indicating they expect improved customer satisfaction (56%), increased customer trust (56%), and improved customer experiences (52%)

These solutions have shown great success — creating a white-glove customer experience that allows the agent to guide the customer step by step and ultimately build customer trust.

Not Just Any Visual Engagement Tool Will Work

While visual engagement technology holds a lot of potential, most tools lack the capabilities needed to build trusted, effortless experiences. Current visual engagement tools often require undue effort from the customer and lack the security features needed to impact customer trust. Companies that don’t pay attention to the features of their technology feel the consequences.

• Respondents noted that their current visual engagement tools require the customer to download software or an app (70%), do not support mobile apps (62%), or don’t mask the customer’s private or personal data (58%) which detract from the customer experience
• Ideal capabilities for a visual engagement tool are the ability for a customer to initiate visual engagement sessions within the mobile app (35%) and the ability to mask private or personal data and creating a secure experience for the customer (31%), according to respondents

“The recent dramatic shift to remote customer engagement and limited in-person interactions has pushed digital transformation as a top priority for every company. Brands must close the digital divide and bring more personal customer interactions to the online experience,” said Anand Rajaram, Head of Product, Support Solutions at LogMeIn. “Visual engagement technology is a highly effective way to do this, but because of the absence of innovation in this area, many existing tools lack the features that are crucial for reducing customer effort and building trust. In other words, agents are often left without the resources to help them both understand the customer’s issue and guide them through a resolution.”